Clinton Township Trustee Indicted on Eight Counts of Bribery

An elected Trustee of Clinton Township was indicted by a grand jury yesterday on eight counts of bribery in exchange for corruptly influencing his decisions on township business, U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade announced.

McQuade was joined in the announcement by FBI Special Agent in Charge David P. Gelios and Manny J. Muriel, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Detroit Field Office.

Dean Reynolds, 49, of Clinton Township, was charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, including demanding and accepting money and other things of value, in exchange for official acts as a trustee.  The indictment of Reynolds is part of an ongoing and long-running investigation into systemic corruption in multiple municipalities in southeast Michigan, primarily Macomb County.   

The indictment charges that Reynolds accepted bribes from representatives of two companies having business with Clinton Township, and that Reynolds accepted bribes from an undercover FBI agent.  In connection with one company, Reynolds accepted bribes between 2009 and 2013 amounting to $9,000 in cash and a $7,000 check.  Between 2012 and 2015, Reynolds demanded and accepted bribes amounting to over $50,000 in cash, along with other things of value, from a second company.  In 2016, Reynolds accepted a total of $7,000 in cash bribes from an undercover FBI agent on three separate occasions.  Reynolds also accepted an additional $10,000 in cash bribes from a representative of one of the companies after that individual began cooperating with the FBI.    

This investigation is being conducted by the FBI Detroit Area Corruption Task Force, a multiagency task force led by the FBI Detroit Division and comprised of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, Michigan State Police, Michigan Attorney General’s Office, and several other local and federal law enforcement agencies.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys R. Michael Bullotta and David A. Gardey.

Upon conviction for a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 666, federal program bribery, Reynolds faces a maximum of ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each of the eight counts of the indictment.   

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. 

The FBI requests that anyone having information regarding public officials accepting bribes is encouraged to contact the Detroit Division of the FBI at 313-965-2222.