Chuck Rizzo Jr. (Fox 2 screenshot)
Ex-trash mogul Charles "Chuck" Rizzo, a central figure in an FBI investigation into public corruption in Macomb County, was sentenced Monday to 5 1/2 years in prison, the Detroit Free Press reports.
Rizzo, 47, of Bloomfield Hills, was accused of fraud and paying $206,000 to Macomb County officials to land municipal contracts for his former firm, Rizzo Environmental Services.
Rizzo cooperated in the probe for a while, wearing an FBI wire. He recently insisted that the politicians approached him, not the other way around.
Rizzo’s corruption and bribe payments spread to at least four separate municipalities in Macomb County, authorities said. Rizzo blamed his crimes on "two-bit corrupt politicians" and schoolyard bullies as a kid.
Rizzo pleaded guilty on Nov. 9. He faced charges of bribery and scheming with others to steal hundreds of thousand of dollars from Rizzo Environmental Services between from 2013-16 when the majority owner was a New York-based private equity firm. The company has since been sold to GFL (Green For Life) Environmental.
