Conyers’ Wife Pleads Guilty in Detroit Corruption Case
Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers, the 44-year-old wife of House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.), pleaded guilty Friday for her role in a pay-to-play scheme over a $1.2 billion sludge treatment plant contract issued by the city.Conyers faces up to five years in prison for taking at least $6,000 in cash in exchange for her vote on the treatment plant contract. She was released on a personal bond, the Detroit Free Press reported. The Free Press said it was unclear Friday whether Conyers would stay in office until sentenced or quit before the August primary. No sentencing date has been set. She has served on the council since 2005.The newspaper also reported that former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, the son of Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.), is also a target of the federal corruption investigation, as is his father. The former mayor was forced to resign last year in an unrelated corruption case.Monica Conyers has been married to Congressman Conyers since 1990. They met when she worked on his unsuccessful campaign for mayor of Detroit in 1989.The 80-year-old Congressman, who oversees the Justice Department in his role as Judiciary chairman, has not been implicated in the scandal.”Public officials must expect to be held to the highest ethical and legal standard,” the Congressman’s office said in a statement released Friday night. “With this in mind, Mr. Conyers wants to work toward helping his family and city recover from this serious matter.”