Detroit – A former executive of an important non -profit organization in Detroit was sentenced on Thursday to 19 years in prison for stealing more than $ 40 million destined to help beautify the edge of the city river.
The researchers said William Smith used routinely Detroit Riverfront consumption Money for trips, hotels, limousines, household items, clothing and jewelry. He had real estate concerts, an amateur nightclub and basketball.
Smith, 52, was fired as financial director last May and arrested the next month. He He declared himself guilty in November For fraud and money laundering. A federal judge in Detroit also ordered Smith to pay the $ 44.3 million he stole.
Conservation financing comes from private donors and public subsidies, and the non -profit organization says that the theft of Smith forced the delay of the portions of a popular Riverwalk project.
Smith on Thursday described Thursday “incorrect, simple and simple.”
“I recognize that I allowed selfishness, pride and bad judgment to take me on a destructive path,” he told the court before the sentence.
Conservation is transforming miles of coast along the Detroit river into the recreation space, with squares, pavilions and parks. It has been the driving force behind the city’s Riverwalk.
“Every dollar that Smith spent on luxury products for himself is a dollar that consumption could not spend embellishing and improving the shore of the river of our city,” said Julie Beck in a statement in a statement.
Smith controlled money for projects in front of the sea as a financial director from 2011 to May 2024.
After the theft was discovered, the then executive president of the conservation Mark Wallace resigned and the audit firm of the non -profit organization was replaced, according to Detroit’s news.
Riverfront conservancy said he stole the money “through a complex network of deception” and is grateful to be punished.
“The United States government described it precisely as a man of” corrupt and depraved character “,” said conservation in a statement after the sentence.
The conservation lawyer Matthew Schneider said in an impact statement of the victim that Smith chose the greed on the prosperity of Detroit.
“As much as Smith wishes to mask himself as a professional and honest Dr. Jekyll, the reality is that he was embezzling in the shadows as a cunning and calculating Mr. Hyde,” Schneider wrote.
