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DPS Scheme

Norman Shy pleads guilty to felonies.

Ronelle Grier | Contributing Writer

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ressed in a conservative, well-
cut navy blazer and striped
tie, Norman Shy could have
been any Jewish husband, father
and businessman as he took his seat
in the federal courtroom of Eastern
U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts
— except that Shy was there to plead
guilty to two felony offenses that were
part of a massive bribery and kickback
scheme involving the Detroit Public
Schools.
Shy, 74, accompanied by his attor-
ney Christopher Andreoff, pleaded
guilty to two counts: conspiracy to
commit federal program bribery and
federal income tax evasion for fail-
ing to report income earned during
2011. He could face 70 to 87 months in
prison for the felony charges. In addi-
tion, he will have to make restitution
of $2,768,846.93 to the Detroit Public
Schools and $51,667 to the IRS for
unreported income in tax year 2011.
Separate charges for prison, probation
or other court costs may also be levied
after Shy is sentenced in September.
According to court records and Shy’s
admission, he received an estimated
$2.7 million from DPS as payment
for fraudulent invoices and paid out
close to $1 million in kickbacks to 12
principals and one assistant superin-
tendent in exchange for helping him
submit fraudulent invoices to DPS
for supplies such as paper, chairs and
teaching materials that were never
delivered. The kickbacks ranged from
$4,000 to $324,785, with this largest
amount received by Clara Flowers,
assistant superintendent of DPS’ Office
of Specialized Student Services. Some
of the bribes were monetary; others

“Turn the Tables” dinner at Repair the Word

REFUGEE CRISIS
IS DISCUSSED

In the Repair the World workshop in
Southwest Detroit, 60 people came
together over dinner on April 15 to
discuss the worldwide refugee crisis, its

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22 May 26 • 2016

took the form of prepaid gift cards and
funds paid to third parties or compa-
nies, such as building contractors, for
the principals’ benefit.
Criminal charges were filed at the
end of March against Shy, Flowers and
the 12 DPS principals for an alleged
scheme that began in 2009 or earlier.
Several of the defendants, including
Flowers, have entered guilty pleas. All
could face prison terms in addition to
having to pay restitution to DPS for
the bribes they received from Shy.
Shy, who lives in Franklin with his
wife and is the father of three adult
children, graduated from Mumford
High School and Michigan State
University and holds a master’s degree
from Wayne State University. Now
retired, he was the owner of Allstate
Sales, a company that provided office
and educational supplies for more than
40 years.
Shy exhibited a polite demeanor in
the courtroom, answering Roberts’
questions matter-of-factly but mak-
ing no apologies for the actions that
led him there. He acknowledged his
understanding that pleading guilty
includes waiving his right to a jury
trial or an appeal of either his convic-
tion or sentence. He also agreed to
cooperate with the prosecutors and
the IRS.
After his guilty plea was entered
and accepted by the court, Shy and his
attorney were ordered to meet with
a representative from the probation
department, who will prepare a pre-
sentence investigation report that will
be used to help the court determine
Shy’s sentence. Shy has no prior arrests
or criminal record.

*

connection to the Passover liberation
narrative and how Detroit is working to
be a welcoming city for refugees.
Sponsored by OneTable, which helps
people host and attend unique Shabbat
dinners, the Detroit “Turn the Tables”
dinner was one of many across the
country using materials developed by
Repair the World and HIAS, one of the
major refugee resettlement organiza-
tions in the United States.
Attendees heard from Taylor Nelson
from Detroit’s new Office of Immigrant
Affairs about how the city is working to
provide safe landings for Syrian refu-
gees.

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