Final Principal Sentenced For Robbing Detroit School Kids

DETROIT, MI — Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said Friday his office will go after the pension of a former principal who was sentenced to two years in federal prison for accepting kickbacks in the Detroit Public Schools bribery scandal. Josette Buendia, 51, of Garden City, the former principal at Bennett Elementary School, was sentenced Thursday and ordered to pay back nearly $46,000 in kickbacks she received from school vendor Norman Shy, 75, who also has been convicted in the multi-million-dollar scheme.

Buendia, who was convicted of three bribery counts in a five-day trial in U.S. District Court, is the 13th and final school official to be sentenced in the $2.7 million kickback scheme. Federal prosecutors said that from November 2011 to January 2015, Buendia took bribes totaling $45,775 — money she was ordered to pay back to the school district in Thursday’s sentencing — and submitted fraudulent invoices for Shy’s school supplies business, Allstate Sales. The kickbacks came in the form of gift cards and cash.

Buendia and the other school administrators were charged with bribery in March 2016 after a sweeping investigation by the FBI’s Detroit Area Public Corruption Task Force. David P. Gelios, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit Division, said the task force was able to “expose and end a disturbing culture of corrupt activity.”

“These principals, including an assistant superintendent, used their positions as educators and leaders to enrich themselves at the expense of their students and the Detroit Public Schools system,” he said in a news release, adding that Buendia’s sentencing, the last in the investigation, “should provide a sense of closure for the parents, students and the honest and dedicated DPS employees and underscores this community’s commitment to integrity in the operation of our schools.”

Schuette said Friday that he plans to begin forfeiture actions to seize the state-paid portion of Buendia’s pension and those of three others who were convicted last year in the kickback scheme. The attorney general’s office already has recouped more than $358,000 for the State Public School Employee Fund.

“We’ve fought hard to return every single one of these dollars back to the state of Michigan and we will continue to seek protection of public funds in these type of cases where there has been a breach of public trust,” Schuette said in a news release.

“These principals were entrusted as leaders to look out for the welfare of their students and teachers,” he said. “By stealing money, they not only broke that trust, but robbed the children of better opportunities.”

The additional forfeiture return actions are for

• Gerlma Johnson, the former principal at Charles Drew Academy and Earhart Elementary-Middle School, who was sentenced to a year in federal prison and ordered to make $22,884 in restitution to the district. Her pension was reduced by $6,558 per year, and she must pay back $47,315 for overpayments as a result of the forfeiture.
• Tonya Bowman, the former principal of Osborn Collegiate Academy of Mathematics, Science and Technology, was sentenced to 9 months in prison and was ordered to pay $12,500 in restitution to the district. Her pension was reduced by $15,729.84 per year.
• Nina Graves Hicks, the former principal at Davis Aerospace Technical High School, was sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay $27,385 in restitution to the district. Her pension will be reduced by $14,751 per year.

Forfeiture actions have been approved for the following:

• Clara Flowers, former assistant superintendent of the school district’s Office of Specialized Student Services and former principal of Henderson Academy, was sentenced to three years in federal prison and ordered to pay $324,785 in restitution to the district. Her pension will be reduced by $16,995 per year. She also has to repay the state $27,037 for pension fund overpayments.
• Beverly Campbell, former principal at Greenfield Union Elementary/Middle School, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution to the district. Her pension will be reduced by $41,276 a year. She also has to repay the state $89,294 because of the forfeiture.
• Stanley Johnson, former principal of Hutchinson Elementary, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison ordered to pay $84,170 in restitution . His pension will be reduced by $17,666 per year.
• Ronald Alexander, former principal of Spain Elementary School,was sentenced to a year in federal prison and ordered to pay $23,000 in restitution to the district. His pension will be reduced by $12,806 a year. He also has to repay $38,139 in pension overpayments.
• Tia Von Moore-Patton, former principal of Jerry White Center High School, was sentenced to six months in prison and pay $4,000 in restitution to the district. Her pension will be reduced by $17,510 per year.
• Ronnie Sims, former principal of Fleming Elementary School and Brenda Scott Middle School, was sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay $58,519 in restitution to the district. His pension will be reduced by $12,802 a year.
• Clara Smith, former principal of Thirkell Elementary School, was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay $194,000 in restitution to the district. Her pension will be reduced by $21,869 per year. She must also repay the state $33,925 in pension overpayments.
• Willye Pearsall, former principal at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, was sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay $50,000. Her pension will be reduced by $15,909 a year. She must also repay the state $70,352 in pension overpayments.
• James Hearn, former principal at Marcus Garvey Academy, was sentenced to 10 months in prison and ordered to pay $11,500 in restitution to the district. His pension was reduced by $18,731 per year.

Shy, the mastermind behind the bribery scheme, was sentenced to five years in federal prison and ordered to make $2.8 million in restitution to the district.

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