Feds Demand Rizzo Jr.'s Bond Be Revoked, Hearing Set

DETROIT, MI – Federal prosecutors are demanding that the bond of convicted trash hauler Chuck Rizzo Jr. be revoked and he be taken into federal custody while waiting for sentencing. Prosecutors, in a federal court filing, say that he attempted to intimidate and retaliate against a key witness, with whom he was ordered to avoid.

A hearing on the prosecutor's demands has been set for Thursday morning before federal court Judge Robert H. Cleland, who has presided over Rizzo's case. Rizzo has been ordered to be there.

Rizzo, the former CEO of garbage hauler Rizzo Environmental Services, pleaded guilty in November to conspiring to commit bribery and wire fraud, in connection with millions of dollars of municipal garbage contracts in Macomb County and embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from his company. His case is part of a wide-reaching federal probe into corruption in Wayne and Macomb counties.

Rizzo faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, and is to be sentenced March 13.

"Revocation of bond is especially appropriate here, as defendant’s sentencing date is fast approaching," prosecutors wrote in the document. Authorities have told him to be ready to be taken into custody on the day of his sentencing.

According to the court document filed by prosecutors on Tuesday, Rizzo was to "avoid all contact, directly or indirectly, with any person who is or may become a . . . witness in the investigation or prosecution.” Rizzo, though, met with a witness in the case at the MGM hotel in Detroit.

"Rizzo began by berating Witness A, stating that it was Witness A’s fault that Rizzo was going to jail for as long as he was," according to the document. It notes that Rizzo chastised the witness for telling prosecutors that a theft scheme at Rizzo's company began in 2014 and that the amount of money taken from the company exceeded $500,000.

Prosecutors noted in the document that if the amount stolen exceeds $550,000, it increases the level of the crime perpetrated.

The witness is key to the case because the unidentified person revealed to federal authorities that Rizzo's criminal activity was happening while Rizzo was supposedly cooperating with investigators.

"Rizzo is well aware that the government’s discovery of criminal conduct during his cooperation played a role in significantly increasing the prison time that Rizzo now faces at sentencing," prosecutors said in the document. "Had the government not discovered Rizzo’s criminal conduct while he was cooperating, it is likely that the government would have agreed to make a much lower sentencing recommendation."

Prosecutors say that before Rizzo is sentenced, a pre-sentencing investigation into the case will determine how long his prison term will be. Prosecutors also worry that he will try to contact other witnesses in the case.

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