Is the Future of Southeast Michigans Public Transportation Regional. On the night of March 21, a South Michigan guardianship reform activist forwarded an email she had received from a reporter at a local paper. Since 2016 there has been two public corruption cases in Oakland County and one in St. Clair County; no other county in the region has had any cases come to light. The chief of staffs for Ayers and Benson are also included in this investigation but have not been charged. The U.S. Supreme Court has explained that, any favorable evidence known to others acting on the governments behalf in the case, including the police., Not all branches of Californias courts are as aggressive as Alameda County in destroying police corruption files. The seven commissioners, Harris included, voted unanimously in February to remove Kirkpatrick from her position. Katie Jane Fernelius Bill Ballenger: The blue AMC Gremlin, child killer. The book exposes the history of police brutality on Oakland, but it is a familiar and perhaps even universal story people can bear witness to in countless communities that stretch around the world. Your email address will not be published. So, nothing that was said there was going to come from anonymous sources I would need to protect with my life. themselves as FBI agents during the incident. But I was assured, by Free Press leadership, that in no way had the publication ever allowed outside pressure to interfere with an investigation. He joined the . So, I never took for granted the honor of telling someones story and elevating a voice; especially if they had suffered from injustice or been discarded by society. OAKLAND Former Oakland Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit against the city on Wednesday, alleging she was fired in retaliation for exposing corruption and . On August 23, 2019, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that she hadfired three Oakland County Public Administrators, John Yun, Jennifer Carney and Thomas Brennan Fraser and one Macomb County Public Administrator Robert Kirk. One attorney who did described sanctions and threats of Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission complaints from both the PAs and the judges. After all, less than a week after Nessels office asked to meet with me, the Detroit-area Task Force raided the Taylor, Michigan City Hall and the Attorney General herself released a note congratulating them. Delphine Allen et al. In Los Angeles County, the superior courts criminal division retained files for several former officers who were charged in the. Rather than sticking to the letter of Michigan statute or Michigan Court Rules, the Oakland County Judges make up their own rules as they go along. SF corruption scandal widens: Two business leaders charged with bribing City Hall official. It's based on the candidate.". I do hope hes got his Geiger Counter on standby. 28 police officers with allegations involving a prostitute. Biden lost in all those places, as he did in all but 11 of the state's 83 counties. Smiths felony charges from the Michigan Attorney Generals Office are all in relation to alleged misuse of forfeiture funds. For Coblentz, that is 296 cases involving 345 defendants . All of them were actively quashed from the public. Either way, guardianship is a life sentence which hardly anyone in this country knows or about which anyone has cared to educate themselves. Tagged: Detroit Corruption, Detroit maps, Drawing Detroit, Macomb County Corruption, Michigan Corruption, Public Corruption, Your email address will not be published. The journalists in attendance were, justifiably, appalled and, in the end, Burgio ended up getting far more ink than Nessel. My advice is to contact the Macomb County Bar Association, the Michigan State Police or the FBI." First time I can remember I've tried to report a crime and no one has . Not only did he flip Kent, where Grand Rapids is located, he cut Trump's margin in Ottawa County, in one of the most Republican parts of the state, by 9 percentage points. So, it didnt pass anyones notice that, despite the simplicity of the job, the Attorney General couldnt even bring herself to say the word fired., Instead, after careful internal deliberation, she decided relieve these public administrators of their appointments.. The Biden campaign knew it, telling reporters Trump would have to top 62% of the in-person voting in order to overcome the advantage. The early numbers from the Secretary of State's Office indicate that was down in this election to about 45,000, far closer to normal. But Biden got 40% to Clinton's 36%. But it was clear that Democratic voters, especially, heeded the call to vote absentee. In 2016, more than 75,000 people in the state cast ballots but didn't vote for any presidential candidate. In May, 2019, she paid a visit to an elderly couple, Bob and Barb. In 1945, Michigan was racked with corruption. Some voters are unwilling to admit they are voting for him. Its a high-level review of elder care issues. Throughout the day, I tried to call the AGs office and was repeatedly told that the entire communications team was In a meeting.. IRS delays tax deadline for Bay Area, but California hasn't followed: What should you do? "We have no specific instances of wrongdoing.". Nothing that was goingto happen in the last couple of weeks was going to change those votes.". As much as anything, however, the 2020 election in Michigan may have been a simple reversion to the mean, an indication that, even with changing voting patterns within the state, Michigan's overall political nature hasn't changed that much after all. Every single time, they were told to "get an attorney but hardly anyone dared to represent wards or families fighting Public Administrators and court-appointed guardians. The paper that would never bow to a public official. Charges were filed by the Los Angeles District Attorney against Sgt. But he won three more counties than Clinton did and did better in those he didn't win than Clinton did in a state known to be more Democratic-leaning than Republican in presidential elections. The president, meanwhile, has repeatedly shown himself to be a political marvel, defying odds and proving pundits, handicappers and pollsters wrong. Seven points (the margin between the two candidates in the poll) is not representative of the gap (in the election). Nessels campaign speeches had traveled as far as Chicago. I was floored. As corruption charges continue to surface in Detroit, public information from the FBI, news sources and local court documents shows that there have been at least 15 public corruption cases involving Detroit councilmembers or Detroit staffers; this number does not include contractors or business figures who have been involved in these corruption cases. Since Moody was good friends with a select few of the public administrators he appointed, he alerted them to the complaining families who then suffered staggering retaliation in a probate court. The initial charges against Smith were the state charges and occurred in March of 2020, and the federal charges came in September of 2020. I truly believe that they dont see what theyre doing as being corrupt. But Biden was able to show some surprising levels of support in Republican areas relative to Trump. The U.S. Supreme Court has explained that the rule extends to any favorable evidence known to others acting on the governments behalf in the case, including the police.. Circuit Civil/Criminal - 248-466-4260. But that wasnt on the high level reviews agenda. Daily Kos moves in solidarity with the Black community. The Attorney General has created an Elder Abuse Task Force, he told me. Would dismantling Interstate 980 repair damage to Black neighborhoods? Mar 02, 2022. The press conference was Monday morning. Whether I received my answers from Nessel in the form of an official comment or not, the AG herself had ordered the meeting. Since the inception of the consent decree, the agency has cycled through 10 police chiefs, all of whom have failed to fulfill the reform programs mandates. It is now . Chapter 5: The Runaway. Whether Moody had jurisdiction over them or not, even after public administrators like Munger had been fired by him in 2017, Munger still took and was taking deceased estate as well as guardianship and conservatorship cases at the Oakland County Probate Court. Biden was also able to flip Kent and Leelanau, though, two more traditionally Republican counties (though both also voted for Gov. I shared the information with the AG and she would like us to get involved more deeply in a couple of cases immediately, he wrote. In 2008, Oakland paid $2 million to settle a civil rights lawsuit brought by 16 womenall of whom were Asian Americanwho said they were victims of Valerga. Kirkpatrick alleges in the suit that she was fired in February for standing up to the misconduct and reporting it. Guys like John Chase and Alan May have been running roughshod for so long that theyve utterly lost their principles, he told me. On Nov. 16, 2000, Officer Harper was acquitted of all charges after a month-long trial. B ) During the meeting, allow the AGs staff to review, but not keep, the documents. "Kos" and "Daily Kos" are registered trademarks of Kos Media, LLC. And in Grand Traverse, Trump went from winning by 13 points four years ago to beating Biden by just 3. All rights reserved. Chris Busch did whatever he wanted and H. Lee Busch's money protected him. Peter Wielhouwer, associate professor of political science and director of the Institute for Government and Politics at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, said the fact of early voting blunted Trump's aggressive campaigning in the last few weeks in Michigan. Far from the Michigan election being stolen from Trumpas he claims, the president did a remarkable job of energizing support, especially, but not only, in older industrial and rural parts of the state. As if I didnt already know, he reminded me that public administrators who took roles as guardians and conservators were acting outside of their job descriptions and as private attorneys. You cant give that stuff to them. Numerous other officers were named during the investigation and trial as having participated in similar abuses. Ex-Macomb County official Anthony Marrocco's sentencing on corruption charges has been delayed again, according to court records. When police searched Richholt and Neelys rental car, they found potential evidence of other crimes, including cash, zip-top plastic bags of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, and firearms. And while Trump won Macomb, his margin, 53%-45%, was well below the 54%-42% Trump beat Clinton by there four years ago. After all, the families had already agreed to go on the record with their stories. . However, on Dec. 22, 2000, Judge Jaqueline Connor. Daily Kos readers dont tend towards the troll, yet never couch brutal honesty in niceties. I felt more disappointment than surprise when one of the principle topics of Nessel's presser was guardianship in Michigan's probate courts; the focal point of my investigation. Kos Media, LLC. For Shaw, that is 206 cases involving 256 defendants since February 2009, according to district attorney records obtained by The Times. Third parties. Michael Buchanan, and Officer Brian Liddy. "I was just thinking that the Biden campaign nurtured the blue wall and cultivated it," said Wielhouwer. According to news reports from the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News, at least three members of the Detroit Police Department are suspected of accepting bribes from towing industry figures; no charges have been filed so these unnamed individuals were also not included in the regional public figure count. Four years ago, Trump won among the 1,182 votes there53%-40%, with 6% split between Johnson and Stein. Since Ayers, Benson and their chief of staffs have not been charged with any crimes they were not included in the total number of regional corruption cases since 2016. Moreover, she had pledged to support the the downtrodden and, her meeting request looked like a desire to keep that campaign promise. In 2000, Ortiz, Liddy, and Buchanan were convicted by a Los Angeles County jury of framing gang members and planting evidence. , where anti-gang officers in a downtown precinct were accused of unprovoked shootings and beatings of suspects, as well as planting evidence and stealing drugs then turning around and selling them on the street. Those officers have since been fired. Prologue. Instead, the county-by-county breakdowns which may change slightly as officials finalize tabulations but are unlikely to vary by much tell usa lot about trends that have been underway in the state for some time, including where certain areas appear to be trending more toward Democrats and others toward Republicans; it also tells us about how willing voters may be to split their tickets, despite what are often viewed as intransigent partisan leanings on the parts of voters. Trump couldn't afford it, having beaten Clinton four years ago by just 10,704 votes, or about two-tenths of 1% of the vote. The commission had called for the firing of five officers involved in the shooting, rather than the suspension Kirkpatrick, police internal affairs and the police departments executive force review board made. However, he was never formally investigated by its internal affairs division, nor did the department track down and interview all of his victims, according to depositions taken during the civil rights suit. Wayne County, including Detroit, has the highest number of public corruption charges in the region, and the state, followed by Macomb County. Michael Buchanan, and Officer Brian Liddy. v. City of Oakland (or the Riders Case or Riders Scandal) was a civil rights lawsuit in Federal District Court regarding police misconduct in Oakland, California which has resulted in ongoing Federal oversight. A survey of some 3,400 voters in Michigan done by the Associated Press as part of its election coverage found whites without college degrees made up some 54% of the electorate, and they overwhelmingly supported Trump 58%-41%. There are also cases tied to contractors and overall public corruption cases in Macomb County, that were not included in these counts. The polices independent federal monitor, Robert Warshaw, criticized Kirkpatricks discipline of the officers which he said deviated from recommendations of her own senior commanders calling the chiefs thinking disappointing and myopic.. The fact that many of those areas are Republican-leaning or backed the president, as much as anything, give the lie to Trump's wild and seemingly desperateclaims that it was corruption in Detroit that cost him the election, when there is no evidence to support it. With more likely in the works, it is important to note that strong local journalism, citizen involvement in local government and an understanding of who is being elected can help reduce corruption cases. Along with my team, I invited three family members of Oakland County wards to send one representative each. Behind the scenes of the Michigan Elder Abuse Task Force, Nessels firings of four Public Administrators on Friday, the Detroit not so Free Press, Listening Tours, Kojak, Strip Searches and corruption at the highest levels. Kirkpatrick was also recently criticized in her handling of the police fatal shooting of a homeless man, Joshua Pawlik, who was found armed and sleeping in 2018. The pair and other officers brutalized and planted drugs on suspects and filed false police reports resulting in wrongful convictions. The judgesdecided on a sample of 2,278 guardianship and conservatorship cases my team and I reviewed. The Oakland Police Commission, made up of seven appointed residents, was created to oversee the police departments policies and practices, and the Community Police Review Agency, which investigates police misconduct.. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Many of the judges are in cahoots with the Friend of the Court workers. Most recently, investigations involve Detroit City Councilmembers Andre Spivey, Janee Ayers and Scott Benson. I called some old friends still in the business in Chicago and they agreed to vouch for me if necessary. Theiralleged victims number in the high thousands of Michigan's most vulnerable senior and developmentally disabled citizens, each declared legally incapacitated wards and placed under a court-appointed guardianship and conservatorship. Because it isnt worth it., I dont imagine any appeals to your conscience or journalist integrity are worth it, I added. It spoke generally to the strength Democrats showed in growing suburbs as well as in areas where retirees from southeastern Michigan are moving into Up North. The Oakland police fired Valerga after he was criminally charged. We had supplied Teter and his people with multiple cases demonstrating pattern and practice. 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