Detroit City Council member Monica Conyers, the wife of U.S. Rep. John Conyers, is under investigation by the FBI and could be indicted this month, several sources told BlackAmericaWeb.com. 

“She may be indicted soon,” a source familiar with the process said. “It’s not if – but when.” 

According to the Detroit Free Press, “Conyers has been the subject of scrutiny in the FBI’s investigation of a multimillion-dollar sludge removal contract awarded last November to Synagro Technologies of Houston. Conyers was critical of the contract in hearings leading up for the vote, then cast the deciding yes vote for Synagro when the deal passed 5-4 on Nov 20.” 

The FBI looking into whether city officials and others – including Bernard

Kilpatrick, the father of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, accepted bribes to ensure approval of the Synagro contract. 

Last month, Sam Riddle, a former aide, stunned city officials when he told reporters that Monica Conyers was being investigated by the FBI. 

The revelation is the latest buzz in Detroit that – just for a moment – has turned attention away from Mayor Kilpatrick, who is awaiting trial on perjury charges. 

“It’s been the talk of the town,” a Detroit political observer told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “The councilwoman has problems.” 

Riddle is a political consultant who worked as Conyers’ chief of staff after she was elected in 2005. According to media reports, Riddle said FBI agents also told his attorney they had been tapping Riddle’s cell phone for the past year. 

According to The Detroit Free Press, Riddle said: “After leaving that interview, I became firmly convinced there are council people that are clearly targeted.” 

Of Conyers, Riddle said: “I believe they’re looking at her real hard.” 

Riddle said he believes the investigation of Monica Conyers is retaliation for the investigation of the Bush administration by her husband, Rep. Conyers, D-Mich., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. 

“I’m firmly convinced that there are elements in the U.S. attorney’s office who would love to make a case against anyone whose last name is Conyers, if for no other reason than to embarrass the chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee,” Riddle told the Free Press. 

Monica Conyers, however, is no stranger to controversy. 

The House ethics committee looked into allegations several years ago that Rep. Conyers used his congressional staff to assist his wife's political campaign. No action was taken. 

“People are not surprised about Monica,” a longtime Detroit political insider told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “Monica was actually involved in drama before she was elected to the Council.” 

“It’s not impacting Congressman Conyers yet, but when she’s indicted it could be very sticky for him,” the source said. “He’s never really faced this kind of controversy before.” 

Conyers would not comment on the investigation involving his wife. 

Last month, Monica Conyers was absent for several weeks from City Council meetings in what local media called “an undisclosed medical condition.” 

"I'm not feeling well right now," she told The Detroit News. "When I get back to work, I'll get back to work."  She has not yet returned. 

Steve Fishman, a prominent Detroit criminal attorney representing Monica Conyers, told the News the allegations against her are filled with rumor and innuendo. 

"Every time I hear the word 'allegedly,' it reminds me of Gladys Knight and her song, 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine,'” Fishman told the News. “Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.” 

Conyers isn’t alone. Several of Detroit’s leading black politicians and business leaders are also under investigation. 

The mayor is awaiting trial on perjury and other felony charges that he lied about an affair with Christine Beatty, his former chief of staff.  Kilpatrick has denied any involvement in the Synagro contract investigation. 

Meanwhile, Kilpatrick’s mother, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-MI) and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, is fighting for reelection. 

"I need your help. I want your prayers," she recently told the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit. "I want to continue to serve. So I ask you to send me back when you go to vote." 

According to a news story in the Free Press, “It's clear that the biggest issue is not so much what the congresswoman has or hasn't done in Washington, it's the implosion of Kilpatrick's son, Kwame, the embattled mayor of Detroit.” 

“It's not exactly the stuff his mother wants to deal with as she tries to keep her job in Michigan's 13th Congressional District,” the newspaper said. 

In the meantime, Monica Conyers, the most recent black politician to face a federal probe, could undoubtedly drag her prominent congressman husband into the drama before a huge audience. 

“When she gets indicted,” one source told BlackAmericaWeb.com, “it becomes a national story.”