Grand Jury Charges Samuel L. Riddle, Jr. and Mary Waters for Conspiring to Bribe and Bribing Southfield City Councilman William Lattimore in Connection with Pawn Shop Relocation

A federal Indictment charging Samuel L. Riddle, Jr. and Mary Waters, both of Detroit, Michigan with conspiring to bribe Southfield City Councilman William Lattimore in connection with the Southfield City Council’s approval of the relocation of a pawn shop was issued by a federal Grand Jury United States Attorney Terrence Berg announced today. Berg also announced that both Riddle and Waters were charged with actually paying two separate bribes of thousands of dollars to Lattimore. The charges were set forth in an Indictment issued by a Detroit Grand Jury today.

According to the three-count Indictment, between April 2007 and May 2008, defendants Riddle and Waters conspired with each other to bribe Councilman Lattimore with $12,500 in order to influence and reward Lattimore in connection with the relocation of a pawn shop in Southfield. The Indictment charges that Riddle and Waters paid Lattimore $7,500 in cash on or about August 1, 2007. Riddle and Waters made a second payment of $5,000 to Lattimore on October 12, 2007. On May 5, 2008, during a Southfield City Council meeting, Lattimore advocated and voted for the relocation of the pawn shop as a result of the bribes paid by Riddle and Waters. Previously, Lattimore had issued letters on City of Southfield letterhead supporting the relocation soon after each of the two bribes were paid by Riddle and Waters.

If convicted, Riddle and Waters both face a maximum of five years in prison on the conspiracy to commit bribery count in the Indictment, and ten years in prison on each of the two counts of bribery.

The forfeiture allegation in the indictment provides the defendants with notice that the Government is seeking to forfeit certain properties, or types of properties, upon the defendants’ convictions.

If convicted of bribery charges, Riddle and Waters will be ordered to forfeit $45,000 in cash; Riddle will also be ordered to forfeit a $5,500 Breitling watch and Waters will be ordered to forfeit a $6,000 Rolex watch. Asset forfeiture is not a substantive offense, or an element of a crime, but is a required part of the punishment imposed upon conviction for certain criminal offenses.

Every person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. An indictment is only an allegation that must be proven in court. The jury will determine whether the evidence is sufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Berg was joined in the announcement by FBI Special Agent in Charge Andrew Arena.

United States Attorney Berg said, “The charges returned today allege that Sam Riddle and Mary Waters paid bribes in order to corrupt the political process in the City of Southfield for their own personal gain. Bribing an elected public official can never be tolerated if clean, responsible government is to be maintained. This investigation and prosecution should serve notice that we will be relentless in pursuing those who try to buy influence or votes from public officials.”

Andrew Arena, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation said, “Plain and simple, Mary Waters and Sam Riddle conspired to buy William Lattimore's Southfield Council vote. This type of corruption erodes public confidence and undermines the strength of our democracy. The FBI's public corruption program is determined to prevent such abuse of public trust.”

The case was investigated by agents of the FBI. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Cares, David A. Gardey and Rita Foley.

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