Contractor Pleads Guilty in $5M Airport Bribery Scheme

ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) — A contractor has pleaded guilty to paying more than $5 million to a Detroit-area airport official who submitted inflated bills and got a share of the spoils.

Prosecutors say William Pritula's company was hired for road repair and water line work at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. It's one of the largest bribery cases in Michigan's Eastern District.

The government says the bribes and kickbacks went to James Warner, who until 2014 was infrastructure manager at the agency that runs the airport. Warner is facing charges of conspiracy, bribery, money laundering and obstruction of justice. He has pleaded not guilty.

The 69-year-old Pritula pleaded guilty to bribery Monday. The government so far has seized $7.5 million from him and roughly $4 million from Warner.