Former Romulus mayor gets probation for theft, misuse of $15K in campaign funds
ROMULUS, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - The former mayor of Romulus has been sentenced in connection with the theft and misuse of campaign funds, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced.
LeRoy Burcroff, 59, of Romulus, was given three years of probation with four months of home confinement.
He was elected mayor of Romulus in 2014 and established a committee to elect (CTE) fund called "Committee to Elect LeRoy D. Burcroff" as part of his election efforts.
In the two and a half years after establishing this committee, Burcroff defrauded donors by using the funds donated to the committee for his own benefit.
In November 2017, Burcroff spent over $3,500 of the donations on a church fee, a banquet room rental, flowers and the bar tab for a family member's wedding.
In 2017 and 2018, Burcroff also used funds from the committee to spend over $11,600 in dues and expenses on a yacht club.
Burcroff had overpaid his yacht club dues multiple times using the campaign funds, but when the yacht club issued them, Burcroff deposited the money into his personal bank account.
He also made a donation using the committee funds to a trade industry in 2018 because he'd hoped he would get a promotion in his private sector job, according to court documents.
In 2019, he used $4,000 in campaign money for a Florida trip with friends.
"Trust in our state's campaign finance system is a critical component of a healthy representative democracy," said Ison. "Mr. Burcroff's conviction and sentence underscores our commitment to ensuring that the citizens of the Eastern District are represented by public officials who have integrity and are seeking office not for their self-interest, but for the good of the people they are elected to represent."
