DETROIT – The FBI announced Tuesday it is dropping all criminal charges against the vice president of the Wayne-Westland Board of Education, who is also a former candidate for US Congress.
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John Goci had been accused of helping Bray's Hamburgers owner Tomo Duhanaj with concealing a loan sharking operation. Duhanaj is accused of charging people high interest rates and even threatening violence is the loans are not repaid.
What happened
According to a criminal complaint obtained by Local 4, Duhanaj was pulled over by Troy police in May and arrested for driving on a suspended license. During a search of his car, police found two checks with the payee line left blank. One of the checks was signed from Goci in the amount of $2,700. A sheet of paper detailing extensions of credits from February 2012 was also found. A FBI forensic accountant determined that the loans detailed on the sheet had interest rates that were high - 46 percent.
Agents met with Goci on July 17 at a Starbucks in Westland and asked if he knew that Duhanaj had been arrested. He said he had not. However, agents said a June 1 wiretap between Goci and Duhanaj revealed that Duhanaj had told Goci about his arrest.
Charges dropped
According to a court motion released Tuesday afternoon:
The United States of America hereby moves for leave to dismiss without prejudice the complaint against defendant John Goci. The investigation, however, is continuing and criminal charges could be filed in the future.
Read entire motion HERE.
-- John Goci