DETROIT – A federal criminal complaint was unsealed today charging a former Hamtramck Police Department officer with bribery, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced. The charges were brought against Michael Stout, 60, of St. Clair Shores, who left the Hamtramck Police Department in 2020.
Ison was joined in the announcement by Acting Special Agent in Charge Josh P. Hauxhurst, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division.
According to the criminal complaint, while working as an officer with the Hamtramck Police Department, Stout accepted bribes, including a vehicle and $1,500 in cash, from a towing company operator.
In return, Stout provided information from the Michigan Law Enforcement Information Network (or LEIN), a restricted law enforcement database, to the towing company operator. For instance, when the towing company operator told Stout that he was worried that a police vehicle had been following him, Stout called an unwitting employee to search LEIN so STOUT could provide the vehicle’s registration information to the towing company operator.
The bribery charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.
This is the sixth defendant charged as part of the government’s investigation known as “Operation Northern Hook.” Northern Hook is an investigation of corruption within the government and the Police Department of the City of Detroit relating to the towing industry and other matters.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven P. Cares.
A criminal complaint is only a charging document and is not evidence of guilt.