(WWJ) – Former Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Anthony Marrocco has pleaded guilty to attempted extortion in the latest case of government corruption in Metro Detroit.
Marrocco pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of attempted extortion, while three other counts of extortion conspiracy will be dismissed.
Investors say Marrocco, who served as Macomb County Public Works Commissioner from 1993 to 2016, pressured an unidentified local developer to buy tickets to his political fundraiser, or else the company’s permit applications to do business with the Public Works office would be delayed or denied.
Marrocco's plea came three weeks before he was set to go to trial on four extortion charges. The maximum sentence, if convicted, was up to 20 years in federal prison. Marrocco’s lawyer and the government agreed the sentencing guidelines after the plea should be 10-16 months.
U.S. Judge Robert Cleland, however, can ignore the guidelines. Cleland has a reputation for stiff punishment, including a 17-year prison sentence for former Clinton Township Trustee Dean Reynolds, according to a report from The Detroit News.
Marrocco is set to be sentenced in January.
Marrocco is one of more than 100 people charged in public corruption schemes across Metro Detroit in recent years. He had been under investigation for at least six years before he was indicted in the spring of 2020, accused of similar extortion tactics with various contractors, according to the News.
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