By John Sellek and Joy Yearout
M2 PressWIRE
Schuette Charges Former Pontiac Fire Chief With Bribery, Racketeering
November 15, 2011
LANSING -- Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced the Attorney General’s Public Integrity Unit has charged a former Pontiac Fire Chief for allegedly accepting bribes from a Pontiac bar owner in exchange for ignoring code violations. The charges result from an FBI investigation that began in August 2009 after the owner of Little David’s Island Bar in Pontiac lodged a complaint with the FBI stating Hawkins had solicited the bribe in exchange for allowing the bar to remain open, despite existing violations that may have required its closure.
“Public safety officials who accept bribes and ignore their duty to protect the public are doubly dangerous,” said Schuette. “To restore public integrity and protect public safety, this dangerous corruption must come to an end. We will hold corrupt officials accountable, wherever they are found.”
It is alleged that Jeffrey Hawkins, 46, of Pontiac, solicited and accepted a $ 1,000 bribe in exchange for not citing Little David’s Island Bar for building fire code violations and other city code violations that existed at the time. Hawkins allegedly accepted one $ 500 cash payment from the bar owner in August 2009, and later accepted an additional $ 500 cash payment from an undercover FBI investigator in April 2010.
Arrangements are being made for Hawkins to turn himself in to authorities for arraignment in 50th District Court in Pontiac. The following charges against him were filed on November 14, 2011:
Two counts of Accepting a Bribe as a Public Officer, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a $ 5,000 fine, plus disqualification from public office for life; and
One count of Conducting Criminal Enterprises (Racketeering), a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and/or a $ 5,000 fine, plus disqualification from public office for life.
A criminal charge is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
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