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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The Latest Community, Education & Government News, Blogs, Photos & Videos
Convicted consultant Sam Riddle got $44,000 from Genesee County but no records detail what he did for the money
By Ron Fonger | Flint Journal
June 04, 2010, 6:00AM
Sam RiddleGENESEE COUNTY -- Whatever imprisoned political consultant Sam Riddle did for the $44,000 he was paid by county Drain Commissioner Jeff Wright, there’s no evidence of it.
Wright’s office claims in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by The Flint Journal that it has no documents — notes, e-mails, memorandums or any other reports or records — that show what Riddle worked on or accomplished while he collected $2,000 monthly for nearly two years as a political consultant here.
All communication with Riddle was done on the phone or face-to-face, leaving no paper trail, Wright said in a written statement.
The drain commissioner reiterated that Riddle’s work resulted in “several productive meetings” between the county and officials in Detroit regarding water issues.
Flint and Genesee County get from the city of Detroit the public water sold to home and businesses here.
A spokesman for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department said he was not aware of Riddle’s involvement in setting up meetings with officials there and said it has negotiated with dozens of communities “without the involvement of a hired political consultant.”
“They’ve been able to directly approach the department,” said Detroit water spokesman George Ellenwood.
Jeff Wright
Wright has acknowledged he acted as an FBI informant to help the federal government build a public corruption case against the Riddle, who is a Flint native and is now serving prison sentences for felony assault and corruption.
Court and county documents also show Wright secretly recorded a phone call to Riddle months after hiring him and continued to pay Riddle for approximately 18 months after agreeing to cooperate in the federal investigation.
In a written statement Thursday, Wright said the consulting agreement with Riddle’s Meridian Management “resulted in several productive meetings between GCDC (Genesee County Drain Commissioner’s Office) and DWSD (Detroit Water and Sewerage Department) and GCDC and the Detroit mayor’s office.”
Wright’s office provided The Journal with letters between his office and Detroit officials that indicate meetings have taken place or were being planned but none of the letters make reference to Riddle or his company’s involvement in the meetings.
Ellenwood said he was aware of some discussions that took place with the county.
“The name Sam Riddle never came up in relation to that,” he said.
Wright’s statement said, in part, “The purpose of the agreement with Meridian Management was to facilitate our negotiations with the city of Detroit for a redundance water supply at a reasonable rate. All communication with Mr. Riddle was via phone or face-to-face.”
County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jamie Curtis said he can’t explain why a professional consultant would have left behind no record of his accomplishments — except a log of checks issued to Riddle — after working for the county for nearly two years.
Curtis has said he didn’t know Wright’s office hired Riddle to work on water issues.
Although commissioners don’t approve such contracts between consultants and the drain office, Curtis has been an outspoken supporter of the drain commissioner’s push to build a new water pipeline to Lake Huron and to stop buying water from the city of Detroit.
Curtis said he’s asked Controller George Martini whether commissioners can establish procedures to keep a closer eye on such expenditures in the future.
“One way or another somebody has to have some oversight on that,” Curtis said.
The drain commissioner’s decision to hire Riddle raised eyebrows here as soon as Wright acknowledged last month that his office had hired him, something that happened after court documents filed in the federal bribery case against Riddle surfaced last month.
The court records revealed Wright was known as confidential Source-3 by the FBI and Wright has said he was contacted by federal investigators while Riddle was under contract with his office.
Wright has said he was performing his civic duty by helping in the investigation.
Riddle’s contract with the county also coincided with the time frame when he was accused of working with a Detroit council member to secure bribes from multiple parties looking to do business with that city.
Riddle told The Flint Journal before he went to prison that his work for Genesee County was “on the up and up” — but said he was concerned “if the contract were let solely so that the drain commissioner would have access to me for the FBI.”
Riddle also was eligible to receive expenses incurred during his work on behalf of Genesee County, but the documents received by The Journal indicate he did not receive any reimbursements. |
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Fri Jun 04, 2010 6:55 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Andrew Heller: Come Heller High Water
Andrew Heller's outlook and commentsAndy's Random Blog Thoughts -- Enter at your own risk »
Drain commissioner needs to come clean on Riddle
By Andrew Heller | Flint Journal
June 04, 2010, 7:37AM
The Sam Riddle-Genesee County Drain Commission story smells worse every day.
Now we learn that Drain Commissioner Jeff Wright paid erstwhile political consultant - and now prison inmate - Sam Riddle $44,000 over two years for brokering a couple of meetings between Wright and the Detroit water department.
Two small problems:
- There's no documentation of what Riddle did for the money.
- Detroit water folks say they weren't aware of Riddle's involvement, nor would a meeting with them require a hired consultant.
Wow.
Until Wright comes completely clean - brutally clean - on Riddle, anything coming out of his office (including plans for his pet project - a new water pipeline) is bound to be viewed with a raised eyebrow.
My view: If it was a dumb mistake, say so. Other options: Apologize and repay the money. Nothing else will erase the smell. |
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Fri Jun 04, 2010 7:25 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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WHY WASN'T MORE BURTON CORRUPTION CHARGED?
- Cached - Similar pages
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
Apr 3, 2009 ... Albert Louis-Blake Rizzo, a local land developer, implicated Abbey in ..... ELGA Credit Union of Burton, Michigan—with whom Abbey sought a ...
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/6th/072278p.pdf - - Cached - Similar pages |
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Sun Jun 06, 2010 7:07 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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My question is why did the FBI allow Wright to be identified in the Riddle case?Are Detroit politics some how more odious than Flint?
here are some reminders of past sories.
Flint Journal links: A look back at Top 7 stories on Blake Rizzo ...
Blake Rizzo in 2000FLINT, Michigan -- Who would have thought Blake Rizzo ... 2, 2005: Federal agents probing Burton: Leyton still seeks Rizzo leak source ...
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2010/05/flint_journal_links_a_look_bac.html - 70k - Cached - Similar pages
Genesee County Drain Commissioner Jeff Wright had past FBI ...
GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan — Genesee County Drain Commissioner Jeff Wright's ... Wright said today that he couldn't comment on whether the Burton case is connected to his more ... See other stories on the Blake Rizzo bribery scandal. ...
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2010/05/genesee_county_drain_commissio_8.html - 64k - Cached - Similar pages
The truth as I recall it:
Auto theft officers of Gain were upset because they had Blake Rizzo on an insurance fraud case and an arson in Burton and they believed the case was bing stalled for political purposes. Their anger was focused on Sheriff Pickell and then County Commissioner Ted Hammon, a close friend of Rizzo. Rumors were the case was about to be deep-sixed.
Rizzo was driving a corvette leased by his father and allegedly had the car taken to Swartz Creek and hidden by Taylor. Rizzo then reported the car stolen.
The car was at the home of a young man, who had been reportedly told Rizzo would reclaim the car and sell it. Nervous after time passed and the car stayed in his possession, court records state the young man and a friend started to chop the car when they were caught, This man linked the crime to Taylor. Taylor, who had previous convictions, is said to have down played his role and told investigators he had participated in a barn arson for Rizzo.
Busch was approached in a parking lot and warned about the case. When he investigated, Busch was furious and actually threatened at one point to have Pickell and Hammond arrested. Busch started an investigation into Burton politics based on allegations made in a deposition of Rizzo, that alleged multiple inatances of political corruption.
Busch was given documents related to Burton politics and particulary the use of excess water and sewer funds as well as publicly financed bonds by the city to help developers build in the city. Note-several of these projects have now failed, but the bond payments are still due. Wright aand his family sold property to Arrabo for Blackberry creek, recently foreclosed and sold.
However, it was the result of Busch's own investigative efforts that provided the link to "Skeeter" Abbey and Rizzo and led to the conviction of Abbey on bribery charges.
The FBI wanted the case, but so did Busch. Busch had decided not to run for office again and he was working long hours on this case. The feds put what some call a "bullshit" investigation into Busch and his disposal of forfeited properties. Busch prevailed, but the toll was such that he gave up the case.
The secret deposition was used by Jim Kiertzner, then with Fox 66. Later it was used by the Bob Leonard Show and Ron Fonger. The redacted pages were released and an investigation was launched into how the deposition was originnally obtained by the media.
The only conviction was Abbey. Leyton turned the Wright case to Cox. Cox sent it back saying he was too busy but it was a classic money laundering case. Leyton then sent it to Lapeer and it looked as though the case might be reduced to misdemeanor. Despite repeated attempts by Ron Fonger of the Flint Journal, The Lapeer County Prosecutor would not discuss whwn he case would be finalized. The Statute of Limitations ran out.
The question is now was the case alllowed to disappear because Wright was now a confidential Informant? What aabout the other allegations and why did they disappear? |
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Sun Jun 06, 2010 8:23 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Company Sam Riddle admitted taking bribes from also had contracts with Genesee County Drain Commissioner Jeff Wright
Published: Sunday, June 20, 2010, 2:00 AM Updated: Sunday, June 20, 2010, 10:07 AM
Ron Fonger | Flint Journal
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GENESEE COUNTY — The sludge-hauling company and a Flint native at the heart of a public corruption scandal in Detroit were also both working for county Drain Commissioner Jeff Wright as the wrongdoing unfolded.
Documents obtained by The Flint Journal through the Freedom of Information Act show that Sam Riddle and the waste company Synagro Technologies were working with Wright for the bulk of 2007 — at the same time federal prosecutors have said they were funneling bribes to Detroit City Hall.
Synagro’s presence in Detroit and here is the latest parallel in the saga involving the now-imprisoned Riddle and Wright, who served as an FBI informant in the case against him.
Riddle, a Flint native, was at the heart of the sweeping public corruption case in Detroit, where several officials have been convicted of bribery and extortion.
The sludge-hauling company Synagro was one of the key businesses connected by federal prosecutors to bribes Riddle collected for former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers, who is appealing her sentence of 37 months in prison, according to court records.
Documents obtained by The Journal show that two months after Riddle took cash from a Synagro representative outside Detroit Metro Airport in 2007 for Conyers’ support of a waste disposal contract there, Synagro penned a new contract here with Wright for disposal of sludge from the Anthony Ragnone Treatment Plant in Montrose Township.
Earlier contracts in 2000, 2003 and 2005 between Genesee County and Synagro were signed by James Rosendall, former vice president of development for Synagro who now is serving 11 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty in January 2009 to conspiracy to commit bribery in connection with the Riddle case.
Both Wright and a spokeswoman for Synagro said Riddle never had contact with the company on behalf of Genesee County, and the federal prosecution of Riddle made no allegations about wrongdoing tied to his work here.
“We were unaware of any relationship between (Riddle) and Synagro,” Wright said in a written statement. “Contracts between the Water and Waste Services Division and the various land application companies are handled through a competitive bid process.”
Riddle was hired as a consultant to the drain commissioner for $2,000 per month for 22 months, starting in March 2007 and ending in December 2008.
Wright has said Riddle was hired “to facilitate direct meetings with Detroit officials, recommend strategies and assist with negotiations” on a future water contract and other water issues.
County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jamie Curtis said he would like to discuss the situation further with Wright, but that the lack of an indictment related to Riddle’s work here makes him believe the Wright-Riddle-Synagro connection amounts to a fluke.
“It looks coincidental to me,” Curtis said. “If there was (something illegal) going on, they (the FBI) would have popped him.”
In response to a previous FOIA request from The Journal, the Drain Commissioner’s Office has said it has no records of any kind — no reports, e-mails or any other documents — directly showing the results of Riddle’s 22 months of work here.
Officials in the office have credited Riddle with opening doors and securing key meetings inside Detroit city government.
The drain commissioner emerged as a player in the federal investigation of Riddle in May, when court filings claimed he acted as a confidential FBI source, making a secretly recorded phone call to Riddle — which Wright later confirmed.
Riddle has since pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and extortion and to filing false tax returns.
Wright declined to comment further on how he became involved in the case or how he helped investigators.
“(I do) not know how and to what extent law enforcement is (still) using the information I assisted in acquiring,” Wright’s statement said. “Therefore it would be inappropriate for me to say anything more than I have already stated.”
Wright said he continued to keep Riddle on the payroll for some 17 months after having been contacted by law enforcement about its investigation because the consultant was “performing his contract satisfactorily.”
“Mere speculation that he may have been involved in something totally unrelated to this office was not a valid basis for termination of his contract,” the drain commissioner said.
U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade, in Flint on Thursday to announce federal charges against 27 Flint residents for drug trafficking and gun violations, would not comment on how the FBI came to ask for Wright’s help in its investigation of Riddle.
“It’s the policy of the Department of Justice to neither confirm nor deny details of an investigation,” McQuade said.
It was McQuade who announced the guilty plea of Riddle on May 20 in Detroit, saying in a news release: “People who engage in public corruption will be held accountable. It is reprehensible when people cheat the taxpayers of cities that are already struggling financially.”
Wright has defended the hiring of Riddle, saying he previously worked for a congressman, governors and at least two Flint mayors.
The chain of events
• March 30, 1998: Former Genesee County Drain Commissioner Ken Hardin signs a contract with National Resource Recovery, which later becomes Synagro, for transport and disposal of sludge from the county’s Ragnone Treatment Plant.
• Feb. 1, 2000: Hardin extends the contract to Jan. 31, 2003, before losing his position to Drain Commissioner Jeff Wright in the Democratic primary election later that year.
• March 8, 2002: Wright’s office signs a contract with Synagro for the mobile dewatering of liquid biosolids and the disposal of dewatered biosolid cake from the Linden Waterwater Treatment Plant.
• Feb. 1, 2005: John O’Brien, Wright’s director of the Division of Water and Waste Services, signs another two-year extension with Synagro for transporting, disposal and land application of sludge from the Ragnone plant. The contract extends the bond between the county and the company for two years, not including provisions for extensions.
• Dec. 22, 2005: O’Brien signs an amendment to the county’s contract with Synagro.
• Jan. 3, 2006: Sam Riddle signs a six-month personal services contract with the city of Detroit to serve as a legislative assistant to City Council member Monica Conyers.
• March 2006: The U.S. Department of Justice alleges Riddle began to conspire with Conyers to commit extortion by attempting to obtain consulting contracts from people who dealt with or sought to deal with the Detroit City Council.
• July 1, 2006: Riddle starts work on a one-year contract to be Conyers’ legislative assistant.
• March 23, 2007: The county Drain Commissioner’s Office and Riddle sign a consulting agreement that pays Riddle $2,000 per month.
• May 24, 2007: Riddle signs a second one-year personal services contract to continue work in Detroit for July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008.
• June 22, 2007: Wright works with the FBI to record a phone call to Riddle asking about a man named Glen Blanton, who was promoting himself as a consultant.
• Summer 2007: U.S. attorneys allege a courier handed a package to Riddle in front of the City-County Building in Detroit at the direction of Rayford Jackson, a representative of Synagro, for delivery to Conyers.
• Oct. 17, 2007: U.S. attorneys alleged Jackson handed Riddle cash for delivery to Conyers outside the Northwest terminal of Detroit Metro Airport.
• December 2007: U.S. attorneys alleged Riddle ended his conspiring with Conyers to commit extortion by attempting to obtain consulting contracts from people who dealt with or sought to deal with the Detroit City Council.
• Aug. 22, 2008: O’Brien wrote to Riddle, giving him a 90-day termination notice, saying his consulting contract is ending because of “cost-cutting measures.”
• Dec. 18, 2008: Wright signs a new contract with Synagro to dispose of sludge from the Anthony Ragnone Treatment Plant.
• Nov. 6, 2009: O’Brien signs a contract for Synagro for confined space cleaning and removal of sludge from a secondary digester at the Linden wastewater treatment plant.
Sources: Genesee County Drain Commissioner’s Office documents, U.S. District Court documents.
jwilly48519 June 20, 2010 at 4:21AM
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Let's see...this was during a period of time when Synagro regarded paying "consultant's fees" that found their way to job awarders as a normal cost of business to get contracts, right? There also was talk that they and their competitors had coordinated their "competitive" bids on different jobs, in effect dividing up territories...did that come out in the trial?
Sure is getting smoky around here. You know what they say about smoke and fire.
I wonder how well Wayne County Prosecutor Worthy gets along with Genesee Country Prosecutor Leyton? Seems like there might be a lot of things they could delegate their assistants to review together, to see if there was money moving in either direction via Mr. Riddle in order to make deals happen.
One might think that Mr. Rosendall, now in prison, might like to avoid further prosecution. Thus he might be favorably disposed toward talking to prosecutors, in return for conditional immunity, whatever he might know about *other* deals Synagro had done, and where the records of the money trail might be found.
This however raises another question: Mr. Leyton is running for a statewide office. Mr. Wright is said to be substantially connected to one of the local political parties...the same one that's backing Mr. Leyton. Candidates try hard to maintain their distance from potential scandals in the run-up to elections. Has Mr. Leyton perchance recused himself from participation in the review of whether Mr. Wright had an external financial benefit from the Synagro contract? If so, who in the Prosecutor's Office would be handling that matter in his place?
And lastly: it'd be interesting to know whether the Genesee Country Prosecutor's Office is reviewing the curious situation that the Drain Commissioner's office somehow engaged a consultant for 22 months, yet had zero communications with him...no letters, no emails, no meeting minutes. Almost as if there was an effort to not leave any records. More smoke.
jwilly48519 June 20, 2010 at 5:10AM
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Maybe lots of people are "confidential FBI sources" by happenstance and I just haven't heard about it. I'm under the impression, though, that usually when the FBI wants to get a target to talk about doing misdeeds, they twist the arm of someone that the target regularly talks about misdeeds with.
Was there an immunity deal with Mr. Wright, one of the conditions of which was his assistance in the Detroit matter? If so, it'd be most interesting to know the context of that immunity, and its Genesee Country impact. |
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Thu Jun 24, 2010 8:34 am |
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