tap and admitted responsibility when con-
fronted by federal authorities. The ongo-
ing scandal led to criminal charges of mul-
tiple elected officials and municipal
employees in several communities.
During a contentious 3-1/2 hour
Plymouth Township Board of Trustees
meeting in May 2015, one month after
Price took office, Plymouth Township offi-
cials awarded Rizzo a seven-year, $11 mil-
lion waste hauling contract and dismissed
Duncan Disposal System, Inc. The meet-
ing was punctuatedwith raised voices and
obvious displays of temper but then-offi-
cials claimed Rizzo was the low bidder of
five competing companies and the contact
was approvedby a 5-1 vote.
Heise said after the initial discovery of
the missing property in the spring of last
year, township officials considered turning
the investigation over to the office of
Attorney General Bill Schuette, but
declined to do so because of the state offi-
cial's involvement with Price. Heise
described that move as being “problemat-
ic” and said one of the main reasons for
the decision to involve federal authorities
was that Price was a former employee of
the attorney general and Schuette had
conducted fundraisers and provided polit-
ical endorsements for Price. Price worked
in the department of constituent relations
for Schuette from 2011 until 2015 when he
left to become the Wayne County
Commissioner fromthe 11thDistrict.
The federal prosecutor in charge of the
township investigation is Assistant U.S.
Attorney Michael Bullotta. Bullotta was
the prosecutor for the Rizzo case and is
known for his role in the prosecution of
former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick,
a historic case that sent the former mayor
of Detroit to prison for 28 years.
“I'mnot at liberty at this point to go into
great detail,” Heise said, “It (the investiga-
tion) may involve Rizzo, past employees
and officials.”
One law enforcement official close to
the situation said that multiple sources
have confirmed that there is an ongoing
federal investigation into thefts of town-
ship property. He added that his informa-
tion was that federal indictments are
pending.
“It appears that the investigation is
focused on the former Township Director
of Parks and Grants Mike Mitchell,” the
official, who askednot to be named, said.
Mitchell was Price's former aide during
his tenure as a Wayne County
Commissioner and was hired by Price
soon after his controversial appointment
as Plymouth Township supervisor, replac-
ing Richard Reaume, who resigned mid-
term.
Mitchell was reportedly involved in a
physical altercation with former township
Treasurer Ron Edwards regarding the
placement of signs in the park during
preparation for the Fourth of July picnic
two years ago. Mitchell did not report for
work for more than four months after
Price was defeated in his bid for election
to the supervisor's job and was subse-
quently terminated.
“This investigation is not over,” a high-
ly-placed law enforcement official con-
firmed.
Tiderington refused comment on the
situation saying he felt it would be a viola-
tion of professional ethics to comment on
the ongoing investigation.
A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
5
January 4, 2018
N
ORTHVILLE
- P
LYMOUTH
Foundation awards $29,000 to teachers
Last month, the Northville
Educational Foundation award-
ed 43 teachers and 22 projects
across the Northville Public
Schools with Innovative Grants
totaling $29,571.
Almost 30 applications were
received by the foundation
requesting more than $40,000 in
funding, a spokesperson said.
The applications were reviewed
by a committee comprised of
Northville
Education
Foundation board members as
well as retired Northville teach-
ers. The projects were scored
based on their innovation; how
they address curriculum stan-
dards; the ability to replicate the
projects; the number of students
impacted and the goals for the
outcome of the project. The top
scores that fit within the $30,000
budget allocatedwere selected.
Some of the projects included
laser engravers, digital force sen-
sors and hand held ultrasound
units; Keva planks to help with
spatial relations and geometry;
and an outdoor storybookwalk at
Ridgewood that will benefit the
community as well as the school.
To see the full list of winners,
visit the Northville Educational
Foundationwebsite.
Overall, the committee was
impressed with the teachers who
are willing to go the extra mile to
bring extra programming into
their classrooms, and with proj-
ects that showed such creativity
and invention, said Northville
Educational
Foundation
Director ChristaHowley.
“These teachers are going
above and beyond by applying
for these grants. There is paper-
work to fill out, deadlines to be
met and final reports and inter-
views to be completed,” said
Howley. “They are doing all this
extra work to apply for grant
money that isn't even for them. It
is so they can purchasematerials
to do these amazing projects with
their students, projects that the
kids will remember and talk
about around the dinner table.”
More than 20 projects will be
implemented in the classrooms
beginning second semester of
this school year and will impact
more than 2,000 students this
year at all 10 Northville schools.
Many of them will be able to be
replicated year after year,
Howley said.
“Award Day is one of NEF's
favorite days of the year,” said
Howley “The teachers don't
know that they have been award-
ed the grants, so when we walk
into their classroom, it is almost
like they won the lottery. They
are so appreciativewhen really it
is NEF that appreciates every-
thing these teachers do for our
students.” This is the ninth year
the Northville Educational
Foundation has provided
Innovative Grants to teachers
across the district.
A total of $165,000 has been
granted to these innovative
teachers since the program
began, Howley added.
Howley said a special thanks
was due those who served on the
Innovative Grants Committee
including, Dwight Sieggreen,
Marisa Cullens, Arlene Frayne,
Gary Gandolfi, Donna Hicks, Jeff
Jaghab, Suzanne Lynn, Martha
Michalak, Sharon Pernia, and
DonPrice.
Probe
FROM PAGE 1
Holiday surprise
Sam Plymale and Tony Bruscato, far right, of the
Plymouth Downtown Development District
played Santa this year and presented unsus-
pecting shoppers gift certificates to downtown
Plymouth merchants, just for supporting the
local businesses during the holiday season. “It's
a program that is done only in downtown
Plymouth,” Bruscato said. The pair thanked the
shoppers for supporting Downtown Plymouth
during the holidays and then had them pick an
envelope with certificates from downtown mer-
chants. Participating merchants this year includ-
ed: U.P. Pasties, Ironwood Grill, Nico & Vali,
Sean O'Callaghan's, Omelette & Waffle Café,
Home Interior Warehouse, R.S.V.P., Panera
Bread, Plymouth Community Chamber of
Commerce, Alpine Chocolat Haus, Plymouth
Yoga Room, Core Sport, Harris Conservatory of
Music, B.E. Unique, Sherri at Vanity Salon,
Home Sweet Home and Delta Diamond Setters
& Jewelers. The shoppers, at right, were sur-
prised and delighted.
