2nd Macomb Official Charged in FBI Corruption Probe

MACOMB TOWNSHIP, MI — Clifford Freitas, an elected Trustee of Macomb Township, was arrested Tuesday by the FBI on a criminal complaint charging him with demanding and taking bribes in exchange for his vote and official assistance on a municipal contract.

Freitas, 43, of Macomb Township, is charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, including demanding and accepting money in exchange for official acts as a Trustee. Freitas will be in federal court at 1 pm today for his initial appearance.

Freitas’ arrest is another part of an ongoing investigation into systemic corruption in multiple municipalities in southeast Michigan, primarily Macomb County, according to a press release issued this morning by U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade.

Earlier this month, Clinton Township Trustee Dean Reynolds was arrested for allegedly taking bribes in exchange for his vote on a large trash removal contract.

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Investigators used telephone wiretaps, consensual audio and video recordings by cooperative individuals, undercover operations, physical surveillance, telephone tracking warrants, and subpoenas of financial records and other documents.

The complaint calleges that Freitas demanded and accepted money from a municipal vendor in exchange for using his official position as a trustee to get the vendor a municipal contract and to secure favorable terms for the company.

The vendor wasn't named.

According to the complaint, authorities said Freitas agreed to accept $7,500 from the vendor in return for his assistance in getting the contract. Through his position as a trustee, Freitas allegedly obtained sensitive bid information on the municipal contract in order to help the vendor, telling the vendor what bid was needed to beat out competing contractors.

After the vendor was awarded the contract by Macomb Township, the government alleged, Freitas demanded an additional $35,000 from the company representative for his additional assistance as a public official relating to the contract. In May 2016, Freitas accepted $2,000 in cash from an undercover agent of the FBI, with the payment being video recorded, according to the complaint.

“The citizens of Michigan must be able to trust that government officials will perform their duties in the best interests of the communities they serve,” David P. Gelios, special agent in gharge, Detroit Division of the FBI said in a statement. “Today’s arrest is another unfortunate reminder that some public officials have lost sight of that obligation choosing instead to utilize their positions of authority to serve their own interests."

Gelios en enouraged anyone who has information about corrupt activity in Macomb County or any other community in Michigan to contact the Detroit FBI Public Corruption tip line at (313) 965-2222.

Upon conviction for a violation of the federal program bribery charge, Freitas faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Both Freitas and Reynolds have been charged in what investigators with the FBI’s Detroit Area Corruption Task Force have described as an ongoing and long-running investigation into systemic corruption in multiple municipalities in southeast Michigan, but primarily Macomb County.

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