Sentencing of former Macomb Co. public works commissioner Marrocco delayed

Detroit — The sentencing of former Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Anthony Marrocco, the biggest target of a long-running federal crackdown of public corruption in Macomb County, was delayed Thursday after the federal judge on the case raised questions about the brevity of the factual basis in the plea agreement that prosecutors and the defense had agreed to.

Federal prosecutors appeared in court in Port Huron Thursday afternoon alongside Marrocco and his attorney Steven Fishman for the hearing, where U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland was expected to hand down a sentence for the former Macomb County public works commissioner.

After the hearing got underway, Cleland raised concerns that the probation department's pre-sentence report filed in connection with Marrocco's guilty plea was potentially "so narrow" that it did not "accurately describe the events."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Cares, senior litigation counsel for the Detroit U.S. Attorney's Office, explained that the factual basis was tailored to just one of the charges against Marrocco. According to Cares, the other charges would have required the testimony of former Macomb Township board of trustees member Dino Bucci, who had previously pleaded guilty to public corruption charges, but died last spring.

Without Bucci's testimony, Cares said "the government didn't believe it could prove" the conduct in the other charges, "even for purposes" of the plea agreement. As part of his guilty plea, Bucci provided testimony about Marrocco.

Cleland also oversaw Bucci's case and said he had revisited the material prior to Thursday's sentencing hearing. On Thursday, the judge said some of the details contained in sworn testimony from Bucci, which was made under oath in his courtroom, "seems to be relevant to the conduct" in the Marrocco case.

"It's not third-hand rumors, it's not conjecture, it's a sworn statement," Cleland said.

The ex-public works commissioner's attorney has maintained that many of Bucci's claims about Marrocco were false, saying the former township official had denied some of the same clams under oath in a deposition. In response to the judge's questions on Thursday, Fishman raised his own concerns about the judge referencing material that was "not supposed to be relevant" to his client's agreement.

"It's not fair. We made a deal. ... We don't concede to any of those so-called facts," Fishman said in reference to the information from the Bucci case. "This stuff was just not supposed to be part of the case. If I'd have known we were going to do this, we'd have had a trial."

The defense attorney said he was uncomfortable proceeding with the sentencing in light of Cleland's comments. After a brief recess and an off-the-record conversation in the judge's chambers, the parties agreed to postpone the sentencing until Feb. 28.

"The parties suggest that there be a delay in sentencing," Cleland said after the hearing resumed following the recess, explaining that the delay would give all of the parties an opportunity to consult with each other on the matter. "No determinations have been made, no rulings have been made."

Prosecutors have asked Cleland to sentence Marrocco to 16 months in prison, saying his actions eroded public faith in public service while demanding dollars and respect from contractors during a long reign. His lawyer, however, is trying to keep the 74-year-old former politician out of prison, citing Marrocco's age, health problems and because the pressures of campaign fundraising are ongoing and an integral part of politics.

The hearing was expected to cap a series of prosecutions that started seven years ago and have led to the convictions of at least 23 contractors and public officials. The group includes former Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith, trash titan Chuck Rizzo, towing magnate Gasper Fiore and former Clinton Township Trustee Dean Reynolds, who is serving a 17-year prison sentence for several bribery schemes.

Marrocco is one of more than 110 labor leaders, politicians, police officers and bureaucrats charged with federal corruption-related crimes in recent years, according to a database built by The Detroit News.

His rescheduled sentencing came amid an ongoing FBI corruption investigation targeting Detroit politicians, whose homes and offices were searched in August 2021. Four city officials have pleaded guilty in the ongoing federal corruption investigation, "Operation Northern Hook," including former Detroit City Councilman André Spivey, who is serving a two-year federal prison sentence.

Marrocco, meanwhile, ran the Macomb public works department from 1993 to 2016 during a period of continued growth in the county. He exerted power and control over building and development, everything from approving construction permits and awarding multimillion-dollar public works contracts.

"And unlike drain commissioners in other counties," Cares wrote in a court filing, "the Macomb County commissioner doesn’t answer to anyone.

"The interests of the people of Macomb County or the merits of the particular developer on whom (Marrocco) was exerting his raw power were irrelevant to him," Cares added. "You either kissed the ring or your business came to a halt."

Last fall, Marrocco agreed to plead guilty to attempted extortion in exchange for prosecutors dropping three other extortion-related charges that each carried a 20-year possible prison sentence.

Fishman, Marrocco's lawyer, faulted prosecutors for arguing that the judge should rely on the dismissed criminal charges to enhance Marrocco’s sentence.

Fishman called the government’s conduct a "stunt" and accused prosecutors of trying to poison the judge's mind.

"So why does this alleged 'relevant conduct' appear in the government’s sentencing memorandum?" Fishman wrote in a court filing. "It is there for one reason, and one reason only; to prejudice the court against Mr. Marrocco for sentencing purposes. And the court should not tolerate it."

kruble@detroitnews.com

rsnell@detroitnews.com