Under fire for an alleged extortion attempt just two weeks before Election Day, Dino Bucci, Macomb Township Trustee (and a top aide to Public Works Commissioner Tony Marrocco), is already the target of negative campaign literature that essentially calls him a crook.
The timing is very interesting.
Four days ago, on Friday night, it was reported by several media outlets that Bucci, a Republican, had been sued by a local contractor/developer for attempting to secure a $76,000 kickback. The news broke heading into a weekend yet campaign literature – thick, glossy “door hangers” with no indication who paid for them, an election law violation – was distributed in Macomb Township neighborhoods today.
It seems unlikely that the Democrats could turn Bucci’s circumstances into a highly professional campaign lit piece in such a short turnaround time. That might lend credence to speculation that the developer, Gianna Investments, which has been locked in a financial dispute with Macomb Township since 2014, was encouraged to file suit and finger Bucci just prior to the election.
Gianna reportedly had been trying for years to recover $151,000 in water and sewer permit fees after their plans for a Macomb Township housing development fell through. According to the lawsuit, Bucci met with a company executive in 2014 in a tuxedo shop parking lot and offered to provide a township reimbursement – if half the money went into his pocket.
Needless to say, the timing of these court allegations has the circle of political insiders buzzing. The widening reach of a high-profile federal investigation into alleged widespread and “systemic” political corruption in Macomb County certainly presents opportunities for political campaign operatives as the election approaches.
As for today’s literature targeting Bucci, it is straight out of the Macomb County school of mudslinging. It claims that Bucci is engaged in dirty politics, corruption, graft, and pay-to-play business deals. Nothing subtle here. It recommends voters elect a slate of four township trustees on Nov. 8 at does not include Bucci.
However, the Gianna lawsuit is not mentioned in the flyer, so the timing could be a coincidence. Meanwhile, Bucci is certainly not helped by the latest FBI indictment for corruption in Macomb County announced today.
Bucci’s fellow GOP township board member, Clifford Freitas, was arraigned in federal court today on bribery charges for allegedly steering a township garbage hauling contract to Rizzo Environmental Services. Frietas was a Rizzo executive until very recently.
Last week, Clinton Township Trustee Dean Reynolds, a Democrat, was indicted for accepting Rizzo bribes to gain his township’s trash disposal contract.
Within hours of the charges leveled against Freitas this morning, Rizzo founder and company executive Frank Rizzo, Jr., resigned his corporate position.
All of this publicity also damages Marrocco – fairly or unfairly — who gets a mention in the press every time Bucci, his operations manager, is linked to the alleged kickback scheme.
