Former Trash Exec Pleads Guilty In Macomb County Corruption Case

PORT HURON, Mich. (AP) - The former head of a Detroit-area trash company has admitted bribing suburban officials and even ripping off the company.

Chuck Rizzo appeared in Port Huron federal court Thursday and pleaded guilty to bribery and conspiracy. Prosecutors will seek less than seven years in prison, but it depends on his cooperation in a sweeping probe of corruption in Macomb County.

Rizzo has agreed to give up $4 million to the government. He led Rizzo Environmental Services, a trash-hauling company, while it was owned by a private equity firm. The company was sold and is now known by a different name.

Seventeen people have been charged in the investigation, and 11 have pleaded guilty. Federal authorities disclosed the probe a year ago, calling the corruption "systemic."

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