My Perspective: Sam Riddle Is Displaying Snitching at its Finest

The New America Webster Handy College Dictionary 3rd Edition labels a snitch as a turned informer. So many in the hood who think that snitching is simply someone who tells on someone who does a crime are incorrect because snitching is being an informer for the police or FBI only after you have committed a crime yourself. So snitches turn informants because they want to avoid jail time altogether or a lesser sentence but they don’t mind spelling the beans on other people who committed the crime with them or are doing crimes because as snitches believe, it isn’t me going down. Thus is amazes me how many in the black community and throughout America consider snitching simply someone who tells when that is not the truth.

Our youth in America need to really understand what snitching is and the best way to understand it is to look at Monica Conyers former aide, Sam Riddle who is displaying snitching at its best. Although Monica Conyers has already pleaded guilty to accepting bribes and she has resigned after council, our ex-aide Riddle is talking like never before although his name is involved in the case. However prior to this week, Riddle has talked to the Feds and had told reporters previously he didn’t want to discuss anything with them and he wouldn’t rat Monica or anyone else out.

How fast things change because now Riddle can’t keep his mouth close because he has given Free Press writers M.L. Elrick, Jim Schaefer, Rochelle Riley and Gina Damron not only details of Monica’s transactions but papers and other parts such as using John Conyer’s name to secure deals. Still Riddle told reporters that Conyers took cash and jewelry as he is showcased just how much of a snitch he is as he tries to avoid any jail time in return for turning on Conyers as well as perhaps others. While Monica Conyers has admitted accepting bribes in a sludge deal, but the Detroit councilwoman's political adviser and onetime chief of staff told the Free Press she received cash and jewelry for brokering other questionable transactions.

The aide, Sam Riddle, said Conyers even helped draft a letter sent by her husband, Congressman John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., to help a man with whom she had financial ties. It is unclear whether John Conyers knew of his wife's alleged link to the businessman. In that deal, Riddle said, Monica Conyers arranged for Riddle to get a $20,000 contract with Greektown entrepreneur Dimitrios (Jim) Papas in about 2007. Riddle said Papas hired him for crisis consulting and political advising -- but he was never asked to do any work. She then demanded $10,000 of that money as a "finder's fee," Riddle said. At some point after Papas paid him, Riddle said, John Conyers sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in support of a controversial hazardous waste injection well in Romulus that one of Papas' companies was seeking to operate.

Now Federal investigators examined a variety of Monica Conyers' dealings. U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg said Sunday: "We didn't have any evidence the congressman was knowingly or intentionally involved in Ms. Conyers' illegal conduct." Monica Conyers' lawyer wouldn't discuss Papas. And Papas did not return messages seeking comment from the Free Press. Still, Karen Morgan, John Conyers' spokeswoman, declined to discuss the letter. However in the Free Press article Riddle explained to them how deals got done because Monica Conyers' relationship with Riddle was complicated. She was often his client. She was once his boss. And she sometimes found consulting work for him that put cash or jewelry in her pocket, Riddle told the Free Press on Friday in an exclusive interview.

Riddle said there was the consulting deal he said Conyers set up for him with Papas -- a deal which garnered Conyers half of Riddle's $20,000 fee. Riddle also said Conyers introduced him to the owner of Zeidman's Jewelry & Loan, a pawnshop whose efforts to relocate and expand in Southfield have become part of a federal probe into public corruption. In that deal, Riddle said, Conyers collected jewelry from Zeidman's for her role, while Riddle received a five-figure fee and a watch from the pawnshop. Riddle said he gave some of that money to a Southfield councilman. Now Conyers' lawyer Steve Fishman said of Riddle's account: "There is a factual basis for the guilty plea contained in the written plea agreement. Anything beyond the plea agreement is pure speculation."

However Papas didn't return messages at his home and restaurant, nor did his attorney. While Zeidman's owner, Tom LaBret, hung up on a reporter seeking comment. But on Friday, when Conyers pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy in the $1.2-billion Synagro sludge-hauling deal, federal prosecutors said that they would describe other wrongdoing at Conyers' sentencing. They did not provide details. Peter Henning, a Wayne State University law professor and a former federal prosecutor, said evidence of other misdeeds could convince U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn to impose a strict sentence on Conyers. Her deal with prosecutors called for a maximum of 5 years in prison. "I think the government's going to come after her -- both barrels," Henning said. "I would not be surprised if they ask for the max."

Still Riddle didn’t just talk to reporters but he gave details into how meetings went down and the Papas deal really went down. Riddle said Conyers not only arranged his deal with Papas, she drove him to Papas' Greektown office. "The councilwoman said she had a client for me, that she would do a contract and would do a retainer for me. And it was Jim Papas," Riddle told the Free Press on Friday. Riddle said Conyers had brokered similar deals. "She knew she couldn't pay me" as a consultant, "so she would go about the business of finding me clients," he said. However Riddle said something about this deal was different though.

Riddle continued to showcase snitching at its finest in the Free Press interview as the Free Press article describes details of the Papas deal that even the Feds have not released but it all brings into question of whether or not Riddle is a Fed informant since he is talking so jolly to the press now after just a couple of weeks ago he refused to name anyone or give any information to the media regarding his case or other people involved in the FBI probe. Now it is clear that Riddle is the mold, the snitch, the rat, and the informant for the Feds because he wants to avoid jail time or a lesser sentence than what Conyers will receive.

Riddle told the Free Press that he didn’t have a lot of work and the councilwoman insisted on half of my retainer as a finder's fee. Riddle said Papas gave him checks totaling $20,000. He said he then paid the councilwoman $10,000 cash. "While I felt it was a bit exorbitant, it didn't feel that bad given the workload, which was nil," Riddle said, adding, "It was clear he was dealing with me because of Monica, not because of any special skill set he was hoping to gain with me." Despite the deal, Conyers was not in a position to aid Papas directly. One of his companies, Environmental Geo-Technologies (EGT), had entered into an agreement to operate the Romulus hazardous waste injection wells for Detroit's Police and Fire Retirement System, which had invested millions in the troubled project. Conyers served on the city's general retirement fund, a separate pension for retired municipal workers. While the police and fire pension fund supported EGT's takeover of the well, the project still needed approval from federal regulators.

That’s why Riddle told reporters that at some point after Papas hired him, Monica Conyers' husband, U.S. Rep. John Conyers, wrote a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency seeking favorable treatment of the well project. John Conyers, the 21-term congressman, chairs the House Judiciary Committee. Riddle gave the Free Press an unsigned copy of the letter along with a fax cover sheet from the congressman's office addressed to "Mrs. Conyers" listing her City Council fax number. Under "Comments" it says: "Draft Letter for approval." The cover letter says it was sent by Mustafa Ali, whom the congressman's spokeswoman confirmed once worked in his office.
PDF: Draft of John Conyers' letter to the EPA

Still Riddle not only is talking…well snitching but he is giving not just verbal information but concrete evidence and info in regards to the Papas deal and he is dragging not only his former boss Monica Conyers down but he is putting John Conyers in the mess. Clearly Riddle’s comments in the Free Press article and the information he is giving the news media now is a sign that if you see Sam Riddle coming, you better go the other way because he is wearing a wire of some kind for the Feds. Riddle is not holding anything back as he said Monica Conyers told him she wanted him to deliver the letter to Papas, but changed her mind. He said he did not know if Papas ever got a copy of the letter. "She generated the letter," Riddle said of Monica Conyers. It is unclear whether Papas' alleged payments to Riddle were in any way connected to John Conyers' subsequent letter to the EPA. In any event, at some point, John Conyers signed the letter and sent it to the agency. The Free Press independently obtained a copy of the signed letter. It is identical to the draft Riddle provided.
PDF: John Conyers' letter to the EPA

Now Ethics rules prohibit House members from contacting federal agencies on matters in which they have a personal financial interest. It is unclear whether John Conyers knew of any financial connection between his wife and Papas. John Conyers' spokeswoman would not answer questions about the congressman's letter, including why he sent it, or whether he knew if his wife had indirectly benefited from Papas. Federal prosecutors previously have cleared Congressman John Conyers of any role in his wife's crimes. Riddle was unable to provide the Free Press with copies of his contract with Papas, but said federal investigators have copies. A person familiar with the probe confirmed federal agents inquired about the deal. Nonetheless the EPA later rejected the specific requests sought in the Conyers letter.

However Riddle continued to talk to reporters about other deals such as the Zeidman’s deal. Riddle said Conyers introduced him to Tom LaBret, the owner of Zeidman's, which was seeking to move its Southfield location to 10 Mile and Evergreen. That transaction is now under federal investigation. "She told him that I could help him out in Southfield," Riddle said. He said he was paid a five-figure retainer, and the wristwatch he was wearing Friday when he spoke with a Free Press reporter. He said Monica Conyers negotiated his deal with LaBret and took jewelry for herself. LaBret hung up on a reporter who called Saturday. He did not return a subsequent message left on his cell phone.

A person familiar with the situation confirmed Riddle's account. The person requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation. Riddle said he gave some of his retainer to a Southfield councilman for a community project. Riddle would not name the councilman or detail how much money he gave him. He said he did not know what the community project was or whether the money ever got there. The person who confirmed much of Riddle's account told the Free Press the councilman was William Lattimore. Lattimore is cooperating with federal authorities probing the Zeidman's transaction in Southfield. The person said Lattimore received at least $7,500.

However, Lattimore denied taking money and said Saturday the "city's process was not corrupted." Lattimore accused Riddle of trying to "save his own ass." Clearly Lattimore knows a snitch and a rat when he sees one and Riddle is not holding any barbs as he is giving it all up. Riddle is holding no bars and no jabs as he is unleashing everything and spilling all the beans on not just the Conyers’ particularly Monica but on the Papas and Zeidman’s deals because Riddle wants to save his but from prosecution and jail time by any means necessary.

But unlike Riddle, Lattimore said, he’s not going to comment on his testimony to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Lattimore said he can't and continued on to say that whatever Sam chooses to do or chooses to relinquish, I guess that's his business. I've been told I cannot comment on my testimony. However another matter that entangled in the Riddle deal is the matter of his relationship with former Michigan State Representative Mary Waters. Riddle and Waters, who live together, are caught up in the Southfield portion of the federal inquiry, though Riddle insists Waters was not involved. "Mary Waters had absolutely nothing to do with that other than she introduced me to a councilman she knew out there," Riddle said. The FBI tapped Riddle's phones from August 2007 until April 2008.

Now Riddle says that n return for his retainer he engaged in aggressive consulting and quasi-lobbying including mediating conflicts between Zeidman's and the councilman, showing renderings of the Zeidman's project and obtaining a letter of support from the councilman. Still Lattimore denied signing such a letter. But Waters acknowledged that her political prospects had been damaged by the federal probe. "I think I have some explaining to do to the people, which I intend to do," she said, adding, "I did not believe that Sam or Bill, two people that I knew, were doing anything criminal." Still Riddle said he didn't break the law. "I never bribed anyone," he said. "I never attempted to buy any votes."

Sam Riddle is showing his true colors and for those who have been dealing business with Riddle or had done business with him, better think twice now because Riddle is an informant for the Feds. He is perhaps the biggest snitch in Detroit politics right now and while some people might rejoice that Detroit has gotten rid of Monica Conyers and her buffoonery but at what expense when one of her closet aides and friends will perhaps walk scotch free for his involvement in not just one questionable deal but a couple. So if our young people want to know what snitching is than all they have to do is look at Sam Riddle display it at its finest. It’s clear that Riddle is no Christine Beatty in the sense that he isn’t as loyal and devoted to Conyers like Beatty was to Kilpatrick as the two of them went down last summer. Instead Riddle is saving his own behind and in the process he is trying to cut the best deal possible for himself no matter who goes down in the process as long as it isn’t Riddle and Waters.

This is snitching and anyone who tells you differently than tell them to look up the definition of what a snitch is and what snitching is. Riddle is a turned informant for the Feds and that is clear from his exclusive interview with the Free Press and all the information as well as details and papers he provided to them. Same Riddle displayed snitching at its finest.