Ever since Monica Conyers became a convicted felon, a big chunk of the the most powerful Michigan Democrats have been somehow connected to the growing scandal. Husband John Conyers somehow wrote a letter to the EPA to open toxic deep wells that he vehemently opposed, which was a boost to Jim Pappas who was bribing Monica for the favor. In the middle was Monica Conyers advisor Sam Riddle. In addition, Pappas hired U.S. Sen Debbie Stabenow's husband, Tom Athens, to illegally lobby for the same deal, all the while Stabenow publicly came out against Canadian trash imports, including those that we to be injected into said wells.

Since the conviction of Monica, Riddle has been talking. What he said today raised many eyebrows throughout the state, now ensnaring the Michigan Democrat Party, Jennifer Granholm, Mark Brewer chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, and Bernard Kilpatrick father of disgraced felon ex-mayer Kwame Kilpatrick. From The Detroit News: Riddle: FBI probed $50K deal with Dems.

Political consultant Sam Riddle says federal investigators have questioned $50,000 he received in 2006 from the Michigan Democratic Party-- payments he described as election year "hush money."

In a recent interview with a Detroit News editor, Riddle said the Democrats paid him not to say negative things about Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who faced a challenge from Republican businessman Dick DeVos in the November election that year.

FBI agents also questioned Riddle about connections between Granholm and business consultant Bernard N. Kilpatrick, the father of then-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, said Riddle, the former chief of staff to Councilwoman Monica Conyers.

Granholm and Bernard Kilpatrick worked together in the administration of the late Wayne County Executive Edward H. McNamara in the 1990s. Federal agents have been investigating payments made to Bernard Kilpatrick's consulting firm, Maestro Associates LLC, by companies seeking contracts with the city of Detroit while his son was mayor.

Mark Brewer, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, said the $50,000 contract with Riddle's Meridian Management Systems of Flint was for media consulting and was not specifically related to the gubernatorial campaign.

Yeah - of course. You know when you lift a rock and all the cockroaches run for cover? That's what this feels like. Major Democrat figures in Michigan can't run away from the growing scandal fast enough. Granholm's office had nothing to say about it this morning:

Liz Boyd, a spokeswoman for Granholm, said the governor had no comment on what Riddle said.

Yeah, right. That was until Sam Riddle went on the radio in an interview with Paul W Smith on 760AM WJR. Here's the audio via WJR: (at the 9:02 mark is when Riddle talks about the $50k from the Dems, backtracking from his prior statement, he also talks about:

All of a sudden, Granholm's office had a bunch to say. By the afternoon, Liz Boyd, came out and responded. From MLive: Granholm's office: Sam Riddle's comments 'absurd and ridiculous'.

 

The office of Gov. Jennifer Granholm today responded strongly to a suggestion made by Sam Riddle this morning on WJR 760-AM and reported here on MLive.com.

 

Riddle, a political consultant and former aide to Monica Conyers, told Paul W. Smith that that the FBI previously questioned whether he knew anything about an inappropriate relationship between now-Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Bernard Kilpatrick, Kwame Kilpatrick's father.

"Sam Riddle's suggestion and comments are absurd and ridiculous," said Liz Boyd, a spokeswoman for Gov. Granholm.

Riddle has been at or near the center of several controversies in recent days.

Federal authorities investigated him for his role in the Synagro sludge scandal that ultimately led to Conyers' resignation, and he has since said that Conyers got him jobs as a consultant in exchange for finder's fees.

Meanwhile, a paralegal in the U.S. Attorney's office in Detroit was recently fired after being suspected of leaking information to Riddle relating to the Synagro investigation.

 

So likely Riddle planned cover for himself seeing that a whole bunch of dominos were ready to fall down. Monica Conyers, by the way, released a statement saying that she now "regrets" ever hiring Riddle.What a tangled web has been woven in Michigan. There seems to be corruption to go around, and it is. It started in Detroit and is now going statewide. Is there more to come? We're kind of running out if prominent Democrats around here implicated directly or indirectly.

A sincere thanks to the source for putting all of these facts together.
Source: http://theblogprof.blogspot.com/2009/07/mi-corruption-deepens-monica-conyers.html