Riddle: FBI probed $50K deal with Dems

He, state Dem boss differ over why he got paid

Paul Egan / The Detroit News

Detroit -- Political consultant Sam Riddle says federal investigators have questioned $50,000 he received in 2006 from the Michigan Democratic Party-- payments he described as election year "hush money."

In a recent interview with a Detroit News editor, Riddle said the Democrats paid him not to say negative things about Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who faced a challenge from Republican businessman Dick DeVos in the November election that year.

FBI agents also questioned Riddle about connections between Granholm and business consultant Bernard N. Kilpatrick, the father of then-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, said Riddle, the former chief of staff to Councilwoman Monica Conyers.

Granholm and Bernard Kilpatrick worked together in the administration of the late Wayne County Executive Edward H. McNamara in the 1990s. Federal agents have been investigating payments made to Bernard Kilpatrick's consulting firm, Maestro Associates LLC, by companies seeking contracts with the city of Detroit while his son was mayor.

Mark Brewer, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, said the $50,000 contract with Riddle's Meridian Management Systems of Flint was for media consulting and was not specifically related to the gubernatorial campaign.

"I can't be responsible for what Sam now says about the contract," Brewer said. "The contract was for media consulting services, and we did in fact consult him about appropriate messages and people to talk to for the fall campaign.

"We have had absolutely no inquiries from law enforcement about this contract," Brewer said.

Liz Boyd, a spokeswoman for Granholm, said the governor had no comment on what Riddle said.

"Clearly, that is a matter between Mr. Riddle and the Michigan Democratic Party," Boyd said of the contract. "I have nothing to add."

As for the FBI asking questions about ties between Granholm and Bernard Kilpatrick, "it is not unreasonable to assume that if the FBI is investigating someone, they might ask questions about someone they might have once worked with or known," Boyd said.

Federal Election Commission records show the Democrats paid Riddle's company the money in five $10,000 installments on July 15, July 29, Sept. 6, Oct. 10 and Nov. 5. The election was Nov. 7.

Granholm's links to Bernard Kilpatrick were also an issue last July, when The News reported that Granholm spoke to a top official in the U.S. Attorney's Office about whether it was possible to have a joint resolution of the ongoing federal investigation of Detroit City Hall-- in which Bernard Kilpatrick was a major focus-- and her review of then-Mayor Kilpatrick's conduct in office, which was then pending.

A day after that article appeared, the Detroit Free Press reported that Granholm also asked then-First Assistant U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg about the strength of the government's case against Bernard Kilpatrick-- an allegation her office denied.

In a related development Tuesday, Detroit businessman Jim Papas said Conyers approached him about hiring Riddle in 2006 because "she felt her budget was too limited."

But Papas denied any wrongdoing or connection between a $20,000 contract with Riddle and a letter that Conyers' husband, U.S. Rep. John Conyers, wrote to federal agents in support of Papas' controversial deep injection well. John Conyers' staffers had opposed the project.

Papas, who issued a statement saying he is not a target of investigators, said he asked a staffer for John Conyers to write the letter. Riddle had nothing to do with it, Papas said. Conyers issued a statement early Tuesday denying any wrongdoing and saying he reconsidered his position "in the context of the congressman's representational duties to his constituents."

Federal agents said Conyers had no knowledge of his wife's crimes and didn't attempt to influence the investigation. Monica Conyers pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to bribery for accepting at least $6,000 to switch her position on a $1.2 billion sludge-hauling contract, allowing it to pass in 2007.

Staff Writers Christine MacDonald and Deb Price contributed.