MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – Federal authorities unsealed another indictment in the long-running public corruption probe in Macomb County.
This time it's a well-known attorney accused of bribery, conspiracy, aiding and abetting.
Jay Schwartz is both a friend and lawyer to now-disgraced trash magnate Chuck Rizzo Jr., and now federal authorities are charging Schwartz for what they say was his part in bribing Clinton Township trustee Dean Reynolds.
- Authorities said Rizzo was a central figure in a corruption scandal.
- Rizzo was sentenced to prison in April 2018.
- Federal officials said Rizzo became uncooperative after helping to build several bribery cases and even took $26,000 from another defendant without telling the FBI he'd be done so.
Reynolds was the first to fall in a federal corruption probe, which started with a look at how Rizzo was doing business.
According to the indictment, Schwartz was in the thick of the bribery of Reynolds, offering free legal services to him in return for his help on the township's trash contract, as well as arranging cash payments to Reynolds.
- In February, Reynolds was sentenced to 17 years in prison for criminal convictions.
- Reynolds was indicted in 2016 for accepting bribes from trash hauling company Rizzo Environmental Services in return for his influence in giving Rizzo lucrative contracts from the township.
- Investigators say Reynolds lied about having cancer to be released from jail.
Schwartz's attorney, Gerald Gleeson, said, "The allegations in the indictment simply aren't true and we look forward to proving that in court."
Watch the video at the top of this article for the full report.