Detroit police lieutenant sentenced to 2 1/2 years for accepting bribes

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A former lieutenant in charge of the Detroit Police Department’s Integrity Unit was sentenced to two and a half years in prison Tuesday for accepting bribes in a conspiracy with another officer, prosecutors announced.

John F. Kennedy, 57, of Rochester Hills, worked within the department’s Internal Affairs Division and was responsible for investigating reports of crimes and professional misconduct by police and other city employees, U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said.

Kennedy conspired with fellow Officer Daniel S. Vickers to commit bribery by accepting nearly $15,000 in exchange for using his influence to persuade other officers to make tow referrals to a company, Ison said. Kennedy pleaded guilty under an agreement with prosecutors.

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Evidence in the case included secretly recorded phone conversations in which referrals were steered to a company that was not on the department’s rotation list.

John F. Kennedy, a former Detroit police lieutenant, has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for accepting bribes.

Such work can be lucrative: Towing companies can charge storage fees until a car is claimed and even sell a vehicle at auction after a certain period.

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Vickers, 54, accepted more than $3,400 in payments from a towing company in 2018, authorities said. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced last month to two years and three months in prison.

Six people have been charged as part of the federal government's investigation.

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City Councilman Andre Spivey pleaded guilty in 2021 to accepting $36,000 in bribes related to oversight of towing policy. Spivey resigned.