'Mom's Spaghetti' to open in Detroit, Spivey expected to resign, Warren police accused of unlawful seizure

WEDNESDAY NEWS HIT - Detroit City Councilman Andre Spivey is expected to resign his position at the city following a guilty plea he entered Tuesday where he admitted to accepting more than $35,000 in bribes in exchange for towing contracts.

Spivey faces five years in prison following his admission. He's the second council member to plead guilty to crimes this year, following a May guilty plea filed by Gabe Leland.

A widening federal probe into illegal towing contracts orchestrated between city council officials, police departments, and private companies continue to ensnare more officials. Spivey. who admitted to taking payments in exchange for assisting with a proposed towing ordinance that was pending before the council, agreed to step down Wednesday. 

"He will tender his resignation letter tomorrow," said his attorney Elliot Hall, who declined to say why he took the money. 

According to a federal indictment obtained by FOX 2, Spivey and another public official who was not named accepted bribe payments between 2016 and 2020. Spivey, who took payments between 2018 and 2020, admitted to meeting with an undercover agent and confidential source at the Side Street Diner in Grosse Pointe and accepting $1,000 in cash from the undercover agent and another $1,000 from the source. 

In another exchange, Spivey received $12,000 to resolve towing issues. 

In all the confidential source and undercover agent paid out almost $36,000 for a towing contract Spivey never voted on.

"Yes - your honor - he took the money - but he never acted on it," Hall said. "We've been cooperating with the government for a year and a half - the only name mentioned was (councilman) Mr. (Scott) Benson."

Benson and Councilmember At-Large Janee Ayers both had their offices raided by federal law enforcement earlier this summer. Neither has been charged. 

Spivey is expected to be sentenced to 3 to 4 years in prison and fined up to $250,000 for the crime. He's set to be sentenced on Jan. 19.

‘Mom’s Spaghetti' restaurant openning in Detroit today

It was an iconic line from one of Eminem's most famous songs. Now it's ready for purchase on Woodward Avenue. Mom's Spaghetti, a restaurant that pays homage to the Detroit Rapper's song Lose Yourself, is opening in the city Wednesday. Commercials previewing the restaurant's grand unveiling have been playing on TV for about a week. 

That includes a 30-second spot on YouTube posted by the rapper's account. "Want some road pasta after the game?" "Got that." "Meatballs?" "You know we got that." "What about the 'sghetti sandwich? Mom's got that too."

The restaurant will open at a brick-and-mortar location in downtown Detroit. The venue will be within the newly-opened Union Assembly at 2131 Woodward Avenue. Its grand opening is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Sept. 29. One order of Mom's Spaghetti will cost $9. If you get it with meat balls, it's $12 or you can upgrade to vegan rabbit balls for $14. The sandwich is $11. 

Already a concept for a pop-up restaurant at a shelter, the pasta shop has made intermittent appearances at various concerts and performances put on by Eminem. During the pandemic, Mom's Spaghetti was delivered to frontline caregivers at eight different hospitals. Those administering the COVID-19 vaccine at the TCF Center also got some. See the full menu here.

Mother of murder victim alleges Warren police unlawfully seized possessions

Katrina Evans, the mother of Tukoyo Moore, is suing the city of Warren, alleging that police officers unlawfully seized close to $200,000 in items from her son’s home after he was murdered last year. She says officers collected phones, a laptop, jewelry, and clothes belonging to Moore's 6-year-old son.

Those items have yet to be returned, she says. "If I’m law enforcement I have to give you a notice," said attorney Todd Perkins. "And I have to say in that notice, what it is that I’m taking, and I also have to declare why I believe I have the authority to take it."

Evans said the department sold some of the jewelry before getting it back and offered to return it to her if she agreed to not hold them responsible, her lawyer said. Warren Mayor Jim Fouts was not immediately available for comment and did not respond to texts or emails. 

Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer said Moore's murder revolved around drugs and money. Ex-con Nicholas Bahri is facing three counts of first-degree murder and a number of other charges. Barre was bound over to circuit court last week.

Ex-Detroit fire official accused of stealing from union is mother of wanted murder suspect

An allegedly corrupt Detroit union official has connections to a brutal murder from a few years ago. On Monday - FOX 2 reported retired Detroit Fire union treasurer Verdine Day is accused of stealing over $200,000 from her union -- allegedly spending it on lavish trips and other personal expenses.

Tonight sources confirmed that Day is also the mother of wanted homicide fugitive Tamera Williams. She's been on the run since 2018 for the murder of her former boyfriend, David Carter from Melvindale. Police say Williams killed Carter, chopped his body into pieces and stuffed them in a sleeping bag, and dumped it on the side of I-75 in Ohio.

There's a five thousand dollar reward for her arrest. Melvindale police named Carter's girlfriend, Tamera Williams or Tammy, as the lead suspect. Authorities say Williams disappeared after the 39-year-old father went missing and she's been on the run since.

Verdine Day was charged in federal court with bank and wire fraud after the scheme was allegedly uncovered following an audit, which was initiated in 2020. Day, who was once honored as the Detroit Woman Firefighter of the Year, initially came under suspicion in Oct. 2019, just after her retirement.

Ex-daughter-in-law of late U-M sports doc alleges he abused her son

More allegations are being leveled against the late Dr. Robert Anderson who has been accused of abusing countless student-athletes at the University of Michigan over several decades. This time, the allegations come from a member of his family.

Teri Anderson was married to the son of Dr. Anderson between 1995 and 2008. When she first heard the accusations filed against Dr. Anderson in February of 2020 that he was a sexual predator, she said the charges weren't surprising but the timing was. "(He) was a very odd person. He was quiet, reserved, disconnected, and showed little emotions," she said.

Teri said Bob gifted his 50-yard line football tickets to the court so that his son could get favorable rulings in order for Bob to have more time alone with her children, especially her son. Her son was only 7 when Dr. Anderson died in 2008. In 2016, her son took his own life.

Teri is not part of any litigation and it should be known that she has no direct evidence that Dr. Anderson ever molested her child. She can only speculate that the cause of her child's suicide was related to her belief of the alleged sexual abuse.

What else we're watching

1. The Detroit Grand Prix may be taking a different route in the coming years after organizers announced Wednesday they were exploring moving the race back to a downtown circuit. The race has been held on Belle Isle since the early 90s.
2. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will be signing the state's 2022 state budget Wednesday, which will invest an unprecedented amount of money toward schools, roads, health care, and child care following a windfall of federal financial support. 
3. Three people, two men and one woman, were injured in shooting incidents reported at two separate locations in Detroit early Wednesday. Police said all three showed up at hospitals with gunshot injuries. None are cooperating with the investigation. 
4. It's fat bear week, which means the search is on for the country's favorite chubby bear as the massive mammals prepare to beef up before hibernation. See the bracket here. 
5. The family of Jessica Starr has proposed building a splash pad to honor her memory in Novi. The former FOX 2 meteorologist's mother shared her vision with the Novi City Council on Monday. 

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

Expect more beautiful weather Wednesday as Michigan finds itself in the middle of something called an Omega Block. When two low-pressure systems flank a high-pressure system, you get stagnate weather changes. We're lucky enough it's sunny and warm. Southeast Michigan can expect some rain this weekend. 

Britney Spears' conservatorship hearing on Wednesday may mean freedom from court or father

Judge Brenda Penny has been the calm eye of the storm surrounding Britney Spears and the conservatorship that controls her life. Now all eyes are on her.

The Los Angeles Superior Court Judge has thus far been able to act more as a caretaker than a dictator in the case, but at a potentially pivotal hearing on Wednesday afternoon, she will be pressed to make major decisions on whether to keep Spears' father on as her conservator, or whether to end the conservatorship altogether.

Spears' attorney Mathew Rosengart has been aggressively pushing for the ouster of her father James Spears since moments after Penny allowed her to hire Rosengart in July. Penny denied Rosengart's request for an emergency hearing on the issue, telling the attorney it could wait until Wednesday.

And in a major reversal, James Spears, who first sought the conservatorship in 2008 and has been its primary overseer ever since, has filed a petition to end it altogether. He urged the judge to make a decision on the issue Wednesday and make questions of his status moot.