By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
The mayor of Ecorse, a Detroit suburb of about 11,000 people, pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to bribery charges linked to a scheme involving a company that provided municipal works for the city, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Mayor Herbert Worthy admitted that between November 2007 and December 2008 he received more than $30,000 in bribes to make sure Michigan Municipal Services got the city contract. The company billed the city $3.1 million during that period. Two company officials have already pleaded guilty in the case.
Additionally, Erwin Hollenquest, the Controller of the city faces charges of accepting cash and a Lexus car in exchange for making sure the company was paid in full on its invoices “which contained hundreds of thousands of dollars in false and fraudulent charges,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
“Today’s conviction marks a decisive turning point in the federal investigation into municipal corruption in the City of Ecorse,” U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade said in a statement. “For the past several years the citizens of that city have suffered under the leadership of individuals who put their own personal gains above their sworn public duties.”
