Former Director of Detroit Office of Departmental Technology Services Pleads Guilty to Bribery

The former director of the city of Detroit’s Office of Departmental Technology Services (DTS) pleaded guilty today for accepting more than $29,500 in bribe payments from two information technology companies providing services and personnel to the city of Detroit.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan and Special Agent in Charge David P. Gelios of the FBI’s Detroit Division made the announcement.

Charles L. Dodd Jr., 46, of Canton, Michigan, pleaded guilty to one count of federal program bribery before U.S. District Judge Robert H. Cleland of the Eastern District of Michigan.  Sentencing has been scheduled for Jan. 9, 2017.

According to admissions made in connection with today’s plea, Dodd has held numerous supervisory positions with the city of Detroit in which he exercised discretionary supervisory authority over a staff of dozens of city employees and contractors, and held substantial influence over the administration of multimillion-dollar contracts between the city of Detroit and private information technology companies.

Between 2009 and 2016, Dodd accepted cash payments totaling more than $15,000 and a trip to North Carolina, among other things of value, from an individual who was then the president and CEO of an information technology company, according to the plea agreement.  Dodd admitted that during that same time period, he also accepted more than $14,500 in cash payments from the CEO and an employee of another information technology company.  In return for these cash payments and other things of value, Dodd agreed to provide preferential treatment to the companies, he admitted.

The FBI’s Detroit Division investigated the case.  Trial Attorneys Robert J. Heberle and Nicholas Connor of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Judge of the Eastern District of Michigan are prosecuting the case.

Youngstown man sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for firearms violation

A Youngstown man sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for firearms violations, said Carole S. Rendon, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Brian K. Bellard, 43, was arrested on Oct. 16, 2015 after Youngstown police responded to a call about an armed man arguing with people outside the Eastside Civic Center. Police found Bellard with a Smith and Wesson, model SD40VE, .40 caliber pistol, and ammunition, according to court documents.

Bellard forbidden from possessing firearms because of previous felony convictions dating back to 1992. Those convictions included felonious assault and domestic violence, according to court documents.

He pleaded guilty last year to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to 125 months in federal prison.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason M. Katz following an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Youngstown Police Department.

Contra Costa Resident Sentenced To 12 Years’ Imprisonment For Trafficking Methamphetamine And Illegally Possessing Firearms

Norteño gang member admitted selling drugs and firearms to undercover agents 

OAKLAND – Francisco Gonzalez was sentenced to 144 months’ imprisonment for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Jill Snyder.  The sentence was handed down yesterday by the Honorable Jeffrey S. White, United States District Judge, following entry of a guilty plea on June 1, 2016.

Gonzalez, 25, of Concord, Calif., pleaded guilty to drug possession and distribution charges as well as being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.  According to records filed in connection with his plea agreement, Gonzalez is a known Norteño gang member.  As part of his plea agreement, Gonzalez acknowledged that between July 21, 2015, and August 17, 2015, he sold 973 grams of actual methamphetamine, 15 grams of cocaine, nine firearms, and 208 rounds of ammunition to an undercover agent.  Several of the firearms were stolen during a residential burglary in Antioch, Calif.  According to the plea agreement, Gonzalez made the sales over the course of eight transactions that occurred in numerous venues throughout Concord and Pittsburgh, Calif.  Gonzalez also acknowledged he told the undercover agent he could get the agent a “better price” if the agent purchased methamphetamine more frequently and/or in larger quantities.  Gonzalez was charged by Information on March 17, 2016, with one count of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1); and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).

In addition to the prison term, Judge White sentenced the defendant to a five-year period of supervised release.  Gonzalez has been in custody since his arrest in September 2015 and will begin serving his sentence immediately. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Hopkins is prosecuting the case.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the ATF.