Conyers, Riddle Want To Withdraw Guilty Pleas
Detroit political consultant Sam Riddle has joined ex-boss Monica Conyers in seeking to yank his guilty plea to corruption, two weeks after he was sentenced to 37 months in prison.
Riddle filed papers with a federal appeals court Tuesday, saying his punishment was too severe and prosecutors mistreated him.
Riddle pleaded guilty to bribery schemes in Detroit and elsewhere. He was accused of shaking down businesses for money for Conyers, wife of U.S. Rep. John Conyers and a former member of the city council.
Conyers is also serving a 37-month prison sentence and wants her guilty plea thrown out. Defense lawyer Douglas Mullkoff says "intense public scrutiny'' caused Conyers "to momentarily surrender to the pressure.''
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