Former Detroit Police Detective Charged With Bribery: FBI

DETROIT — A former Detroit Police Department detective was charged in connection to the ongoing FBI investigation into city government corruption and Detroit's towing industry, Acting United States Attorney Saima S. Mohsin announced Friday.

Michael Pacteles, 44, of Southgate was charged with bribery, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000, according to the news release.

While working as a detective with the Detroit Police Department, Pacteles accepted bribes, which included a vehicle and $3,200 in cash from a towing company operator, the news release said, citing the complaint.

In exchange for the cash and car, Pacteles agreed to provide "favors" for the unknown towing company operator, the news release said. Pacteles provided vehicle information from a restricted law enforcement database and removed stolen vehicles in the tower's possession from the police department's stolen vehicle database, the compliant said.

Pacteles is the fifth person charged as part of the government’s investigation known as "Operation Northern Hook."

Detroit Police Chief James White said while he's disappointed with allegations, he remains fully supportive of the FBI's investigation and said the case does not represent the majority of officers in the department.

"We will continue to fully cooperate with our federal partners to ensure that Detroit Police Department employees involved with alleged corruption and misconduct are held accountable for their actions," White said. "The Detroit Police Department takes pride in our transparency and aspire to achieve high standards of service and accountability and recognize that these alleged actions fall far short of those goals."