Prosecutors seek maximum jail time for Synagro player

Paul Egan / The Detroit News

Detroit -- Detroit businessman Rayford W. Jackson should be given the maximum five-year sentence for his role in the Synagro bribery scandal at City Hall, prosecutors said Thursday.

"Rayford Jackson has exhibited a longstanding pattern of manipulation, deceit and abuse," Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Bullotta and Mark Chutkow said in a sentencing memorandum.

Jackson's attorney, Richard H. Morgan Jr. of Pontiac, said he will ask for an 18-month sentence when his client is sentenced Nov. 13.

Jackson pleaded guilty in June to paying more than $6,000 in bribes to former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers in 2007. The payments were to secure her vote -- which proved to be the tie-breaker -- to approve a $1.2 billion sewage sludge contract with Synagro Technologies Inc. of Houston. Jackson was the local partner on the deal.

The prosecutors argue in the memorandum to U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn that the severity of the penalty should be calculated based not on the modest size of the bribes but the massive value of the contract to Synagro. Using that formula, Jackson's sentencing guidelines easily exceed the five-year maximum for bribery conspiracy, they argue.

"The defendant has refused to cooperate with the government, including refusing to answer questions about historical corruption in the city," Bullotta and Chutkow said. "Jackson even cited his refusal to cooperate to the news media in interviews."

Also, Jackson "had a history of paying bribes to get what he wanted," and there is evidence he "defrauded people and banks in connection with investments in real estate in the city of Detroit."

Morgan said Jackson's sentence should be lower than those given to former Synagro official James R. Rosendall, who financed the bribes before cooperating with federal officials, and Conyers, who received the bribes.

Morgan said he understands the government is recommending 10 to 16 months for Rosendall. Conyers' guidelines have been calculated at 30-37 months, but her attorney is seeking probation.

"How can the briber get more than the bribee?" Morgan asked.

Conyers is to be sentenced Dec. 1; Rosendall on Nov. 30.

pegan@detnews.com (313) 222-2069