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A Hamtramck cop is the latest person to be charged in connection with Operation Northern Hook, an FBI investigation into the towing industry.
The ongoing FBI investigation into the towing industry in metro Detroit led to bribery charges Thursday against a former Hamtramck cop.
Mike Stout, 60, is the sixth person to be charged in connection with the probe dubbed, Operation Northern Hook, which is also targeting Detroit council members’ ties to the towing industry.
So far, criminal charges have been filed against five current or former Detroit cops and former Detroit Councilman André Spivey.
Stout is accused of accepting more than $9,200 in bribes, including cash and a used car, in exchange for providing information about vehicles from the Michigan Law Enforcement Information Network (LIEN), The Detroit News first reported.
Another Hamtramck cop, Michael Pacteles, was charged with bribery in connection with the investigation. He’s accused of providing “favors,” including information from LIEN, in exchange for $3,200 in cash and a vehicle, when he was Detroit police detective.
As part of Operation Northern Hook, the FBI is also investigating Detroit City Council members Scott Benson and Janeé Ayers. The FBI raided the homes and offices of Benson and Ayers on Aug. 25. They have not yet been charged.
In the general election in November, Ayers lost her seat.
Spivey resigned in September after pleading guilty to conspiring with an unidentified staff member to commit bribery. Spivey and the staff member collected more than $35,000 in cash bribes from an undercover agent or confidential informant on eight different occasions between 2018 and 2020, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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