Ex-River Rouge School Official Guilty Of Bribery
RIVER ROUGE (WWJ/AP) - A federal jury has found a former River Rouge school official guilty of a bribery and mail fraud scheme that cost her suburban Detroit district $160,000.
U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said the jury found 53-year-old Dolores Reid of Southfield guilty Thursday after a two-day trial before Detroit U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman.
McQuade said evidence presented at trial showed that in 2010 and 2011, Reid -- the River Rouge schools' director of state and federal programs -- accepted thousands of dollars in cash for giving preferential treatment to a company that provided tutoring services to the River Rouge School District, under the No Child Left Behind Act.
Reid allegedly promoted the company's tutoring by falsely informing parents of students entering River Rouge High School that the program was mandatory.
The company then received federal funds through the Michigan Department of Education, which subsequently recaptured the funds, leaving the school district with a loss of approximately $160,000, according to McQuade.
"Corruption by public officials is never acceptable, but it is particularly egregious when an official steals money intended for the education of school children," McQuade said. "Stealing education funds robs children of their future."
Reid is scheduled for sentencing on March 19. The bribery charge has a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. The mail fraud charge has a statutory a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Both charges are felonies.
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