Fed corruption probe targets DPS, EAA officials
The FBI has launched a corruption investigation involving Gov. Rick Snyder’s K-12 reform district and Detroit Public Schools, the latest blemish for districts struggling with low test scores, falling enrollment and funding shortfalls.
FBI agents are investigating multiple officials from DPS and the Snyder-created Education Achievement Authority to determine if contracts were awarded to vendors who paid kickbacks, sources told The Detroit News.
According to a document obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, one target of the investigation is Kenyetta “K.C.” Wilbourn, ex-principal of the authority’s Mumford High School.
The investigation indicates federal agents are mining a new vein of alleged corruption in a city that has endured multiple federal prosecutions of former Detroit city officials, including ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, pension trustees and public school officials, in recent years.
Wilbourn, 40, of Harper Woods was seen as a rising star, a 4-foot-11-inch turnaround specialist at Denby High School with a “GUCCI1” personalized license plate and a 2007 Maserati. She abruptly resigned last fall after FBI agents searched her home.
“I thought she was going to be the next person to run EAA. She was that sharp,” said former DPS and EAA contractor Andrew Rio, who consulted on athletic projects. He is not involved in the investigation.“It breaks my heart, but money makes people funny.”
The corruption investigation surfaced one day after The News reported that former DPS official Barbara Byrd-Bennett, who pleaded guilty to defrauding the Chicago school system, is facing scrutiny over her tenure in Detroit.
Federal authorities alleged that as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, Byrd-Bennett steered $23 million in no-bid contracts to two education firms in return for $2.3 million in bribes and kickbacks.
No one has been charged with a crime during the ongoing investigation involving Fed corruption probe targets DPS, EAA officials:
Big Education Ape: Ex-CPS chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett pleads guilty, tearfully apologizes to students - Chicago Tribune http://bit.ly/1G3FRBJ
Big Education Ape: Teachers union asks board to suspend Hanson, other top officials | Fresno Bee http://bit.ly/1NJiIHk
