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Breaking News

Grundy Pleads Guilty to Honest Services Wire Fraud

Breaking News - Original 06-04-2013 Hits:336 Chronicle Staff - avatar Chronicle Staff

Grundy Pleads Guilty to Honest Services Wire Fraud

  Former Wayne County Assistant County Executive Michael Demetrus Grundy, of Detroit, Michigan, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud in connection with his position as Executive Director of HealthChoice of Michigan, United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced today.  Joining McQuade in the announcement were Special Agent in Charge Robert D. Foley, III, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Special Agent in Charge Erick Martinez, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.    According to court records, on October 19, 2011, Grundy caused the accountant of HealthChoice to wire transfer $400,000.00 to a company called Medtrix, falsely representing that the payment was pursuant to a contract between HealthChoice and Medtrix executed on March 1, 2011 for Medtrix to develop and implement an electronic medical records (“EMR”) system for HealthChoice medical providers. However, the contract was actually not executed until October of 2011, and it was not approved by the HealthChoice Board of Trustees. Further, Medtrix never created or obtained any EMR programming, and an EMR system that was developed by another company was already being offered to HealthChoice networks and medical providers.    Co-conspirator Keith Griffin pleaded guilty on May 10, 2012 to the wire fraud scheme. He admitted that Grundy used his position as Executive Director of HealthChoice to authorize fraudulent payments to Medtrix and Advertise Me (also owned by Griffin), and that Griffin kicked back substantial portions of those payments to Grundy. In his plea agreement, Grundy admits that he was receiving kickbacks of funds that were supposed to be used for the benefit of the participants of HealthChoice insurance programs.    Grundy faces a maximum of twenty years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and forfeiture of the unlawful payments he received.  United States Attorney McQuade said, "The citizens of Wayne County deserve honest services from their public officials. It is particularly offensive...

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Former Highland Park Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Bribery and Extortion …

Breaking News - Original 05-23-2013 Hits:353 Cathy Nedd - avatar Cathy Nedd

Former Highland Park Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Bribery and Extortion Conspiracy

    A former Highland Park Police officer pleaded guilty today to conspiring with three other police officers to protect shipments of cocaine and to take bribes in return for not appearing in court as a witness, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced today.    McQuade was joined in the announcement by FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert D. Foley, III.    During a hearing before U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn, Anthony Bynum, 29, of Highland Park, Michigan, admitted that he and another Highland Park police officer accepted a $10,000 bribe from a man they had arrested on gun charges in return for agreeing not to appear as witnesses at the man’s November 7, 2012 criminal trial.    Bynum also admitted that in late 2012 and early 2013, he agreed with three other Highland Park police officers to take money in exchange for protecting shipments of cocaine. Bynum admitted that on November 15, 2012, he and another Highland Park police officer protected and delivered a shipment of what they believed were two kilograms of cocaine in exchange for $1,500 in cash. Bynum further admitted that on January 23, 2013, he protected two cars containing what he believed to be a total of four kilograms of cocaine. Bynum brought his police badge and gun to protect the shipments. Two other Highland Park police officers drove the cars containing what they believed to be cocaine. Later, Bynum accepted $1,500 in cash from an FBI informant for his work in delivering and protecting the drug shipment.   United States Attorney McQuade said, "Police officers who take bribes have no place in law enforcement. They will be prosecuted for violating their duties to serve the public.”   FBI Special Agent in Charge Foley stated, "Police officers who swear an oath to serve and protect must be held to the highest standards of ethics and integrity. The...

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UPDATE: Election commission decides to keep Duggan on the ballot

Breaking News - Original 05-23-2013 Hits:1715 AJ Williams, Chronicle Web Editor - avatar AJ Williams, Chronicle Web Editor

UPDATE: Election commission decides to keep Duggan on the ballot

Today the election commission decided to keep mayoral candidate, Mike Duggan on the ballot despite Tom Barrow's claim Duggan was ineligible to run for mayor. The commission concluded a candidate must be a qualified resident and registered voter in the city of Detroit one year prior to the filing deadline.  

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Mayor Bing Announces AAA Michigan Support for Fire Equipment

Breaking News - Original 05-16-2013 Hits:556 Cathy Nedd - avatar Cathy Nedd

Mayor Bing Announces AAA Michigan Support for Fire Equipment

    Detroit Mayor Dave Bing announced today that AAA Michigan will donate $23,500 to the Detroit Public Safety Foundation to pay for the inspection of 20 aerial ladders and 4,600 feet of ground ladders used by the Detroit Fire Department (DFD).  The gift is the latest in a recent series of recent corporate donations in support of the City of Detroit’s public safety operations.   “Once again, one of Detroit’s corporate citizens has come forward and generously shown its support for our public safety operations, our first responders and our citizens,” Mayor Bing said.  “The proper inspection of our fire department’s aerial ladders and ground ladders was a critical need that AAA Michigan has graciously met.  I appreciate the leadership and continued concern for public safety that AAA has demonstrated with this gift.” "Our history of supporting the community dates back nearly a century," said AAA Michigan President Steve Wagner.  "We are very pleased to present the Detroit Fire Department with this grant, which we know will help save lives."              The ladder inspections are required to keep DFD equipment in compliance with standards of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), an independent organization that establishes fire safety codes and regulations for various industries and the firefighting profession.  Detroit Fire Commissioner Donald Austin ordered last February that until a full inspection of the entire ladder fleet is completed, DFD will not engage in manned aerial ladder operations -- unless there is an immediate threat to life.  In cases where a manned ladder must be used, every effort will be made to properly support the ladder.  DFD continues to use unmanned aerial ladders as “water towers” to fight large fires. “We are grateful for AAA’s generous donation,” Commissioner Austin said.  “Aerial ladders can place firefighters 100 feet above ground, often with large amounts of water flowing under high pressure.  Because...

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EFM Report: Detroit Should Get Out of Power Supply Business

Breaking News - Original 05-13-2013 Hits:321 Cathy Nedd - avatar Cathy Nedd

EFM Report: Detroit Should Get Out of Power Supply Business

  The current state of Detroit’s electricity grid is not only unreliable but a burden to the city and its residents and the maintenance of the public lighting system has cause the city to continue to operate at a loss, according to a new report emergency financial manager Kevyn Orr will release Monday to the public.   The report is coming 45 days after Gov. Rick Snyder named Orr, a Washington DC bankruptcy attorney emergency manager setting in motion the emergency wheels to get the city on the road to financial stability. According to the report the city estimates a $250 million to $500 million in capital improvements that would be needed to modernize Detroit’s public lighting system, funds that the city does not have and cannot generate at this time. “The Emergency Manager believes that it is in the best interest of the citizens of Detroit for the city to exit the power supply business. As of 2010, when the city ceased generating a portion of the electricity it sold, the grid has solely operated as a resale mechanism for its 200-­‐plus customers. The current state of the City's electricity grid has been characterized as unreliable, as well as a liability to the city and its citizens,” the report stated. “. Accordingly, the Emergency Manager seeks both to limit the city's exposure to the liabilities associated with an aging grid and provide a solution to ensure reliable power to the City of Detroit. For this reason, the city's electricity customers will be transitioned to a third party, and the grid will be closed down pursuant to a phased plan.” The Detroit Public Lighting (DPL) department serves over 200 commercial electric customers and about 88,00 streetlights.  The report cites the recently created Public Lighting Authority (PLA) as part of a comprehensive plan to overhaul the city’s...

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Detroit Emergency Manager Defends Use of Consultants in Financial Recovery

Breaking News - Original 05-13-2013 Hits:399 Cathy Nedd - avatar Cathy Nedd

Detroit Emergency Manager Defends Use of Consultants in Financial Recovery

  The criticism that the use of consultants getting paid over a million dollars per month to help craft a financial recovery map for Detroit is baseless according to emergency financial manager Kevyn Orr. Since December of last year, Detroit agreed to pay $14 million to nine different companies to provide financial and legal services in the city’s turnaround. In an exclusive interview with the Michigan Chronicle’s Bankole Thompson ahead of his Monday announcement of a financial operating plan, Orr vigorously defended the city's consultants saying it is disingenuous for some to be questioning use of consultants some of whom were here before his arrival. “I think part of it is Detroit’s been sort of removed from the world. First of all the amount of money that’s paid is actually small relative to other major cities. We shouldn’t be so provincial about the dollars,” Orr said. “We’ve gotten ourselves into a situation where the amount of debt given ordinary course- the way the city has been running- somebody’s got to come in here with a fresh perspective and say we can’t continue running in place, doing what we are doing that’s taken us to the edge of ruin.” Orr said if the city were to shut down today and no police or fire services in operation as well as the water department, the city could not pay of its debt in half a generation. He said the magnitude of work that has to b done in a city that has over 15 billion dollars of debt against a revenue stream of a billion dollars or less requires new fresh eyes. “Frankly in my opinion to have the consultants most of whom were here before I got here and to hear any criticism about consultants that have been here longer than a year helping the city is...

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ISAF chief Gen. John Allen under investigation amid Petraeus probe

Category: Breaking News Published on Tuesday, 13 November 2012 13:04 Written by CNN

ISAF chief Gen. John Allen is under investigation amid Petraeus investigation.

 

Starts new series -- Combines -- POL-Allen-Investigation and US-petraeus-cia-resignation
 
Highlights
-Official: There is a "distinct possibility" that this is connected to the Petraeus scandal
-Defense official: Allen has disputed that he did anything wrong
-Investigators are looking into 20,000 to 30,000 pages of documents
-FBI agents are at the home of Paula Broadwell, says a spokeswoman
 
(CNN) -- The spiraling scandal that took down former CIA Director David Petraeus has apparently ensnared another powerful general, as authorities announced that Gen. John Allen is under investigation for allegedly sending inappropriate messages to Jill Kelley, a woman who has been linked to the Petraeus scandal.
 
Allen, who is the commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force, has denied any wrongdoing, a senior defense official said.
 
Details of the latest angle of the scandal that has shaken the highest level of the military were sketchy early Tuesday.
 
Some details about Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, came from an overnight statement by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, while he was on his way to Australia.
 
"On Sunday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation referred to the Department of Defense a matter involving General John Allen, Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (or ISAF) in Afghanistan," part of the statement said. "Today, the secretary directed that the matter be referred to the Inspector General of the Department of Defense for investigation."
 
A defense official told CNN there is a "distinct possibility" that the investigation into Allen is connected to the investigation that led to the resignation of Petraeus.
 
Allen will still retain his position as the commander of ISAF as the investigation continues, the Pentagon said.
 
But Panetta asked that Allen's nomination to become NATO's supreme allied commander be put on hold, the statement said.
 
The confirmation hearing to see if Allen would get that lofty military post was scheduled for Thursday.
 
Also President Obama has nominated Gen. Joseph Dunford to succeed Allen in his position at ISAF, and Panetta has urged the Senate to move quickly on the nomination.
 
The investigation into Allen was in its early stages but authorities were looking into some 20,000 to 30,000 pages of documents, the defense official said.
 
It was not immediately clear Tuesday exactly how Allen may be linked to the Petraeus investigation.
 
Petraeus, 60, resigned Friday after acknowledging he had an affair with a woman later identified as his biographer, Paula Broadwell, 40, a fellow West Point graduate who spent months studying the general's leadership of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
 
The investigation into Petraeus came to light during an FBI investigation of "jealous" e-mails reportedly sent by Broadwell to a woman named Jill Kelley, a government source familiar with the investigation told CNN on Monday.
 
Now authorities say Allen was under investigation because of communications with Kelley.
 
Amid national talk about the Petraeus scandal, Kelley, 37, and her husband released a statement saying they have been friends with Petraeus and his family for more than five years and asked for privacy.
 
Petraeus Probe Could Affect Benghazi Inquiry
 
Days after Petraeus' resignation stunned Washington, investigators were still gathering information about the four-star Army general who once ran the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
 
FBI agents were at the Charlotte, North Carolina, home of Petraeus' paramour late Monday, said local FBI spokeswoman Shelley Lynch. She declined to say what the agents were doing at Broadwell's home.
 
Also a video has surfaced of a speech by Broadwell in which she suggested the Libya attack on September 11 was targeting a secret prison at the Benghazi consulate annex, raising unverified concerns about possible security leaks.
 
"I don't know if a lot of you have heard this, but the CIA annex had actually taken a couple of Libyan militia members prisoner and they think that the attack on the consulate was an effort to get these prisoners back," said Broadwell in a speech last month at the University of Denver.
 
A senior intelligence official told CNN on Monday, "These detention claims are categorically not true. Nobody was ever held at the annex before, during, or after the attacks."
 
Broadwell's source for that previously unpublished bit of information remains unclear, and there's no evidence so far that it came from Petraeus.
 
Administration officials have said the Benghazi assault was a terrorist attack.
 
Along with questions about Broadwell's access, the Petraeus' scandal also presents challenges to the congressional inquiry into the Benghazi attack.
 
Petraeus recently traveled to Libya to meet the CIA station chief to discuss the attack, CNN has confirmed. He was scheduled to testify before a congressional committee this week on the assault and the U.S. government response to it.
 
That now will not happen, but it is possible that he could be summoned by Congress to testify later.
 
Some Republicans have criticized the administration's response to the Benghazi attack and have speculated that Petraeus' departure was linked to the congressional inquiry.
 
Rep. Peter King, R-New York, said elements of the story "don't add up." He called Petraeus "an absolutely essential witness, maybe more than anybody else."
 
However, a senior U.S. official said Petraeus' departure wasn't connected to the Benghazi hearing.
 
"Director Petraeus' frank and forthright letter of resignation stands on its own," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic. "Any suggestion that his departure has anything to do with criticism about Benghazi is completely baseless."
 
The Affair and the e-mails
 
Broadwell and Petraeus first met in 2006 at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, where she was a student, Broadwell wrote in the preface of the biography she co-authored on Petraeus.
 
She told him about her interest in studying military leadership, and he offered his help.
 
"I later discovered that he was famous for this type of mentoring and networking, especially with aspiring soldier-scholars," Broadwell wrote.
 
She traveled to Afghanistan, where she interviewed Petraeus repeatedly.
 
The actual affair began about two months after Petraeus took over at the CIA in September 2011, according to one Petraeus friend.
 
It ended about four months ago, and the two last talked about a month ago, the friend said.
 
The decision to end the relationship was mutual, the friend said
 
But at some point Broadwell also exchanged e-mails with Kelley.
 
The FBI joined the investigation when Kelley complained that Broadwell was sending harassing e-mails to her in May, a U.S. official told CNN.
 
According to a source with knowledge of the e-mails, the messages accused Kelley of untoward behavior with some generals at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida where Kelley did volunteer work.
 
The e-mails detailed the "comings and goings of the generals and Ms. Kelley," said the source, who declined to speak on the record because of sensitivity of the investigation.
 
Among those believed to be referenced in the e-mails was Petreaus.
 
But now it seems that there are more, potentially damaging e-mails, that hold information about Allen, a four-star general who took over as the commander of the war effort in Afghanistan last year.
 
A job he took over from Petreaus.
 
The-CNN-Wire/Atlanta/+1-404-827-WIRE(9473)
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