Feds: Dino Bucci made Macomb workers plow snow at his home first, then the county

Dino Bucci, a Macomb Township trustee and right-hand man of ex-Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Anthony Marrocco, was indicted on 18 criminal counts Wednesday on charges of running pay-to-play schemes for years in Macomb County and lining his pockets along the way, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Bucci did this, prosecutors say, by letting contractors know that if they wanted to do business in Macomb County they had to do the following: give him money — and buy tickets to political fund-raisers for him and his political allies.

Bucci is also accused of forcing public employees to do personal work for him, including plowing snow at his and his mother's homes in the winter — making sure his driveway was plowed before county facilities were taken care of — and driving his child to school.

If employees refused to do these personal jobs for him, prosecutors allege, Bucci threatened to dock their pay, take away overtime or send them to undesirable work locations.

Bucci also used scare tactics with contractors, prosecutors claim, alleging Bucci, in some instances, threatened to withhold permits on development work and home construction in order to force some contractors to pay him tens of thousands of dollars in cash and kickbacks.

Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller, who wrote a damning letter to Bucci in February warning him about his alleged bad behavior, was not surprised by the indictment.

"On my first workday after taking office as Public Works Commissioner, I arrived at the building at 8 a.m. At 8:15 a.m., I had Mr. Bucci escorted from the building," Miller said in a statement Wednesday, stressing the goals of her office are "clean water and clean government."

"Therefore, we appreciate the hard work done by the FBI, U.S. Attorney’s Office and other agencies to stamp out corruption in Macomb County," Miller added.

Bucci, 58, is defendant No. 18 in a federal probe that surfaced a year ago with the FBI scrutinizing deals that went down in Michigan's fastest growing county and revealed what prosecutors called "pervasive corruption." The probe triggered the demise of garbage giant Rizzo Environmental Services — whose former CEO Chuck Rizzo Jr. pleaded guilty to bribery last week — and landed towing titan Gasper Fiore in court on multiple corruption charges.

The millionaire businessmen, along with Bucci and several others, were part of a pay-to-play culture that thrived for years, prosecutors allege, with well-connected public officials shaking down contractors for money — and getting it.

Bucci is charged with bribery, extortion, fraud, theft and money laundering in connection with public contracts in Macomb Township and the Macomb County Department of Public Works, where he worked until his longtime boss, Marrocco, was ousted by voters last fall and Miller took over as public works commissioner.

Bucci's lawyer, Stephen Rabaut, was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.

Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel said the charges against Bucci are long overdue.

"Everybody knew that this guy was a bully. He was doing this to everyone," Hackel said, referring to claims that Bucci shook down contractors for money and demanded they attend political fund-raisers for him and his allies.

With Bucci indicted, Hackel said, he believes that criminal charges against Marrocco are inevitable:

"There's no doubt in my mind that something is looming," Hackel said.

Meanwhile, the Bucci indictment reads much like a letter that Miller wrote to Bucci in February, in which she informed him that he was under investigation for "corruption, extortion, bullying and unethical behavior."

Here are some of the allegations raised in the letter:

That during his employment with Public Works, Bucci told contractors who were owed money from the county that they would not get paid until they spoke to Marrocco directly and contributed to his fund-raisers.

That Bucci directed Public Works employees to perform numerous tasks while on county time and while using county equipment, including: removing snow from Bucci's home and the homes of his mother, other relatives, friends and an unnamed Macomb Township official; performing landscaping projects at his home, and moving furniture from his basement. The indictment listed the snow-removal allegation as well.

That Bucci authorized the use of county cell phones for his family members.

According to federal prosecutors, Bucci participated in a nine-year long bribery conspiracy with other public officials and with various contractors. As part of the conspiracy, Bucci directed contractors to give him tens of thousands of dollars in cash, checks, and gift cards in exchange for work and contracts with Macomb Township and Macomb County.

Bucci also directed the contractors to give him hundreds of thousands of dollars in checks and cash as part of political fund-raising events — including golf outings and dinners — in exchange for county and township contracts.

While committing these crimes, prosecutors allege, Bucci was a Macomb Township trustee and operations manager for the county public works department.

Bucci is also charged with embezzlement, including taking a $66,000 cash kickback on a contract to repave the Macomb Township Hall parking lot.

Bucci also is charged with stealing from Macomb County by using county employees and equipment to do personal work for himself. For example, for years, prosecutors allege, Bucci forced county employees to plow the snow at his residence and at his mother’s residence every time it snowed and made sure that his home was plowed before county facilities were taken care of.

And when there was heavy snowfall, prosecutors allege, Bucci forced county employees to plow the snow for other relatives and friends. County employees also did lawn and other maintenance work at Bucci’s home, and one employee was forced to drive Bucci’s child to a school about 25 minutes away, prosecutors allege.

Bucci threatened to dock the pay of county employees, take away overtime opportunities, and send them to undesirable work locations if they refused to do this personal work for him, prosecutors allege.

Bucci is charged with crimes that involve Rizzo Jr., Macomb Township Trustee Clifford Freitas, paving contractor Christopher Sorrentino.

Sorrentino has pleaded guilty to funneling $66,000 in kickbacks to an unnamed Macomb Township politician (the Free Press has learned this is Bucci) and engineering contractor Paulin Modi, who also pleaded guilty to paying bribes to win contracts.

If convicted, Bucci faces up to 20 years in prison on the fraud, extortion and money laundering charges, and 10 years in prison on the bribery and embezzlement charges.

“The crimes as alleged in today’s indictment highlight a pervasive pattern of past corrupt and illegal practices in Macomb County,” said Detroit's FBI chief David Gelios, pledging the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service "will continue in the foreseeable future to dedicate investigative resources in Macomb County and elsewhere until the public’s trust in elected officials is bolstered.”

“The 18-count indictment handed down today should reassure the public that the investigative team will not leave any rock unturned in the Macomb County corruption investigation,” added Special Agent in Charge Manny Muriel, IRS-Criminal Investigation.

“Bringing to justice those involved in this near-decade-long scheme should send a loud and clear message to others that abusing your position as a public official and stealing from the taxpayers will not be tolerated.”

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @Tbaldas.