Detroit Councilman Gabe Leland targeted in FBI investigation of towing titan Gaspar Fiore

When Detroit area towing magnate Gasper Fiore wanted to know what was going on in City Hall, he may not have had to reach out any further than his daughter's boyfriend.

For at least two years, Detroit City Councilman Gabe Leland dated Fiore's daughter, Jennifer, a relationship that has landed the 35-year-old councilman in the middle of an ongoing public corruption investigation by the federal government.

During that time, according to FBI wiretap records, Leland appeared willing to keep the Fiore family updated with information that might help their towing businesses. And on at least four occasions, Leland voted in favor of city contracts and extensions that benefited the Fiores, as reported by Fox 2 News last summer.

Leland, who was re-elected to a second term on the council in November, denied any wrongdoing when contacted by the Free Press last week. He has not been charged with any crime.

"Anyone that questions my integrity as a result of any personal relationship is also mistaken," Leland said. "My personal relationships have never gotten in the way of my responsibilities as a councilman."

During his relationship with Jennifer Fiore, records and wiretap evidence shows, Leland did some things that raised red flags for the FBI, including:

He voted for at least four contract extensions or amendments worth $2 million that went to Fiore companies, as Fox 2 first reported last summer.

He allegedly passed along information to the Fiore family about a covert police corruption investigation involving multiple police officers who accepted bribes from body shops and towing companies.

He set up a meeting with Detroit Police Chief James Craig where he allegedly sought inside information about the towing investigation.

Leland on Friday characterized his relationship with Jennifer Fiore, who is an executive in her family's businesses, as " on again and off again" but said the pair are no longer together.

Gasper Fiore pleaded guilty to bribery last month in the ongoing corruption investigation, which has already ensnared more than a dozen area politicians, business owners and others.

Craig, Leland meeting

According to Craig, Leland hoodwinked him in setting up the 2016 meeting, pretending it was to discuss community initiatives when really, Craig said, Leland wanted an inside scoop on a towing investigation.

"Certainly when he set up the meeting it was not about towing. That I know for certain -- because if he would have said 'I want to talk about towing,' I would have said no," Craig said in a Free Press interview last week.

"He got nothing from me about the towing investigation," said Craig. "I contacted the FBI immediately following that meeting because of my concern of what he was trying to find out."

The FBI declined comment.

Craig described the meeting as one that turned strange, fast. He said when Leland started asking about the towing investigation, he started pressing him to explain why he was asking about towing. Then, he said, Leland got nervous.

Craig said before Leland arrived, he made sure to have a third person in his office.

"I never felt comfortable with him, and that's why I had someone in the office," Craig recalled. "When Leland left, my EPU officer said, 'Wow. He's extremely nervous.' "

Craig said that at the time of the meeting, he didn't know that Leland was dating Fiore's daughter. He said he didn't learn of the relationship until a few days later, when he called his legal counsel, Celia Washington, who had a friendly relationship with the Fiores.

Related:

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"I said, 'Why is Councilman Leland coming to me asking about towing?' And she said, 'Well, there's a dating relationship between Leland and the daughter,' " Craig recalled Washington saying. "I said, 'Wow.' That's when my antennas went up."

In a statement Friday to the Free Press, Leland said he doesn't "recall the whole conversation because it was a few years ago," but asserted it stemmed from a concern raised by a resident.

"I remember addressing a concern from a constituent regarding a potential noise violation they heard late at night from a body shop or tow yard in my district," Leland said in an email. "The constituent thought it was related to an investigation they heard in the news involving multiple police officers, for which I later learned DPD internal affairs had investigated. Perhaps that is why the Chief was uncomfortable."

Craig told the Free Press Saturday that when Leland asked to meet, it's possible the initial request may have indeed stemmed from him wanting to discuss a community complaint, but "when he set the meeting up, there was nothing about towing in that."

"Clearly I knew that based on how it came up that it seemed to me that was the real purpose of the visit, that's what it appeared to me," Craig said Saturday, adding that the 2016 meeting was the only instance Leland inquired about the investigation.

"I'm not making any suggestion that because he inquired about the investigation that he in any way was involved in criminality," Craig said. "I've never said that. I'm just saying that because of what he asked about, and clearly he was uncomfortable, I felt the need to notify the FBI."

But Leland said he was following up on a resident's concern, which is within his role as a councilman.

"As a member of the Detroit City Council, it is my job to follow up with any constituent concern brought to my attention," Leland wrote in an email. "It is my job to resolve issues affecting my constituents and help them resolve problems they may have with the city."

Washington is another target in the FBI probe. Last week, she pleaded guilty to accepting a $3,000 cash bribe from Fiore in exchange for her helping him get a better position on the city's towing rotation. She claims she never helped him, but took the money thinking it was a loan.

Dating and politics

Leland, who served in the state house before being elected to City Council in 2013, told the Free Press last week that he was unaware of the FBI probe. He stated that "most of my colleagues were aware that I was dating Jennifer" and said there was nothing improper about his votes.

"Any vote that I make on any issue is based on the recommendation of the Administration, Legislative Policy Division, Purchasing, and the Police Department. As I recall, all of the contracts, the extensions and amendments were non-controversial at the time, and fully vetted by the Police Department. I believe the votes at the council table were unanimous and later approved by the Financial Review Commission."

The city's charter states that council members are required to disclose any financial interest, direct or indirect, that "he or she or an immediate family member has in any contract or matter pending before city council." The disclosures are required to be made in writing via a sworn, notarized affidavit, according to the charter.

Since Leland wasn't married to Fiore, it's unclear if he technically violated the city's charter.

Wayne State University law professor Peter Henning, a former federal prosecutor who has closely followed public corruption cases in Metro Detroit, said Leland should have recused himself from the votes involving his girlfriend's companies.

"It might not be a crime, but it could well be an ethics violation," Henning said.

Henning said if Leland's relationship with Jennifer Fiore involved just a few casual dates, then abstaining from votes may not have been necessary.

"If it was a continuing relationship, then absolutely -- that's an even more apparent conflict of interest," Henning said. "If you have any indication that this is a company that is going to receive a benefit -- then absolutely you have to ensure that there is no conflict of interest."

He stressed: "The easiest way to handle that is to disclose it."

It is not known how many City Council members were aware of Leland's relationship with Jennifer Fiore. Most did not return calls or emails for comment.

Henning said when it comes to elected officials spending tax dollars, they have to make sure that there is no appearance of impropriety on their part.

"Even if it was a good contract and the best one available -- for public confidence purposes, you have to be able to make sure there is no question of impropriety," Henning said. "Elected officials are held to a much stricter standard. Even if it’s not written into the rules, this is the standard the public expects."

Henning added that Leland should have abstained from the votes "especially after what we saw a few years ago, with the former mayor."

Henning was referring to the corruption trial of ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who is serving 28 years in federal prison for — among other things — steering lucrative contracts to his contractor friend Bobby Ferguson, who received 21 years for corruption crimes.

Wire tapping nets evidence

In court documents, the FBI described Fiore as an aggressive businessman who "had a reputation for bending the rules, creating multiple companies in order to get around the (towing) rotation that is in place." The rotation list is supposed to divide the work among Detroit towers, many of whom complained that Fiore avoided the rules by creating companies in others' names and got a greater bulk of the work, the FBI says.

According to a now-sealed FBI document, Fiore talked with his family members about the rotation list, how to get on it, and was obsessed with knowing all the inside details about the towing industry, who was getting what, and who was being investigated.

Leland, the FBI wrote, was one of his helpers who kept him in the loop.

As an agent wrote in one document, "it appears that Chief Craig briefed Gabe Leland about the towing case, and Leland has briefed the Fiore family about it."

Specifically, wiretap evidence shows that the Fiore family learned about the so-called "Mars Investigation" from Leland. Mars is a Detroit towing company.

Wiretap evidence also captured Washington telling Gasper Fiore in a conversation: "So ... I guess Gabe went to talk to Chief (Craig) . .. Gabe said he mentioned about the towing and the chief said he wasn't gonna do nothing with it right now, and so there's some stuff going on."

FBI agent Bob Beeckman wrote in the affidavit: "This is a reference to the covert police corruption investigation, of which Fiore is now aware."

The Free Press asked Leland additional questions via email, including whether Fiore at any point gave him any money or if he's had any conversations with the FBI since it was revealed he had been listed as a target. Leland did not respond.

The majority of City Council members did not return calls or emails seeking comment about Leland voting on the contracts or the FBI investigation. A spokesman for Mayor Mike Duggan declined to comment on the matter as well.

Councilman Scott Benson declined to comment, stating only: “... I appreciate that this subject is of great media interest right now. However, I have no comment on this issue at present, and continue to support all of my colleagues and look forward to another four years working with Councilman Leland on behalf of the citizens of Detroit."

Council President Brenda Jones also declined to comment, saying: "Until I see something legal on it, it’s hearsay. The FBI has not approached me, or asked me any questions about Gabe Leland."

Regarding Leland's votes on Fiore business deals, Jones said she can't comment on whether he should have abstained because she doesn't know if he talked to the law department first, or vetted his decision. As for whether his votes raise ethical concerns, she said that's not her call to make.

" All of my colleagues are good colleagues," Jones said.

Detroit's Inspector General office, which investigates fraud and corruption allegations, said it does not have any open inquiries into Leland and no cases have been filed.

The office was established in 2012 as an independent agency, with subpoena powers and the ability to investigate all Detroit public servants -- including City Council members, the city clerk and mayor, as well as contractors, subcontractors, licensees and applicants for certification.



"Generally, when there are inquiries or cases being held by the FBI, we leave it to the FBI," said Deputy Inspector General Kamau Marable, Detroit's. "...Not that it doesn’t rise to that level but we have not made an inquiry. We would not duplicate any investigation."

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

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