Feds say Conyers deserves substantial prison term

By Ed White Associated Press Writer DETROIT (AP) -- Federal prosecutors are calling for a prison sentence of about four years or more for Monica Conyers, who admitted taking bribes to support a sludge contract when she was on the Detroit City Council. The government believes a judge should consider more than Conyers' corrupt deal to support Synagro Technologies, a Houston company. Prosecutors said she should be punished for a series of alleged schemes to shake down people with city business. The evidence, including hours of secretly taped phone calls, was aired at the recent trial of her former aide, Sam Riddle, before his case ended in a mistrial. "The pattern of abuse of office and self-enrichment highlighted during that trial confirms that Synagro was not an isolated or anomalous incident," assistant U.S. attorneys Mark Chutkow and R. Michael Bullotta wrote. They said Riddle and Conyers received $69,500, a figure that would place her sentencing guidelines at 46 months to 57 months in prison. A sentence near the top of that range would be just under the five-year maximum punishment for conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn, however, will have flexibility today because the guidelines are not mandatory. Defense lawyer Steve Fishman declined to comment on the government's sentencing memo, which was unsealed Monday. Conyers, the wife of U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., pleaded guilty to conspiracy last summer and quit the council. "The citizens of Detroit elected Ms. Conyers to an important public office, conferring on her the authority to make decisions impacting the health, safety and welfare of the community," Chutkow and Bullotta said. "They expected her to exercise that power solely for their benefit, without consideration of personal gain." Published: Wed, Mar 10, 2010

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