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Josette Buendia (Photo: Linkedin)
A former Detroit elementary school principal was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison and ordered to pay the school district $45,775 in restitution for her role in a wide-reaching bribery and kickback scheme.
The ex-principal was the last of 14 defendants to be sentenced in the case.
Josette Buendia, 51, of Garden City, Michigan, the former principal at Bennett Elementary School, was found guilty on all three charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and bribery charges after a five-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh.
Buendia was one of 12 principals to be charged in a kickback scheme that involved Norman Shy, 75, a vendor of school supplies. Additionally, a school administrator was charged, as was Shy.
Authorities alleged that Shy paid the 13 school officials about $908,518 in kickbacks and bribes. In exchange, his company received approximately $2.7 million from the school system for fraudulent orders for supplies that were never delivered, or only in part.
“These principals, including an Assistant Superintendent, used their positions as educators and leaders to enrich themselves at the expense of their students and the Detroit Public Schools system," David P. Gelios, head of the Detroit FBI, in a statement. "Today’s sentencing of Principal Josette Buendia, the last in this investigation, should provide a sense of closure for the parents, students and the honest and dedicated DPS employees and underscores this community’s commitment to integrity in the operation of our schools”.
