Kat Stafford, Ann Zaniewski, and Tresa Baldas

Detroit Free Press

The principal of a Detroit Public School that's slated to receive more than $500,000 worth of donations from TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is among those charged with taking nearly $1 million in kickbacks from a school supply contractor in an unrelated criminal case.

Ronald Alexander, principal at Charles L. Spain Elementary Middle School, is charged with bribery for allegedly pocketing $23,000 money from Norman Shy, owner of Allstate Sales, in exchange for using him as a school supply vendor, according to federal court records. Allstate Sales sells school supplies and items including auditorium chairs and raised-line paper.

The Free Press was unable to reach Alexander for comment.

Shy is charged with paying $908,500 in kickbacks to at least 12 DPS principals who used him as a school supply vendor in exchange for money. Federal prosecutors allege Shy ran the kickback scheme with the help of Clara Flowers, an assistant superintendent of DPS’s Office of Specialized Student services.

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During a taping a segment for her show that aired in February, DeGeneres announced the school would receive:

A $100 gift card from Lowe's for each teacher and staff member at the school.

$50,000 in technology from Lowe's.

$200,000 worth of materials and labor to go toward a new roof.

A $250,000 donation to the school from Lowe's.

Justin Bieber also announced that $1 from every ticket sold to his April 25 concert at the Palace of Auburn Hills will go to the school and DeGeneres started a GoFundMe page for the school with a $5-million goal. So far, $76,119 has been raised on the GoFundMe site.

Parent Christopher Robinson, 50, said he was shocked when he read a news story online today about the criminal case against Alexander. He said he last saw him last week at a black history event at the school.

“I was speechless. I’m still trying to take it in,” said Robinson, whose daughter, Taylor, is in fifth grade at Spain. “That would seem out of character for principal Alexander. He’s always seemed like an upstanding man.”

According to federal court documents, Alexander ordered school supplies from Shy and submitted fraudulent invoices to DPS for payment to Shy for goods that were not delivered in exchange for kickbacks. Investigators allege the scheme ran from May 2009 to June 2014.

Feds charge 12 Detroit principals in $1M kickback scheme

Shy maintained a ledger to keep track of how much money he owed Alexander in kickback payments in exchange for fraudulently submitted invoices. According to the documents, Alexander regularly communicated and met with Shy to discuss how much money he owed him. Alexander also allegedly received checks and prepaid gift cards from Shy.

And at Shy's direction, Alexander provided him with written requests on at least three occasions for gift cards on Spain Elementary letterheads, which falsely stated that the gift cards were for school purposes — in an attempt to make the illicit payments appear legitimate, according to the documents.

Ellen: Detroit school gift is 'most generous giveaway'

Sometime prior to May 2009, Shy allegedly explained to Alexander exactly how they could fraudulently "encumber" DPS funds by certifying and submitting invoices to DPS.

In January, city inspectors found 16 code and ordinance violations, including mold growing under busted wood flooring in Spain's gym. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan ordered city inspections of every DPS school earlier this year after teachers across the district staged several sick-outs to protest conditions inside the buildings.

DPS spokeswoman Michelle Zdrodowski said at the time that the "Ellen DeGeneres Show" reached out to DPS in January after hearing about all the repair and maintenance issues at Spain.

Zdrodowski said the donations from the show, Lowe's and Bieber, as well as money raised from the GoFundMe page, will be directed to a new Capital Improvement Fund that the district has set up with the Detroit Public Schools Foundation.

Contact Katrease Stafford: 313-223-4759 or kstafford@freepress.com.