PrintJuly 16, 2009
Monica Conyers, Shakedown Artist?
"This b***h is a trip."
So said Detroit political consultant Sam Riddle -- now under federal indictment for bribery -- about his erstwhile partner in crime, Monica Conyers, wife of Rep. John Conyers.
The Detroit Free Press has the indictment details of a modern-day gruesome twosome looking upon businesses in the ravaged city of Detroit as personal ATMs.
Apparently Mrs. Conyers was the strong arm of the pair, sending Mr. Riddle out to do her bidding. On plans for extorting $10,000 from a Detroit restaurant, the honorable Mrs. Conyers told Mr. Riddle: "You better get my loot, that's all I know." Mrs. Conyers should enter that phrase in the ongoing contest to conjure a new motto for the city.
All in all, the Conyers-Riddle tag team netted around $65,000 shaking down restaurants, a strip club, and a technology company. Under a previous plea agreement, Mrs. Conyers cannot be charged further by the feds, but she is still eligible to serve up to five years in prison. Riddle could spend up to 20 in stir.
So it goes here in Motown. But it begs the question of Monica's upstanding husband, mired in the swamps of the Potomac for over 40 years: What did John Conyers know and when did he know it? And, almost as importantly, does he agree or disagree with Mr. Riddle's assessment of his wife?
Matthew May welcomes comments at matthewtmay@yahoo.com
Matthew May welcomes comments at matthewtmay@yahoo.com
