(No caption)
Councilman Gabe Leland (left) and Sheriff Benny Napoleon
Federal wiretap documents contain a list of “target subjects” in a public corruption probe including Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon, Wayne County Circuit Judge Vonda Evans, two former state representatives and Detroit City Councilman Gabe Leland, the Detroit News reports.
The subjects drew scrutiny from FBI agents and other investigators during a public corruption investigation that started in Macomb County and spread to Wayne County and Detroit, according to federal court records obtained by The Detroit News.
Robert Snell, George Hunter and Christine Ferretti report:
FBI agents were investigating conspiracy to distribute marijuana, bribery, extortion and other crimes in connection with Detroit towing mogul Gasper Fiore or others, according to court records obtained by The News. The records included an application to continue wiretapping Fiore’s cell phone.
Of the public officials named in the filing, only former Detroit deputy police chief Celia Washington has been charged with a crime in connection with the investigation. Napoleon and others reached Tuesday by The News said they were unaware they had been named in the filing.
The names were included in a federal court filing that reflects the broader scope of a years-long investigation that has led to charges against 18 people so far. The filing, which was temporarily unsealed in federal court, gives a rare snapshot of an early stage of a high-profile investigation involving Fiore, a multimillionaire businessman who built a towing empire in Metro Detroit by securing lucrative contracts with municipalities and the federal government.
Fiore struck a plea deal last week with federal prosecutors, admitting he bribed former Clinton Township Trustee Dean Reynolds.
The federal documents also mention former Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Anthony Marrocco in a criminal investigation, but to date, he has not been charged.
The federal court documents were mistakenly unsealed and were subsequently resealed.
“Certain sensitive investigative documents were inadvertently filed on the public docket by a non-governmental attorney,” acting U.S. Attorney Daniel Lemisch told The News in a statement Tuesday. “There’s a reason why such documents are filed under seal. They may contain allegations against individuals, including public officials, that never rise to the level of criminality. It’s unfair to impugn the character of anyone, especially a public official, with an investigative document that the public official never gets to contest in open court. That’s the reason why these documents should be, and now are, back under seal.”
The documents also name a number of other notables including Alberta Tinsley-Talabi, a former Detroit City councilwoman and Romel Casab, former owner of the Packard Plant, who was convicted last year in a separate medical marijuana investigation.
In one document, FBI agent Robert Beeckman described the ongoing probe, according to the News:
“Evidence has been gathered showing that crimes involving corruption have been committed by some of the target subjects, including Tinsley-Talabi, Napoleon and Casab. However, those investigations have been pending for months or years and the evidence so far has not been sufficient to bring federal charges.”
Napoleon tells The News there hasn't been impropriety during his law-enforcement career, including stints as Detroit police chief and county sheriff.
Fiore was a county vendor and the two occasionally would talk about questions or issues related to the towing contract, Napoleon said in a statement Tuesday, the paper says reports.
“As sheriff, I am required to answer those questions and attempt to resolve those issues when they are brought to my attention,” Napoleon said. “I have never attempted to influence the awarding or implementation of a towing contract. Any suggestion to the contrary is so ridiculous as to deserve no further comment.”
Leland, who had previously dated the daughter of towing king Fiore, was unaware that his name was included in the list until a reporter contacted.
"This is the first that Councilman Leland has heard about this and, as I understand it, he has not been contacted by anyone," says a spokesman.
♦ The "target subjects" list is here.
