Feb. 11—Detroit — James Warner, a former Detroit Metropolitan Airport supervisor convicted of receiving more than $6 million in bribes — the third-largest amount in U.S. history — failed to surrender Thursday to start a 10-year federal prison sentence and is a fugitive, according to court records.
Chief U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood late Thursday approved an emergency request for an arrest warrant after federal prosecutors alerted her that Warner failed to surrender at 10 a.m. at the federal prison in Milan, about 50 miles southwest of Detroit.
The development late Thursday added a layer of mystery atop a public corruption case involving betrayed trust, edible evidence and millions in bribes.
The development emerged almost three years after the 55-year-old Commerce Township man was convicted of 10 crimes, including bribery, theft and money laundering conspiracies, and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors say he steered $43.7 million worth of airport contracts to three co-conspirators in return for more than $6 million in kickbacks — the highest total in the history of public corruption cases in Metro Detroit.
The case and trial drew wide attention because of the scope of the bribery and lurid details. Airport contractor Gary Tenaglia of Rochester testified Warner wrote '5k,' a proposed kickback amount, on a napkin," showed it to the contractor, then ate the evidence. The restaurant was named "It's A Matter of Taste."
Defense lawyer Harold Gurewitz declined to comment Thursday and Warner's whereabouts were unclear.
Warner has stayed out of prison for two years while he filed appeals, but last month, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review his case.
The sentence from U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts fell short of the 25 years sought by prosecutors, and below the national record 28-year sentence for corruption. Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick received that record sentence nine years ago, tying the corruption sentence issued to Ohio county politician Jimmy Dimora.
The judge previously said Warner has redeeming qualities — family and friends called him a good, supportive man — and noted his crimes did not cause as much damage as those committed by Kilpatrick, whose racketeering activity included pocketing approximately $1 million in illegal benefits.
" Kwame Kilpatrick mightily contributed to the slide of Detroit both locally and nationally, contributed to ( Detroit's) slide into bankruptcy and the city's tarnished image," the judge said at the time of the sentencing in February 2020. " Mr. Warner, while a significantly corrupt public official, is not in the same position."
Warner hung his head at hearing his sentence and apologized to his friends, family and airport colleagues. He also apologized to the judge.
"I respect the system and the role everyone plays in it, and I am hopeful the sentence allows me to find work in the future and to be there for my friends and family," he said.
The government has seized $11 million from Warner and co-conspirators during the years-long criminal investigation.
Warner is among more than 100 public officials, bureaucrats and union leaders charged with public corruption in Metro Detroit in the past decade.
Warner, an airport manager and field inspector who also worked for West Bloomfield Township, is the rare indicted public official to stand trial on corruption charges.
Two of the most recent politicians to stand trial in federal court — Kilpatrick and Clinton Township Trustee Dean Reynolds — were convicted and sentenced to double-digit prison sentences.
The bribery conspiracy outlined by prosecutors started in May 2010 when Warner was working as a field inspector at the airport approving maintenance and repair contracts. He headed several related schemes involving Metro Detroit contractors, including Romulus businessman William Pritula, whose company William Pritula & Sons held facilities and maintenance contracts at the airport, prosecutors said.
Warner drafted and submitted inflated invoices for work Pritula was hired to perform at the airport, according to the government. The payments totaled more than $18 million.
In return, Warner received approximately half of the profits from the contracts, or more than $5 million, according to the indictment.
Pritula pleaded guilty to bribery and was sentenced to probation. He agreed to forfeit $5.4 million to the government.
Federal court records describe Warner as a greedy and profane felon.
"If it weren't for me, your ass would be out," Warner told one airport contractor, according to the indictment.
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