Trash mogul Chuck Rizzo: I'm not as bad as the politicians I bribed

With three days until his sentencing, convicted trash mogul Chuck Rizzo is lashing out at the feds, saying prosecutors are out of line for painting him as the villain in a sprawling corruption scandal — claiming he's worse than the politicians he bribed.

Federal prosecutors argued this week that Rizzo deserves six years in prison because, they claim, he was the most culpable player in the Macomb County public corruption investigation — not the crooked politicians. It’s typically the other way around, they noted.

"Sometimes, however, the public officials are lesser villains in the story," prosecutors wrote. “Instead, the bribe payers are the ones to take the lead role in spreading the poison of corruption across multiple towns, cities and elected officials.”

The government’s words blindsided Rizzo, who cooperated in the case, wore a wire for months for the FBI and helped ensnare multiple public officials in a case that has, so far, netted 20 defendants, of which 15 have pleaded guilty.

But unlike Rizzo, the bribe takers are facing sentences of less than five years — a point of contention for Rizzo as he cooperated extensively, and they didn’t.

“This new position is surprising,” Rizzo’s lawyer, David Debold, wrote in a court filing, referring to the government’s portrayal of Rizzo as the central figure in the probe. “The government's suggestion is surrounded by unjustifiably aggressive language that depicts Rizzo as a one-man crime wave who deliberately embarked on a plan to corrupt numerous politicians to enhance his business.”

This isn’t true, Debold argues. And the government knows it, he said, citing conversations with FBI agents and prosecutors who, he said, admitted Rizzo “was not the cause of corruption in Macomb County; rather he got caught up in something that” politicians started.

Debold also claims that the FBI repeatedly complimented and praised Rizzo during his undercover work. And he maintains that the public officials instigated the bribery, not Rizzo.

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“The government’s present description of Rizzo is difficult to understand,” Debold writes. “The government knows, for a fact that these officials approached Rizzo with their request for help. Had they never made contact with Rizzo, the course of events would be drastically different. All of this is undeniable.”



On Monday, Rizzo will be sentenced for his role in a widespread corruption scheme that involved him stealing $900,000 from his trash company and investors, including the Boy Scouts of America, to pay off public officials in four Macomb County communities. He also used the money to enrich himself and his family, said prosecutors, who alleged Rizzo used his ill-gotten gains to help build his $2.5-million mansion in Bloomfield Township.

Rizzo cut a deal in the case last fall, pleading guilty to bribery and wire fraud, admitting he paid $50,000 in bribes to then-Clinton Township Trustee Dean Reynolds for help in extending a lucrative garbage contract. He also provided Reynolds with a free lawyer for a legal problem he was having in exchange for his help. Reynolds is awaiting trial.

Rizzo also admitted bribing ex-Macomb Township Trustee Clifford Freitas, who also worked for Rizzo's garbage company while he worked for the township. Rizzo admitted that he promised Freitas a $35,000 raise if he would help put residents' trash bills on the water bill, which saved Rizzo money. Freitas cut a deal in the case.

As for the wire fraud count, Rizzo admitted that he embezzled thousands of dollars from his garbage company, which was largely owned by a private equity firm in New York and numerous investors, including the Boy Scouts of America and various pension funds.

“He admits he broke the law. There are no excuses — nor does he seek to make any — for what he did,” Debold writes. “He is not a victim and does not deny that his crimes imposed harms on the real victims.”

Rizzo’s attorneys argue that Rizzo, who once had garbage hauling contracts in more than 50 communities, helped save at least 30 of them nearly $28 million for picking his firm over competitors. Moreover, they said that there were at least 300 elected officials who picked Rizzo as their trash hauler, though he only was charged with bribing four.

Prosecutors are seeking a six-year sentence, though he could get 10. Rizzo is currently jailed on a bond violation for intimidating a witness in the case. He also has agreed to forfeit $4 million as part of his punishment.

U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland will have the final say on Rizzo's punishment at 2:30 p.m. Monday, when he hands down his sentence.

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