DESTROIT (AP) – A former executive of a large non -profit organization in Detroit was sentenced Thursday to 19 years in prison for having stolen more than $ 40 million intended to help embellish the city river.
Investigators said William Smith regularly used Detroit Riverfront Conservancy money for travel, hotels, limousines, household items, clothing and jewelry. He had real estate support concerts, a disco and an amateur basketball.
Smith, 52, was dismissed as a financial director last May and arrested the following month. He pleaded guilty in November for fraud and money laundering. A Federal Detroit judge also ordered Smith to reimburse the $ 44.3 million he stolen.
The financing of the Conservancy comes from private donors and public subsidies, and the non -profit organization claims that the theft of Smith forced the parties of a popular Riverwalk project.
Smith called on his “bad, clear and simple” actions on Thursday.
“I recognize that I have allowed selfishness, pride and bad judgment to lead me on a destructive path,” he said in court before the conviction.
The Conservancy transforms miles of shore along the Detroit river into leisure space, with squares, pavilions and parks. It was the engine of the city river.
“Each dollar that Smith has spent on luxury products for itself is a dollar that conservancy could not spend embellish and improve the river of our city,” the acting American prosecutor Julie Beck said in a press release.
Smith checked money from projects at the water’s edge as a financial director from 2011 to May 2024.
After the theft was discovered, the director general of conservation of the time, Mark Wallace, resigned and the non -profit audit firm was replaced, according to Detroit News.
The Riverfront Conservancy said that it had stolen money “through a complex network of deception” and is grateful that it is punished.
“The American government has described it with precision as a man of” corrupt and depraved character “, said the conservancy in a statement following the conviction.
Conservancy lawyer Matthew Schneider said in an impact statement on the victim that Smith had chosen the greed against the prosperity of Detroit.
“As much as Smith wishes to hide as a professional and honest Dr Jekyll, the reality is that he diverted the shadow as a cunning and calculating Mr. Hyde,” wrote Schneider.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
