Conyers’ Wife Offered Plea Deal in Detroit Corruption Case

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The FBI has offered Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers a plea deal involving her apparent connection to the Synagro Technologies sludge scandal according to published reportsTuesday afternoon. Conyers, who is married to U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr., is suspected of being “Council member A,” a figure investigators say accepted money for a vote to approve the $1.2 billion sewage disposal contract between Synagro and the city.

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In 2007, the city council voted 5-4 to approve the contract with Texas-based Synagro. Conyers, who was initially opposed to the contract, changed her vote last minute and was the deciding vote in approving the contract. Earlier this year, Synagro’s Michigan vice president, James R. Rosendall Jr., pleaded guilty to counts of bribery connected with the contract. On Monday, Synagro consultant Rayford Jackson pleaded guilty of giving a Detroit city council member money in exchange for a favorable vote.

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Conyers has insisted that she is not involved in the scandal but did not immediately refuse a plea deal Tuesday afternoon. Her lawyer has declined to comment on the plea bargain.