DETROIT – Detroit City Councilman Gabriel Leland was indicted Thursday by a grand jury on bribery charges, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said.
Leland, 35, of Detroit, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and two counts of bribery.
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According to court documents, Leland conspired with Elisa Grubbs, a campaign worker, to solicit and accept bribes of $15,000 cash and free auto body work from a Metro Detroit business owner.
"A sitting member of the Detroit City Council engaging in bribery is an extreme breach of the trust of the people of Detroit that badly undermines their faith in local government," Schneider said. "As was starkly demonstrated by the prosecution of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and several corrupt members of his administration, federal law enforcement is dedicated to rooting out and severely punishing corruption at every level of city governance."
Leland is accused of agreeing to help delay or prevent the city's sale of property that the business owner believed he owned in exchange for bribes.
Leland is charged with taking a $7,500 cash bribe on Aug. 4, 2017, four days before the primary election for the Detroit City Council.
“The public demands and is entitled to honest public servants," said Timothy R. Slater, the FBI's special agent in charge in Detroit. "Today’s indictment of Detroit City Council member Gabriel Leland underscores the fact that individuals who hold a position of public trust -- and who betray that trust -- will be held accountable. The FBI is committed to aggressively investigating allegations of public corruption. If you are aware of a government official engaging in illegal conduct, I encourage you to notify the FBI’s multiagency Public Corruption Task Force."
Leland is facing up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each bribery count and five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for the bribery conspiracy count.