Former Milwaukee school board president accused of bribery, conspiracy

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A former president of the Milwaukee School Board is indicted and accused of taking bribes while he served on the board. 

Federal court documents show when Michael Bonds was a part of the Milwaukee School Board, he got involved with a Philadelphia-based company that sets up charter schools. 

Bonds is now accused of taking payments from that company, in return for school board votes favorable to that company, which operated charter schools in Milwaukee. 

Bonds is also accused of conspiracy, for trying to help the company expand its Milwaukee operations and all of this was while other members of the school board expressed concerns about the company. 

The federal indictment says the plan was to hide the activities from MPS and the media "through means that included falsification of documents, including invoices" and other records. 

Michael Bonds resigned from the Milwaukee School Board last year. The Milwaukee Public School system released the following statement on Bonds' indictment:

Milwaukee Public Schools has recently become aware of federal charges brought against former Milwaukee Board of School Director Michael Bonds. This is an ongoing federal investigation and the district has no further comment at this time.