MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – Gasper Fiore, the owner of multiple towing companies in Southeast Michigan, was sentenced on Thursday after pleading guilty to bribery charges last year.
ORIGINAL STORY: Towing magnate Gasper Fiore sentenced to 21 months in prison in Macomb County corruption scandal
Typically, in federal court you are allowed to turn yourself in at the prison facility you are assigned to, but on Thursday, the prosecutor requested Fiore be locked up immediately. The judge followed the recommendation.
Fiore did not speak as he walked out of federal court in handcuffs.
More than 80 letters were sent to the judge describing Fiore as a generous man who donates to kids who want to go to summer camp, athletes who want to play high school sports, and victims of hurricanes and snowstorms. The letters asked for leniency for Fiore, who they call a good-hearted and hardworking man who toiled side by side with employees in the Detroit towing business.
Federal prosecutors described Fiore as a multimillionaire enriching himself by breaking the rules and paying bribes to public officials. They say his name surfaced in numerous pay-for-play investigations, including the Kwame Kilpatrick case. Prosecutors claim after watching Kilpatrick be sentenced to 28 years behind bars, Fiore was still willing to pay bribes.
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Fiore was caught on tape paying $7,000 to a middleman to give to Clinton Township trustee Dean Reynolds in hopes of winning a towing contract. The judge said Fiore is not evil but his behavior is unacceptable.
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Fiore was originally charged with four counts of bribery, conspiracy and wire fraud.
Others have taken pleas in the Macomb County corruption case.