Former Macomb County Public Works Commissioner, Anthony Marrocco, 73, has been sentenced to three months in prison and 14 months of home confinement for attempted extortion by withholding county permits from businessmen who refused to contribute to his campaign accounts.
The 73-year-old of Ray Township was also placed on supervised release for two years, with the first 14 months to serve under home confinement without access to the internet, sports, movies, or other entertainment.
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Marrocco, in addition, was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine.
The Ray Township native served as the commissioner of Public Works from 1993-2016. In September of 2022, he pleaded guilty to count three of the indictment charging him with attempted extortion of a Macomb County developer in April of 2016.
Marrocco admitted that he pressured the developer to spend thousands of dollars to purchase tickets to one of his fundraisers. He also threatened to delay or withhold approval of county permits sought by the developer if he did not purchase additional tickets to Marrocco’s political fundraiser.
“Marrocco had exercised unchecked power over people just trying to do business in Macomb County,” said United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison. “Although we are disappointed in the length of the Court’s sentence, through Marrocco’s conviction for extortion, he will no longer be able to demand obedience and respect from the district’s citizens.”
“Today, Mr. Marrocco has been held responsible for his part in a pervasive pattern of corruption and illegal practices by public officials in Macomb County,” said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “Public corruption is the FBI’s number one criminal investigative priority because a lack of faith in government undermines our institutions, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to address this issue until honest and responsible government is the order of the day in Macomb County and throughout the State of Michigan.”
“Public officials, whether elected or appointed, hold positions of trust in the eyes of the public,” said Charles Miller, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Detroit Field Office. “Today’s sentence sends a clear message that when public officials commit crimes, they will be held accountable for that broken trust. IRS-CI will continue to provide financial investigative expertise as we work with our law enforcement partners to enforce the law and ensure public trust.”