US attorney wants 3 year sentence for ex-Detroit councilman Andre Spivey after bribery guilty plea

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Three-plus years is how long a federal prosecutor is asking a judge to sentence Andre Spivey to prison.

The former Detroit city councilman pleaded guilty to bribery in September - pocketing nearly $36,000 - receiving money on more than eight separate occasions over the course of five years in exchange for his vote.

In a sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday, US Attorney Dawn Ison said: "Instead of doing the job he was elected to do, Spivey made satisfying his own greed and sacrificing the best interests of the people of Detroit, his job."

"This is a confidential informant used by the government to influence, or try to influence, Mr. Spivey by giving him money," said Spivey's attorney Elliott Hall last year.

FOX 2 reached out to him Wednesday, but he’s declining comment until he files his own sentencing memo - in which he’ll ask Judge Victoria Roberts for a more lenient sentence.

"The guidelines are there, he’s acknowledged his wrongdoings and apparently has cooperated with US attorneys," said Professor Lawrence Dubin.

Dubin is emeritus professor of law at University of Detroit Mercy.

"I feel compassion for Mr. Spivey because I get the sense that when he went into politics he had the right motivation," he said. "And I think that’s true of too many politicians, especially in the Detroit area, who have let the public down."

More Coverage: Indictment claims Detroit Councilman Andre Spivey took $35K in bribes

To bolster the recommendation of a 30-month sentence, the prosecution pointed to other public corruption cases in Detroit and throughout Southeast Michigan:

From Clinton Township’s Dean Reynolds who was sentenced to 17 years in prison for bribery, to former Detroit Councilwoman Monica Conyers’ 37-month sentence for the same.

"I think one of the big factors here that the judge will take into account, is deterrence," Dubin said. "This is a city that has had too many politicians that have been brought before federal judges on corruption charges, and the public deserves better."

Related: Andre Spivey resigns from Detroit City Council following guilty plea

Spivey's attorney will file his sentencing memo next week. The judge will decide Spivey's fate the week after on Jan. 19.