Ex-Pontiac Councilman Sentenced In Bribery Case
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A former Pontiac city councilman who pleaded guilty to accepting bribes has been sentenced to two years and two months in prison.
The U.S. Attorney's office says 61-year-old Everett Seay was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit. Seay was also ordered to forfeit $10,800 to the United States.
Seay said "justice has been served" after leaving the hearing. Defense attorney Richard Morgan says the judge was "more than fair" to Seay.
The alleged crimes occurred in 2008 and 2009 when Seay was on the Pontiac council.
According to court documents, beginning in May 2008, Seay met repeatedly with "J.B.," a person who purported to be a drug dealer from Chicago, who was seeking the assistance of members of the Pontiac City Council to obtain a "regulated use" ordinance to open a business to buy and sell gold for the purpose of laundering drug proceeds.
Unbeknownst to Seay, J.B. was actually an FBI agent acting in an undercover capacity. During several meetings, authorities say Seay solicited and accepted bribe payments from J.B. for his assistance in getting the ordinance passed. Between July and December 2008, Seay received $10,800 in bribe payments from J.B.
The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Seay originally faced up to 20 years in jail and fines of more than $1 million.
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