The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has conducted a wiretapping operation on city officials and businesses in Detroit, exposing corruption, extortion, and bribery among other schemes which cost taxpayers a fortune. Charges have been filed against 18 people, over a dozen of which have already been convicted.

In August of 2014, The FBI was granted a warrant to listen in on the phone calls and intercept messages of a Macomb Country engineering contractor Paul Modi. This would warrant would lead the FBI to several other wiretapping warrants for government officials and contractors, in an investigation that would go on for three years. These are some of the cases they have concluded so far.

Modi was caught giving cash bribes to public officials and facilitating other businesses in their efforts to bribe officials to secure government contracts. He made payments of thousands of dollars to Washington township officials and couriered thousand more for outside contractors wanting in on the action. He struck a plea deal and will now sing for the government in their pursuit to convict others in corruption cases.

Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Marrocco and his top aid Bucci worked together abusing their power in the city to enrich themselves. The team used their authority over issuing multi-million-dollar spending projects being undertaken by the city to squeeze contractors. Contractors seeking government contracts for lucrative infrastructure projects engaged them and those that were willing to grease the palms of city officials were rewarded.

Bucci was indicted in November after his involvement in the extortion scheme became clear to the FBI. Bucci was taking in hundreds of thousands of dollars from engineering contractors in exchange for awarding them lucrative government contracts. Bucci was also found to have public employees running his personal errands, such as clearing snow from his driveway and chauffeuring his children to school.

The contracts were very lucrative indeed, Motor City Electric was awarded a $750,000 contract to upgrade the electrical system in the cities sanitary sewers without the job ever being sent out for bids. Motor City Electric received 1.3 million in contracts from the city over a 24-month period. These contracts were ultimately signed off by Marrocco.

Former chief engineer for Macomb County James Pistilli was charged after he conspired to give thousands in a bribe to Washington Township public works superintendent Steven Hohensee. Hohensee was an undercover operative for the FBI. Pistilli’s felony charges carry up to a ten-year prison term. Pistilli is suspected to have been working on behalf of engineering firm Giffels Websters who currently has several contracts with the city of Detroit.

Rizzo Environmental Services owner Chuck Rizzo bribed Macomb County politicians to obtain his trash hauling contracts. Rizzo gave $50,000 to a Macomb county official to secure his $3.5 million annual trash hauling contract. He was caught after receiving $17,000 cash from an undercover FBI agent as a part of his corruption scheme.

These contracts made Rizzo an immense fortune, 4 million of which he will be forced to hand over to the FBI. In a plea deal he will be allowed to keep his mansion and several commercial properties, although he will have to serve six years in prison. As a part of the deal Rizzo will also have to help the FBI secure criminal convictions on others in the city suspected of corruption.

The FBI wiretaps would reveal even the towing companies employed by the city of Detroit had to bribe officials in order to get government contracts. Gasper Fiore made a fortune in the towing industry in south Michigan. Fiore admitted to bribing a Macomb County official but his ties run to lawmakers as well. The FBI affidavit states “Fiore is involved in bid rigging with legislator Brian Banks.” Fiore received about two million per year for providing roadside assistance services for Detroit.

Detroit is riddled with corrupt officials which have cost tax payers millions by awarding contracts unfairly to unscrupulous businesses. This recent round up of corrupt officials and business owners will create a better environment for honest businesses seeking to obtain government contracts. The length of time this corruption in Detroit has been taking place is unclear and the investigation may still develop new leads with corrupt business owners tripping over each other to rat on the next guy in exchange for a plea deal.