Towing Titan Gasper Fiore Pleads Guilty to Bribery |
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Topics: Gasper Fiore
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U.S. Attorney’s Office
Eastern District of Michigan
20 December 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The owner of multiple towing companies in southeast Michigan, Gasper Fiore, 57, of Grosse Pointe Shores, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit bribery, in connection with a municipal towing contract in Clinton Township, Acting United States Attorney Daniel L. Lemisch announced today.
Lemisch was joined in the announcement by David P. Gelios, Special Agent In Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Manny Muriel, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service.
Fiore admitted at the plea hearing that he conspired to pay bribes to Clinton Township Trustee Dean Reynolds in order to obtain a municipal towing contract with the township. Fiore admitted to giving Reynolds cash bribes of $4,000 and $3,000 in March and May of 2016 in order to buy Reynolds’ vote to select Fiore’s company to receive the Clinton Township towing contract. Fiore paid the bribes to Reynolds through Charles B. Rizzo, who was cooperating with federal law enforcement at the time of the bribe payments. Rizzo is the former Chief Executive Officer of Rizzo Environmental Services, and Rizzo pleaded guilty to bribery and embezzlement charges on November 9, 2017.
The bribery conspiracy charge to which Fiore pled guilty carries a maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.
Acting United States Attorney Lemisch said, “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.”
"Today's guilty plea should reassure citizens that those who endeavor to entice public officials through bribery and kickback schemes can count on encountering the formidable investigative resources of the FBI and our partners, and will be held to account for their corrupt practices", said Special Agent in Charge David P. Gelios, Detroit Division of the FBI.
A sentencing date has been set for May 1, 2018.
This case is part of the government’s wide-ranging corruption investigation centered in Macomb County, Michigan. The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. Gardey, R. Michael Bullotta, and Adriana Dydell.