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Gasper Fiore, the owner of multiple towing companies in southeast Michigan, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring to commit bribery in connection with a municipal towing contract in Clinton Township, the U.S. attorney's office announces.
The plea is part of a broader FBI probe into public corruption in Macomb County.
Fiore, 57, of Grosse Pointe Shores, admitted in U.S. District Court in Detroit that he conspired to pay bribes to Clinton Township Trustee Dean Reynolds to obtain a municipal towing contract with the township.
Specifically, he admitted giving Reynolds cash bribes of $4,000 and $3,000 in March and May of 2016 in exchange for Reynolds’ vote for a township towing contract.
Fiore paid the bribes to Reynolds through Charles B. Rizzo, who was cooperating with federal law enforcement at the time. Rizzo, the former CEO of Rizzo Environmental Services, pleaded guilty to bribery and embezzlement charges on Nov. 9.
“Today’s guilty plea is a significant blow to corruption in southeast Michigan. Bribery subverts representative government, and this conviction demonstrates that such conduct, by either public officials or bribe payers, will not be tolerated," says acting U.S. Attorney Daniel Lemisch.
Prosecutors are recommending her serve 21 month in prison. Sentencing is May 1.
