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Fmr. Detroit court clerk sentenced for forgery

Posted at 11:41 AM, Feb 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-12 11:41:34-05

A former Detroit court clerk who was involved in a bribery and forgery scam where she and a co-conspirator took thousands of dollars in bribe for the dismissal of traffic tickets.

Annette Bates, 56, was sentenced to four years probation and pay $10,000 restitution after pleading guilty to two counts of forgery and admitting to personally receiving $10,000 in the $40,000 bribery scheme.

A joint investigation between the Michigan Department of Attorney General and the FBI's Public Corruption Task Force showed that bribes were being accepted in exchange for dismissal of traffic citations over a two-year period, according to Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette.

“Individuals with a blatant disregard for the law must realize there are consequences,” said Schuette in a press release. “Stealing from Detroit’s traffic citation funds is stealing from not just the City coffers, but stealing from those who are working hard to continue turning Detroit around.

Her coconspirator, Charles Fair, also pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery and will be sentenced on March 14.