Ex-Detroit principal to plead guilty in corruption probe

By Rochelle Riley, Tresa Baldas and Ann Zaniewski | Detroit Free Press

A former principal at Detroit’s Mumford High School said Thursday she cut a deal to plead guilty to bribery and tax evasion for her role in a wide-ranging FBI investigation of corruption and kickbacks within the Detroit Public Schools and schools run by the Education Achievement Authority.

Kenyetta (K.C.) Wilbourn-Snapp, a petite, feisty woman known for carrying a baseball bat in one school and driving a Maserati while at a second, told the Free Press Thursday afternoon that she is pleading guilty to accepting a $58,000 bribe and to tax evasion.

Wilbourn-Snapp said her attorney, Steve Fishman, met with her on Tuesday and told her, "I don’t know if I have good news, but the goal is to keep you out of jail. They want you to take a plea. Tax evasion."

Fishman declined comment and withdrew from the case after Wilbourn-Snapp spoke to the Free Press.

Gina Balaya, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, declined comment on the case, except to say: "While we cannot comment on this story, in general, we do not prohibit defendants from speaking to the press, and we do not withdraw plea offers to those who do."

Wilbourn-Snapp, once a rising star in the DPS system, was hailed as a turnaround specialist at Denby High School before she moved to Mumford High. Both were DPS schools that became part of the controversial reform district that was created in 2012 to turn around the bottom 5% of Michigan schools.

In anticipation of a guilty plea hearing, supporters of Wilbourn-Snapp have written letters of support and requests for leniency.

“Kenyetta has been an inspiration for people like me looking for a better way to reach our dreams and fulfill our potential,” said one such letter obtained by the Free Press. " … Kenyetta has always reiterated to me that when you make an error in judgement or are faced with adversity or challenges: you step up, take responsibility and face them head on. I see that Kenyetta is practicing what she preached and I respect her that much more because of it. I’m requesting that you ... show leniency on Kenyetta.”

A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled. A federal judge has to accept a guilty plea before it is considered official.

The FBI is investigating Wilbourn-Snapp and others in yet another public corruption scandal in Detroit, this one targeting officials and contractors with DPS and the EAA, according to multiple sources.

This latest development comes days after another former Detroit school official pleaded guilty to public corruption crimes in Chicago.

Ex-DPS consultant Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to steering a $23-million contract to a company in Illinois in exchange for cash kickbacks, including a college fund for her grandchildren.

Officials familiar with the FBI corruption probe in Detroit say Byrd-Bennett also is under investigation for similar activity here, drawing scrutiny for allegedly helping to steer a contract to a textbook publishing company she once worked for.

Byrd-Bennett's Chicago attorney, Michael Scudder, declined to comment. So did the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office.

There is no known connection between Byrd-Bennett and Wilbourn-Snapp, who abruptly resigned last November after federal agents raided her apartment at the Double Tree Hilton Hotel downtown.

Six months after Wilbourn-Snapp’s resignation, the FBI sent a letter to the EAA.

“You have been identified as a possible victim in a Federal Bureau of Investigation forfeiture investigation concerning Kenyetta Wilbourn. … this letter contains important information about the possibility of recovering your financial loss,” stated the FBI letter, which was obtained by the Free Press.

In its letter dated April 1, the FBI says that it is investigating both Wilbourn-Snapp and a company called For-Most Educational Consulting and Training Group LLC, which is listed in Wilbourn-Snapp's name and operates out of a Harper Woods address connected to her, state records show.

On Nov. 19, 2014, the FBI seized $2,300.92 from the Comerica Bank account of a company called Allstate Sales, the letter stated.

.

The EAA has struggled since the start with low test scores, falling enrollment and high staff turnover. Its original chancellor, John Covington, resigned in June 2014 amid accusations of improper spending and mismanagement.

After the Free Press broke the news that Wilbourn-Snapp is planning to enter a plea, EAA spokesman Robert Guttersohn issued this statement:

"We cannot confirm the status of the FBI investigation, with which we have been cooperating,” he said. “However, if the statements that have been attributed to Kenyetta Wilbourn are true, they represent a betrayal of the trust that all families and students place in educators each and every day, and those involved should be held accountable.”

DPS spokeswoman Michelle Zdrodowski said the district takes allegations of misconduct against its employees or vendors seriously. The district is not privy to the details of FBI investigations, she said, and it cooperates with law enforcement agencies.

“As with any matter where there are allegations of misconduct, DPS investigates internally and works cooperatively with the law enforcement agency handling such matters. DPS also regularly reviews its processes and procedures for their effectiveness and makes changes where warranted. ...

“Moreover, to the extent that we are knowledgeable about investigations, we take seriously our obligation to maintain confidentiality so as to not interfere or in any way compromise those involved. If our assistance is sought in such matters, the District has always, and will continue to work cooperatively with those agencies involved.”

The news about Wilbourn-Snapp comes as Gov. Rick Snyder is expected to make an announcement next week, perhaps as soon as Monday, related to the reforms he's planning that would overhaul public education in Detroit.

Another ex-DPS principal also is in trouble with the law. In June, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office charged Rudolfo Diaz, the former principal at Western International High School, and a woman named Cecilia Zavala with embezzling thousands of dollars from the nonprofit agency Esperanza Detroit. Zavala was the group’s chief operating officer.

Authorities said the money was supposed to be used to serve at-risk students.

Contact Ann Zaniewski: azaniewski@freepress.com