DETROIT (WXYZ) — After pleading guilty to wire fraud following allegations that he misspent more than $15,000 in campaign funds, Romulus’s former mayor argued Thursday that not all of his spending benefitted him personally.
Last fall, the U.S. Attorney accused LeRoy Burcroff of spending $15,000 from his campaign fund on himself. Burcroff admitted to using $4,500 alone to pay the bar bill at his daughter’s wedding.
RELATED: Ex-Romulus mayor pleads guilty to using $15k from campaign fund for personal use
The feds claim he spent another $1,500 on other wedding expenses, more than $3,000 on a Florida vacation with another couple and $11,600 at the Belleville Yacht Club for dues and expenses.
Virgina Williams, a Romulus city council member, was in court today.
“The problem is with supporters and family and friends giving you money for you to campaign and you turn around and use it for reasons other than that,” Williams said. “To me, that’s just wrong.
But Thursday, Burcroff argued that the amount of money in question was less than what the government had calculated.
His attorney Walter Piszczatowski claimed that Burcroff’s personal vacation to Florida was at least partially a business trip, arguing that Burcroff met with someone to discuss healthcare costs that could benefit the city.
The money spent on his daughter’s wedding, Piszczatowski suggested, also served as a campaign victory party, therefore making it a legitimate expense.
Ultimately, Judge Denise Page Hood will rule on how just much money Burcroff improperly spent, pushing his sentencing from Thursday to next week.
Whatever comes of Burcroff, Williams says other politicians shouldn’t follow in his lead.
“(If) folks like yourself and others hadn’t been paying attention, it probably still would be going on,” she said.
If Burcroff can argue that the amount of money improperly spent is less than the government contends—right now, about $21,000—it could lessen the amount of time he may have to serve in prison.
The U.S. Attorney has argued that Burcroff should face up to 14 months behind bars. Piszczatowski told 7 Action News he believes the range should be no higher than 6 months, but could be just probation.
Contact 7 Investigator Ross Jones at ross.jones@wxyz.com or at (248) 827-9466.