- U.S. Atty. Terrence Berg/doj photo
By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com For the past several years, the FBI and U.S. Attorney had been probing political corruption in Detroit City Hall, but no indictments came, just reports in the press that something was percolating.
What did come were plenty complaints from the community that the feds were dragging their feet, and that it was hurting the city.
In March, Adolph Mongo, a Detroit political consultant and former aide to the late mayor Coleman A. Young, told the Detroit Free Press: “There’s a cloud over this city.”
“Whatever’s going to happen should have happened. People just want the shoe to drop.”
On Friday, the first shoe dropped when city council member Monica Conyers pleaded guilty to taking bribes in connection with a city sludge hauling contract. No more council members will be charged in connection with that contract.
But more public corruption indictments are expected later this year. Word is those indictments could come by October, according to sources.
Feeling the pressure to defend federal authorities for taking so long to come up with the first set of charges, U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg issued a statement on Friday:
“This investigation took just under two years from the time we first discovered the possibility of misconduct by Ms. Conyers until her plea of guilty today.
“This may seem like a long time to people who are not familiar with the complexity and difficulties of federal public corruption investigations, but the citizens of Detroit and of the whole Eastern District of Michigan deserved a thorough and fair investigation that would lead to a successful outcome.”
Wow, what good news. Now if he would round up her hubby next.