DETROIT (AP) - The FBI says a Michigan lawmaker was secretly recorded saying it would be a “huge problem” if a woman disclosed that she lent him money and was put on his payroll.
The disclosure was made in a court document that was unsealed Thursday. Sen. Bert Johnson is accused of repaying $14,000 in loans by putting Glynis Thornton on his payroll in 2014.
The government says Thornton did no work. Johnson denies the theft charge.
Thornton has been cooperating with investigators since getting caught in a separate corruption case involving bribes for a Detroit school principal.
The FBI says Johnson asked for $10,000 to pay his son’s school tuition. A search warrant affidavit says Johnson didn’t make a payment over a five-month period and a check to the school bounced.
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