TAYLOR, Mich. – Former Taylor Mayor Rick Sollars has been sentenced to 71 months in prison for bribery and wire fraud.
Sollars pleaded guilty to accepting bribes in the form of home improvements totaling more than $85,000.
In exchange, Sollars helped real estate developer Shady Awad obtain multiple tax-foreclosed properties owned by the city of Taylor.
Federal prosecutors said Sollars also took tens of thousands of dollars from his campaign re-election fund for his personal use, which was a direct violation of residents' trust.
Sollars apologized to the residents of Taylor and his family. He and his attorney, Todd Flood, explained how the ordeal has impacted his wife and children.
They had hoped the judge would sentence him to 24 months of home confinement.
Instead, Judge Mark Goldsmith sentenced Sollars to the maximum, referring to his behavior as “a grave matter” and a “horrendous breach of trust by a public official.”
In his remarks, he noted Sollars' behavior was not a momentary lapse of judgement, describing it instead as a crime of opportunity that repeated itself over and over and over again.
The judge said the sentence should serve as punishment and determent to other public officials.
Sollars must also pay a $10,000 fine and once released, will be on supervised release for three yeas.