Now here's a story about her brother, violent felon Reggie Esters, and how Monica committed abuse of power to have him hired under fraudulent means, then laughingly try to deny relation to him when confronted by a reporter. She has the intellect of a child. A stupid, savage child, at that:
Conyers Got Ex-con Brother City Job
Building official says councilwoman recommended him; she denies it
David Josar / The Detroit News
Detroit --A top city official says City Council President Monica Conyers pulled strings to get her brother, an ex-con with a violent record, a job in the building department that was to last only 120 days but was extended for two years.
"She came up to me, handed me his resume and said 'You should hire him. He's a good guy,' " said Amru Meah, director of Building & Safety Engineering.
Reggie Esters, 38, was fired from the $30,500 job last summer on claims of chronic absenteeism. About the same time, he was charged with 10 felonies stemming from allegations he brandished a shotgun at two people, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to one count and faces sentencing April 17.
Records obtained this week by The Detroit News show Esters submitted a resume showing he worked continuously for two construction firms from 1999 to 2006. State records show he was incarcerated for assault and weapons charges for much of that time.
Meah said Conyers wanted her brother hired as a $50,000 inspector, but he wasn't qualified and wouldn't pass a license exam. Instead, he was hired as an investigator who checked if businesses are properly licensed.
Conyers, whose maiden name is Esters, said Meah is wrong. She denied that Esters is her brother, despite papers filed in Wayne County Probate Court in 1976 that identify them as siblings with the same parents, Robert H. and Alice Esters.
"I have no idea what Mr. Meah is talking about," Conyers said.
Calls to Marlon Evans, Esters' attorney, were not returned.
The city has no rules against hiring felons and Meah said he didn't know of Esters' record until a reporter told him about it Thursday.
"Human Resources is supposed to check that," he said.
Daniel Cherrin, spokesman for Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr., said Esters' position did not require a background check although Human Resources "looks for inconsistencies and other red flags."
Esters' resume "was reviewed and he met the minimum requirement for the position," Cherrin said, but added that the person who headed Human Resources a the time, James Tyler, an appointee of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, was fired shortly after Cockrel took office.
Cherrin did not know if any references were checked. None was listed on Esters' application.
According to records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, Human Resources fast-tracked Esters' hire as a commercial and residential investigator after Meah wrote that there was an "immediate need" to fill the position.
"Mr. Esters has the experience that we require for this position. Please see attached resume for your review," Meah wrote in an Oct. 27, 2006, letter to Tyler. Conyers was elected to the panel 11 months before.
Meah said he fired Esters last summer after he was repeatedly missing from work.
"I said, 'He's not around. Fire him,' " he said.
A provisional employee does not get benefits and can be terminated at any time.
Esters, who records indicate is one of Conyers' three brothers, has been arrested at least 14 times since 1988, when he pleaded guilty to shoplifting in Redford Township and was put on probation for one year. In 1990, he was charged with first-degree murder but was acquitted after a jury trial. In 1998, he pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon, according to Wayne Circuit Court records.
On his one-page resume, Esters stated that he had graduated from MacKenzie High School in 1988 and had worked as a "FORMAN" for Jenkins Construction in Detroit from 2000 to 2006 with responsibilities that included "Plan, organize and manage the overall construction development."
But on Sept. 20, 2001, Esters was incarcerated by the Michigan Department of Corrections after he pleaded guilty to assault with intent to cause great bodily harm and being a felon in possession of a weapon. He began his sentence in prison but was then transferred to a boot camp until he was released on May 30, 2006.
That was about the time Meah said Conyers approached him about finding a job for her brother.
Esters was reappointed five times to the post even though he had signed a statement saying he knew the job would last 120 days.
The practice is not uncommon in Detroit. (source)
Here's a funny cartoon someone produced and put up on youtube:
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