Dean Reynolds, Bribery, MI 2023

Clinton Township Trustee Dean Reynolds, 49, of Clinton Township, was indicted yesterday on eight counts of bribery, accused of selling his official power for cash, checks, and favors. Federal prosecutors say Reynolds turned his elected office into a pay-to-play scheme, corruptly influencing township decisions in exchange for over $76,000 in bribes from contractors and undercover agents.

The indictment, unsealed by U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade, charges Reynolds with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity stretching from 2009 to 2016. He allegedly accepted $9,000 in cash and a $7,000 check from representatives of one company between 2009 and 2013. Between 2012 and 2015, Reynolds demanded and took more than $50,000 in cash and other things of value from a second company with business before the township.

In 2016, Reynolds accepted $7,000 in cash from an undercover FBI agent during three separate sting operations. Even after one company’s representative began cooperating with federal investigators, Reynolds allegedly took an additional $10,000 in cash bribes—proof, prosecutors say, of his brazen disregard for the law.

The case is part of a sprawling federal probe into systemic corruption across multiple municipalities in southeast Michigan, particularly Macomb County. The FBI Detroit Area Corruption Task Force, a coalition including the IRS-Criminal Investigation, Michigan State Police, and the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, has been methodically dismantling networks of influence-peddling in local government.

Reynolds faces a maximum of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the eight counts under Title 18, United States Code, Section 666. If convicted, he could spend decades behind bars and forfeit his pension, reputation, and public trust.

An indictment is not evidence of guilt. Reynolds is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The FBI urges anyone with information about corrupt public officials to call the Detroit Division at 313-965-2222. Assistant U.S. Attorneys R. Michael Bullotta and David A. Gardey are prosecuting the case.

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