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Contractor latest to be charged in Macomb County corruption probe

Posted at 11:29 AM, Aug 28, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-28 11:29:20-04

A contractor who allegedly took payments for work he didn't do and then gave kickbacks to officials is the latest to be charged in the federal investigation into Macomb County.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, 51-year-old Christopher Sorrentino of Macomb Township was charged with one count of structuring financial transactions to avoid currency reporting requirements.

Acting U.S. Attorney Daniel Lemisch made the announcement with FBI Special Agent in Charge of Detroit Office David Gelio sand IRS Special Agent in Charge of Detroit Office Manny Muriel.

According to the attorney's office, Sorrentino allegedly accepted a check from Macomb Township, at the direction of a Macomb Township elected official, in November 2014. The check was for work Sorrentino didn't perform, according to the attorney's office.

The same official then told Sorrentino to pay him a kickback of $66,000, and in order to do that, Sorrentino allegedly wrote seven checks for less than $10,000, then caused the checks to be cashed, giving the $66,000 to the elected official.

The investigation is part of a wide-ranging corruption investigating within Macomb County. So far, multiple people, included elected officials and contractors, have been charged.