Former Detroit City Councilman Andre Spivey released from federal prison

Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press
Updated ·2 min read
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Ex-Detroit City Councilman Andre Spivey has been released from a federal prison in Morgantown, West Virginia, after serving time for bribery.

Spivey, 49, was transferred from the Federal Correctional Institution Morgantown on June 1 to community confinement overseen by the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Detroit Residential Reentry Management Office, Emery Nelson, a Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesperson, said in an email to the Free Press on Thursday.

Community confinement means the inmate either is in home confinement or a residential reentry center or halfway house, Nelson said.

Nelson said Spivey’s projected date of release from Federal Bureau of Prisons custody is Oct. 30.

Former Detroit City Council Member Andre L. Spivey walks out of federal court after being sentenced for two years after pleading guilty in his corruption and bribery case in Detroit on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022.
Former Detroit City Council Member Andre L. Spivey walks out of federal court after being sentenced for two years after pleading guilty in his corruption and bribery case in Detroit on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022.

“For privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not disclose an individual's specific location in community confinement, nor do we discuss their conditions of confinement, reasons for transfer, or release plans,” Nelson wrote.

Spivey was sentenced in January 2022 to two years in prison for bribery, his case capping the first one charged as part of an ongoing corruption investigation in Detroit.

The sentencing was part of a broader federal corruption probe that focused on Detroit City Council, the Detroit Police Department and the city’s towing operation.

More: Macomb County's culture of corruption: 'It's how it's always been'

Spivey pleaded guilty to felony bribery conspiracy and admitted to accepting $35,900 in exchange for his political influence on a vehicle towing ordinance before the City Council. He resigned before the council voted on the measure in October 2021.

Bribes included about $14,000 for a birthday fundraiser and $2,000 for a trip to Las Vegas. He accepted the money during eight meetings from 2018 to 2020 from someone in the local towing industry who was a confidential FBI source. An undercover agent attended two of the meetings, according to prior Free Press reporting.

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ex-Detroit City Councilman Andre Spivey released from federal prison