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Conyers' Wife Pleads Guilty On Corruption Count
Monica Conyers, the president pro tem of the Detroit city council -- and the wife of Rep. John Conyers, the powerful chair of the US House Judiciary committee -- has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, which is punishable by up to five years in prison.
The Detroit Free Press reports:
The federal plea document released today cites two instances in late 2007, in the days surrounding the approval of the now-infamous Synagro Technologies sludge-hauling contract, when Conyers accepted cash bribes from a Synagro consultant.
Other court documents have said Conyers took at least two bribes of $3000 each, among other bribes.
The paper adds:
In both cases cited in the court documents today, Conyers was handed the cash in an envelope by a individual representing Rayford Jackson, a Detroit businessman doing work for Synagro who pleaded guilty to bribery earlier this month.
Conyers had raised suspicions by strongly opposing the 2007 sludge-hauling contract for Synagro before abruptly switching her position and voting in favor of the deal.
Her case was part of a wide-ranging probe of corruption at city hall in Detroit.
Conyers has not resigned from the council, and her lawyer said that the city charter does not require her to do so until she has been sentenced.
Josh
Zachary
This is sad news to me, since I have had a lot of respect for Rep. Conyers, and he will inevitably be tainted by this, regardless of whether or not he had any knowledge of his wife’s corruption.
June 26, 2009 11:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
I said the same thing to a friend today. How stupid of her. How stupid of all of these people to think they are above the law..
June 26, 2009 3:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Journalism style question: When a story is focused on one half of a couple who share the same last name, should more care be given to differentiating between the two? People who scan the article too quickly might think the Conyers who accepted the bribes is the congressman. Furthermore, I would be surprised if some people don't cut and paste so that in other contexts it appears the congressman took the bribes. In this case the headline refers to the wife. The first paragraph specifies the wife. After that, it's just "Conyers." Just asking..., and I honestly don't know how this is normally handled.
June 26, 2009 11:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oh please TPHReaderHG,..... "whether or not he had any knowledge of his wife's corruption"? There have been rumors swirling around this couple for years. Goodby to another corrupt politician.
June 26, 2009 11:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
If you knew my ex-wife you would understand how easy it is to be bamboozled by a devious woman. Or, you could ask her 2nd and 3 exes, who will both confirm my belief!
June 26, 2009 12:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
ROFLMAO. That is some ex you have there. Some women aren't even lucky enough to get married once but your's found 3.
I would like to believe he didn't. But what about their joint tax returns. Should he not have known something. I hope he is innocent and it was her doing but only time will tell.
June 30, 2009 3:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
She's also as much a religious hypocrite as anybody from the Religious Right. Just 10 days before accepting the federal plea deal, she refused it because deliverance was just around the corner.
As I note in a long blog post on this angle, I don’t even have problems with some schadenfreude here, not just for Ms. Conyers, but for either socioeconomic groups or racial-ethnic groups known for high levels of religiosity, and individuals in those groups smart enough to know better.
And, John has had his hand slapped before by House Ethics, so, it wouldn't surprise me one bit that he had some knowledge of his wive's activities.
June 29, 2009 7:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hope she gets five years. We must start making government service a special trust. I say "start" because I am not naive about the history of politics or human nature. But, we are becoming numb to expecting any consequences for corruption in public life, not to mention less blatant faults, such as being too responsive to lobbying interests and expecting public service to lead to personal wealth in a parallel or subsequent career.
Of course, Mrs. Conyers is small potatoes. I recently read that VP Cheney's former employer, which voted him more than $30 million in a severance package when he became the candidate for VP, has received more than $30 billion in contracts in Iraq, most of which were no-bid, sole source.
If you have the stomach for jumping right into the cesspool, google "Sibel Edmonds". No, I'm not a nut case conspiracy theorist. Both Grassley and Leahy heard her testimony and have stated for the public record that it is credible.
We really do need to clean up our government.
June 26, 2009 11:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
As my brother once said to me" the wonder is not that the politicians are for sale the wonder is that the prices are so low."
I mean, really, $6,000.00?
May be she had self esteem problems and thought that she was not worth much.
June 26, 2009 11:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
You have to wonder if there are any honest politicians, or is that like asking if the Devil tithes? I wonder if it is even possible for a human being to remain honest as an elected official. Perhaps if I had an example of that happening it might be reassuring. I'm fairly certain that no such example will come from the Repub party, but who knows?
June 26, 2009 11:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
hoppy,
for a long time I've felt that, for most, by the time they reach the U S Congress they have already sold their souls ten times over.
June 27, 2009 1:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
For those of us in the Detroit area, this has been a long time coming. Monica has shown time and time again that she was in over her head.
June 26, 2009 11:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
Too bad for her she's not in the Senate--this'd be just another day at the office, and her PAC would launder the money clean as a whistle.
June 26, 2009 11:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
I just don't care about her. I only care about how this impacts her husband who is one of the most courageous and outstanding members of Congress in the modern era. John Conyers has done so many good things, fought so many fights for those without a voice, been so courageous in opposing pointless and unnecessary wars and military spending, protecting civil liberty, and much more. I hope there is no backlash against him as a result of his wife's crimes.
June 26, 2009 12:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Aye, aye! I totally agree with you Oleeb. John Conyers is a vanguard to going after injustices, and this news about his wife's troubles will be fodder for the MSM and others to keep John Conyers away from the fight.
June 26, 2009 12:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
So why did Conyers drop the investigation of ACORN?
June 27, 2009 12:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
Then why did Conyers drop the ball so significantly after 2006 in holding the Bush administration to account for the attorney firing scandal, resorting only to hundreds of 'strongly worded letters'?
Was it because of the dirt on his wife that he was fearful of action?
I always suspected the 2006 Dems had been compromised in some way.
June 27, 2009 1:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
As a detroiter I cannot say how glad I am that she is gone, she has been an embarresment for years...to paraphrase Betty White on Sarah Palin...."The bitch be crazy"
Also what kind of trophy wife was John Conyers looking for when he married the whack job?
June 26, 2009 12:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Under our "Equal Justice" system, women on average receive 25% of the jail or prison time men receive for the same crime, so she will most likely get off with a mild penalty.
Being an important person and not just a commoner will also help her, and she will most likely make lots of money from her book deal...
I for one feel sorrow, not for her, but for our nation and its future... JUST for the reasons I mentioned above.
June 26, 2009 12:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am a Detroiter, and a hardcore progressive, and I must tell you, that this woman is an atrocious human being.
Detroit needs to purge itself of disgraces like Conyers.
June 26, 2009 12:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hope there is no backlash against him as a result of his wife's crimes.
Posted by oleeb
of course there is going to be a backlash. Your wife admits to taking cash bribes in her political post and you're going to claim that you don't know anything about it? Doesn't pass the smell test.
June 26, 2009 1:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
If you think about it, all the people in Congress who say that the Public Option is a problem -- Dems and Repubs -- are guilty of bribery in my book. I have no doubt that they are bought and paid for. What is the difference? Just harder to prove.
June 26, 2009 5:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
At least she's not the sixtieth vote. We gotta keep a close eye on the Senators. They are all extremely valuable, just by virtue of their
vote(s). Oh, I mean the Dems of course.
June 26, 2009 5:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm having buyers remorse myself. I'm just not sure the Democrats in the Senate really are all as valuable as you think. If they were, we would be well on our way to getting a real health care plan that would reduce health care costs for all of us. And, for sure, they would not have voted for resolutions to bend over for Israel.
Maybe, where Repub Senators aren't worth 10 for a penny, the Democratic Senators have a value nearer to 10 cents each. But, I wanted a ten dollar senator myself.
June 27, 2009 1:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
If my math is right (did it quick in my head), you're saying the Dems are a hundred times better but you wanted ten thousand. Maybe your expectations start a little to high. I agree they could do better, with ease.
Maybe all the power hasn't gone to their heads & they're just starting to realize that the righties can't really hold up the show if they want it to happen.
I'm keeping the faith!
June 30, 2009 12:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
Will Monica Conyers corruption guilty plea affect the way House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers does his job of defending our Constitution and enforcing Federal Laws?
Will it create a cloud of doubt over 80 year old Rep. Conyers?
Hah! The biggest "Cloud" is the way Rep. Conyers treated Liberals who wanted Impeachment for Bush & Cheney.
You remember, the two Republican politicians whose WMD Lies got over 34,000 US Soldiers Killed and Maimed FOR NOTHNG in Iraq. Does Conyers owe our soldiers an apology?
Rep. John Conyers (MI) portrayed himself as the leading advocate of Impeachment. The reality is Conyers stonewalled impeachment activists for seven years and kept Rep. Kucinich's Bush-Cheney Impeachment Bills from ever being debated or voted on.
Conyers promised activists he would hold real hearings after the election. He didn't.
Conyers received an IMPEACHMENT PETITION With 1.1 MILLION SIGNATURES, which HE IGNORED, But HE HAD Those Activists Delivering It ARRESTED.
Conyers once had the reputation of a Congressman that wanted to keep presidents honest, but we see little forward motion toward that goal these days.
Conyers is on the board of Progressive Democrats of America but even they cannot get him to do his job. Of course it could be that PDA themselves doesn't really want impeachment or prosecution of Bush and Cheney, but I don't think that is the case.
I think Rep. Conyers has been playing PDA and all of the rest of us who looked up to him, for fools.
Last week a Pelosi staffer said Rep. Conyers had her full support. That is not surprising since after Pelosi took impeachment "off the table" Conyers kept it off his committee's agenda. Impeachment has to start in his committee.
Conyers is said to be popular with Republicans. Again, not surprising since he almost single handedly killed impeachment of Bush and Cheney.
Now, about that Apology?
We Must Push Rep. Conyers & President Obama to do their job of Enforcing Our Federal Anti-Torture Laws.
SIGN THE PETITION
To Prosecute Them For Torture at ANGRYVOTERS.ORG
http://ANGRYVOTERS.ORG
Over 250,000 have signed
Join them and call yourself a Patriot
June 27, 2009 5:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Your 36 petitions on your website? I would sign them if, next to each one, you would tell people to "Vote Green" or something. If you're still voting Democratic, you're an enabler.
June 29, 2009 8:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Conyers will be tainted in guilt by association whether he knew or not.
It is interesting that those commenting apply guilt by association when convenient and question it in this case.
Not saying it is fair but call it for what appears to be a consistency problem. Ethical dilemmas should not be measured by affiliation.
June 27, 2009 11:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don’t know what you are referring to specifically, so I can’t address it, but...
I don’t deny that there are corrupt Democrats (cough, Jefferson, cough). I am hoping that Rep. Conyers has no involvement in his wife’s crimes.
While she is his wife, her job is in Detroit, and his is mostly in Washington. It is at least plausible that he didn’t know. I would be more suspicious if it was one of his aides being arrested and even more so if his wife worked in his Washington office (as a number of Congressional wives do) and was arrested there.
More indirect evidence in his favor: if the prosecutor in Michigan though he was involved, he’d be trying to flip Mrs. Conyers rather than arresting her.
You are certainly right that affiliation should have no bearing on it. If Rep. Conyers has done something illegal, I would support his prosecution. I’d even demand it, but it would probably have the same effect as demanding that the criminals in the Bush administration be prosecuted.
June 29, 2009 2:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
My point was that affiliation or association tends to color our perception of events. Disassociation similarly has the same effect. Neither point of view deals in facts and are subjective. Stating an opinion repetitively and loudly does not make it so.
No fact was evidenced that he is culpable of any wrongdoing.
In essence, I see no reason to believe he did, or did not know anything.
June 29, 2009 9:49 PM | Reply | Permalink