Source: US FBI
DETROIT – The former mayor of the City of Inkster was sentenced to 24 months in prison by United States District Judge Linda V. Parker, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. announced today. Patrick Wimberly, 51, of Inkster, pleaded guilty last September to demanding $100,000 in bribe payments.
Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Reuben Coleman, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Wimberly served as the mayor of the City of Inkster, Michigan, from 2019 through 2023. In the spring of 2022, Wimberly demanded $100,000 in cash payments to facilitate the sale of property owned by the City (referred to as “Parcel 1”) to an outside party (referred to as “Person A”). Over several months, Person A provided Wimberly with monthly cash bribes to secure the purchase of this property. The monthly payments started at $5,000 but the parties agreed to eventually increase that amount. Person A did not move to increase the bribe payments immediately, leading Wimberly to complain that he was due “10 a month.” As requested, Person A then increased the monthly payments to $10,000. In total, Person A provided $50,000 in cash to Wimberly for the purpose of winning the bid for Parcel 1. The Federal Bureau of Investigation intervened before the property could be transferred to Person A.
“We know that an honest leader gives stability to his city and one who is greedy for bribes tears it down. Mr. Wimberly dishonored his office so that he could line his pockets. And we will not let crooked politicians undermine our local government,” said US Attorney Gorgon.
“The sentencing of Patrick Wimberly, the former Mayor of the City of Inkster, sends a clear and powerful message that no one is above the law,” said Reuben Coleman, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “Public Corruption erodes the very foundation of our democracy, and the FBI in Michigan remains steadfast in protecting our community from those who abuse positions of trust. I would like to thank the dedicated members from our FBI Detroit Area Corruption Task Force for their thorough investigative work, along with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan for their successful prosecution of this case. The FBI will continue to investigate any allegations of criminal misconduct to ensure that justice is served, and the public’s trust is preserved.”
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Detroit Area Corruption Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eaton P. Brown