Melvindale officials contacted the FBI and Michigan State police in January after being presented with evidence that a recording device had been placed in the mayor’s office.
Nicole Shkira assumed office on December 6, 2023, after serving two four-year terms on the city council.
In January, as she prepared to come to work, Shkira said she received a call from police chief Dan Jones.
“He told me over the phone that we received some mail,” she said, “and it was kind of odd.”
Shkira was told that she, along with chief Jones, the city council and the mayor’s secretary had all received envelopes in the mail. None had a return address.
When the police chief opened his, Shkira said, he found a lone thumb drive that contained recorded conversations that had taken place inside the mayor’s office from the last two months.
Shkira said she immediately recognized her voice.
“The lieutenant, the chief and then my secretary were in the chief’s office listening to the flash drive. And I was in shock,” she said, adding that the thumb drive contained about 60 recordings.