LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan lawmaker has been charged with seeking a bribe from a labor union in exchange for a favorable vote on a wage issue.
A federal grand jury indicted state Rep. Larry Inman on charges of attempted extortion, soliciting a bribe and lying to the FBI. Inman is a Republican from the Traverse City area who is serving his third term in the House after decades as a local official in northern Michigan.
Inman is accused of pledging to vote against an effort to repeal Michigan’s prevailing wage law if he could get campaign contributions from a carpenters union. Prosecutors say the union didn’t respond as requested, and Inman voted to repeal the law.
A message seeking comment was left for Inman on Wednesday. His website says his interests include looking for Amelia Earhart’s plane.
Update: Rep. Larry Inman tells The Detroit News that he spoke to the FBI last summer after the Legislature voted to repeal a wage law on government construction projects. He says agents “had some questions on the vote.” But he says he didn’t have the “slightest idea” of the focus of the investigation.
