by
Andrew Spivey
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Ex-Detroit City Councilman Andre Spivey, who began serving a two-year sentence for bribery last July, has been released from federal prison in West Virginia and is under home detention in Detroit, his attorney told Deadline Detroit Thursday.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons website shows that he's under the supervision of the Detroit Residential Reentry Management (RRM) field office, and his release date is Oct. 30.
It's common for inmates to transition from prison to a halfway house or home confinement before the final release from custody from a state or federal prison. During that time, while under restrictions, they're often allowed to work to transition back into society.
Attorney Elliott Hall says Spivey was released from prison on June 1 and will be under home detention until his release from the system in October. After that, he'll be on supervised release for one year.
Hall says the ex-councilman plans to return as an associate pastor at his church, Oak Grove AME Church in Detroit, and finish up law school at night where he has about 18 months to go.
"He'll find something," Hall said. "People think well of him."
The Detroit News first reported that he was released from the federal prison.
Hall said that Spivey was in a federal prison in West Viriginia where he worked three times a week as a forest ranger outside the facility.
The Bureau of Prisons did not immediately return a call and email for comment.
Spivey was sentencerd to two years in prison for bribery in January 2022. He reported to prison last July 1.
He pleaded gulity to conspiring with a staff member to commit bribery by taking more than $35,000 in bribe payments in connection with the City Council’s oversight of towing in Detroit.
Specifically, Spivey accepted $35,900 from an undercover FBI agent and a government confidential source on eight separate occasions between February 2018 and February 2020 while sitting on the council.
In a sentencing memorandum, Spivey claimed that he cooperated with the government once he was approached about the allegations.
But the government responded firmily in its own memorandum, insisting that was a lie.
"Spivey seeks to mislead the Court into believing that he truthfully and actively cooperated with law enforcement after being approached by the FBI," the U.S. Attorney's Office memorandum said.
"Spivey actually obstructed and lied repeatedly during his debriefings with FBI agents and prosecutors. Spivey lied when he denied accepting bribes from other Detroit businessmen," the memorandum said.
"Spivey also harmed the investigation by warning the member of his staff with whom Spivey had conspired to commit bribery."
Hall says he should never have been given a prison sentence.
