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Chuck Rizzo (Screenshot from WYXZ)
Trash titan Chuck Rizzo, a central figure in an FBI public corruption probe, pleaded guilty Thursday to bribing Macomb County politicians and stealing money from his trash-hauling company while building Rizzo Environmental Services into a regional powerhouse, The Detroit News reports.
Rizzo, 47, of Bloomfield Township, also forfeits $4 million and help the government prosecute others in the probe. At sentencing, tentatively set for March 13, he faces up to 10 years in prison.
So far, the FBI probe into Macomb County corruption has resulted in charges against 17 people — and 11 guilty pleas.
Robert Snell reports:
A noticeably thinner Rizzo, dressed in a dark suit, licked his lips but said nothing outside federal court when asked if he had any regrets. His lawyers declined comment.
The plea deal is contingent on his father, Charles Rizzo, pleading guilty later this month. In exchange, prosecutors will drop attempts to have several commercial and residential properties owned by the duo forfeited to the government. The properties include Chuck Rizzo’s $2.5 million mansion.
Besides bribing politicians, Chuck Rizzo and his father and others were charged with with scheming to steal hundreds of thousand of dollars from Rizzo Environmental Services between between 2013 and 2016 when the majority owner was a New York-based private equity firm. The company has since been sold to GFL (Green For Life) Environmental.
