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Anthony Marrocco, the former Macomb County Public Works Commissioner, pleaded guilty to a corruption scandal probe that spanned years and led to the convictions of dozens of public officials and contractors.
On Tuesday, September 20, two years after being charged with two counts of extortion and one count each of attempted extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion, Anthony Marrocco, 74, pled guilty in front of U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland in Port Huron.
According to The Detroit News, prosecutors in the case agreed to drop the extortion charges and offered up a short stint of 16 months in prison. Before Anthony Marrocco accepted the terms of the deal, he was set to stand trial for all four counts of felony extortion charges that would carry a sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The publication also reported that if Judge Cleland chooses to sentence the former commissioner to more than 16 months in prison, Marrocco could withdraw his guilty plea.
Here's everything you need to know about Anthony Morocco’s extortion scheme
Anthony Marrocco, one of Detroit's longest-serving public officials, is also considered a powerful politician in the area who used his influence to coerce builders and contractors to donate to his fundraisers. Marrocco’s extortion scheme ran from 1993 to 2016, during which he used his power to extort people. The money donated to his fundraisers would go toward supporting his campaigns and political agendas.
If people withheld donations to his fundraisers, Marrocco would reportedly retaliate by holding up building permits and work contracts for those individuals.
According to the Detroit News, the FBI spent six years investigating the corruption scandal, which led to the fall of ex-garbage tycoon Chuck Rizzo, towing titan Gasper Fiore, and several local politicians. Marrocco is thought to be a key figure in the scheme.
Morocco was indicted in 2020. His attorney made the following statement after his client pleaded guilty in court.
“The important thing for everyone to recognise is what Tony Marrocco pled guilty to — and the only thing he pled guilty to, everything else was dismissed — what he pled guilty to was pressuring a developer to buy tables at a fundraiser. The developer never bought the tables. But it’s an attempted extortion. That’s it.”
Anthony Marrocco's guilty plea is a significant development in the extortion scheme
In a press release, U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said that Marrocco abused his power in office for years, where he reportedly extorted people out of thousands of dollars to buy tickets to his fundraiser dinners. He believes that this sends a clear message to officials in office that they cannot abuse their power.
In a statement, he said:
"The conviction of Marrocco for extortion sends a clear signal that public officials cannot use their governmental power to coerce individuals to contribute to their political campaigns. This conviction symbolizes our years-long crackdown on corruption in Macomb County that has helped to further the rule of law and good government for the county's citizens."
Morocco will be sentenced on January 26, 2023, according to the Detroit News.
