Detroit, MI – A Federal judge in Detroit sentenced former Cobo Center Director Lou Pavledes to 14 months in prison for accepting a bribe from contractor Karl Kado, owner of Metro Services Organization (MSO) of West Bloomfield, MI. MSO (not to be confused with Metropolitan Exposition Services, headquartered in Moonachie, NJ) is a service contractor offering cleaning, electrical, plumbing and general contracting services.
Pavledes cooperated with the FBI in a city hall corruption investigation that resulted in three defendants pleading guilty to bribery charges. However, the judge did not offer leniency to Pavledes. “You were a person entrusted by the public, by the city, to take care of a public function, and you turned it around to your own gain,” said U.S. District Judge Marianne O. Battani. “This is something that cannot be diminished by any amount of cooperation.”
The Cobo director who succeeded Pavledes in the post, Glenn Blanton, was sentenced to one year in prison in October for obstructing justice. The other convictions included former City Council President Monica Conyers.
Pavledes himself pleaded guilty in 2008 to a charge of structuring financial transactions to avoid reporting requirements for the $100,000 bribe.
Reach Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Bullotta at (313) 226-9100 or michael.bullotta@usdoj.gov
