I couldnt vote for her but, damn, was I ever inspired that a fellow member of the LGBT community had so passionately reached to rarely attained heights. Theres a reason why I have boxes and flash drives full of evidence and no-one to whom to give them. A complete list of individual units is below. With over 300,000 apartments destroyed in Turkey, fingers are already being pointed at below-par building codes and corruption in construction quality and enforcement. 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. Nov. 2, 2000. Four years ago, Trump won among the 1,182 votes there53%-40%, with 6% split between Johnson and Stein. All rights reserved. 28 police officers with allegations involving a prostitute. In Macomb County, the recent names making headlines for alleged public corruption are former Macomb County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Smith, former Macomb County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Ben Liston and suspended Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Derek Miller. And it tells us about Trump, a combativeand polarizing politician who has continued to shock with his claims and surprise with the resilience he has shown in drawing support in places like Michigan. Kirkpatrick notified city officials, and the request was included in an investigation of Harris that had been initiated by then-City Administrator Sabrina Landreth. Fired Oakland police chief sues city for, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Chart: Bay Area rainfall totals for this week, Fired Oakland police chief sues city for alleged retaliation for exposing corruption, abuse of power. Numerous other officers were named during the investigation and trial as having participated in similar abuses. In 2015, the Alameda County Superior Court destroyed the case files for Neely and Richholt, erasing the only public record of the incident aside from media reports. While he pled guilting to this federal corruption charge in January of 2021, he has yet to be sentenced, in part because of his ongoing public corruption case with the State Attorney Generals Office. SAN FRANCISCO Three Bay Area men, including a justice activist who billed himself as a youth mentor just 11 days after . Exposing how the U.S. criminal legal system fails to keep people safe and perpetuates harm. To help, we passed around photographs that we had taken during our visits to them. In addition, outside law enforcement . 2. His margin of support among white men without college degrees was even higher, 64%-34%. In February 2003, Neely and Richholt pleaded guilty to one count of agreeing to engage in prostitution and received one day in jail and three years of probation, a misdemeanor. "I was just thinking that the Biden campaign nurtured the blue wall and cultivated it," said Wielhouwer. I have to come to the conclusion that there is a certain lie factor, a certain unwillingness of Trump voters to express themselves.". Because it isnt worth it., I dont imagine any appeals to your conscience or journalist integrity are worth it, I added. They are all sharp as tacks anyway. There are also cases tied to contractors and overall public corruption cases in Macomb County, that were not included in these counts. I told Lucido that I had heard no mention of a Task Force at all. Oakland, California CNN Four police chiefs in 10 days. Why are you working with them?. Accepting what "is" here is NOT acceptable. Lelands guilty plea stemmed from him being indicted on federal bribery charges and a felony misconduct in office charge for accepting $15,000 in cash and free car repairs in exchange for his vote on a land deal, according to the FBI. Its the easiest job in the world for Nessel; like telling Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York that she cant be a Duchess because all those weight watchers commercials were a bridge too far. The Oakland police fired Valerga after he was criminally charged. The AARP didnt want to know either. Oakland County Sheriff's deputies are searching for a driver who hit a road sign and left the scene. On the morning of March 25, I paused to watch Nessels presser on Facebook. For Shaw, that is 206 cases involving 256 defendants since February 2009, according to district attorney records obtained by The Times. Getting those voters to voice their support in public opinion polls isn't easy. With no due process, or medical evidence presented as to a wards incapacity, shocking judicial overreach led them to be stripped of each of their constitutional, statutory, civil and human rights. In Los Angeles County, the superior courts criminal division retained files for several former officers who were charged in the. He is a man to whom I will be indebted for the rest of my life. Former LAPD officer Rafael Perez was convicted in 2000 on state felony charges for stealing eight pounds of cocaine from an evidence locker. This year, Trump won 52%-48%.He got 552 votes to Biden's 509. Since taking the bench in 2003, George had somehow survived numerous scandals and, like most Michigan probate court judges, knew on which side her bread was buttered. Since they had never received a single response from their own attempts to shed light on what was happening at the probate court, I hoped to discern why, while giving them an opportunity to be heard. The initial charges against Smith were the state charges and occurred in March of 2020, and the federal charges came in September of 2020. On Sept. 26, 2002, narcotics unit officers Richholt and Neely were arrested at a beauty salon after offering $160 to several women in exchange for oral sex. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Northern California, alleges that the Oakland police commissioners routinely abused their power, and corruptly looked for special treatment by the police department. The president, meanwhile, has repeatedly shown himself to be a political marvel, defying odds and proving pundits, handicappers and pollsters wrong. So, prior to the meeting, my team and I reached a decision that if Moody was going to get involved, our best course of action was to provide the proof of our findings but protect the alleged victims and their families by: A) Redacting the names and case numbers from documents. And legal experts say that destroying records of police misconduct, even if authorized by state statute, may conflict with the constitutional rights of defendants. I called my editor at the Free Press. Miller recently asked for the misconduct in office and conspiracy to commit a legal in an illegal manner charges against him to be dropped. Under the Brady rule, prosecutors must disclose material that might help the defense, including information that undermines the credibility of state witnesses. 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. But it was 56%-45%. Public corruption occurs when anyone who works for the . The chief of staffs for Ayers and Benson are also included in this investigation but have not been charged. OCSO in the Community. If you have been arrested for public corruption, criminal defense lawyer J. Dallo at Dallo Law, P.C. Investigative and Forensic Services Division - Captain Joseph Quisenberry: 248-858-5087. 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. Leland admitted to accepting the cash when he pled guilty. And then of course in the mid-'70s, '76, '77, with the four children in Oakland County who were kidnapped and killed. Katie Jane Fernelius Contact Todd Spangler:tspangler@freepress.com. Pay-to-play was all too common in state politics, then-Free Press associate editor Ron Dzwonkowski wrote in 2010. The decision to purge the files was legal, according to Tom Kinzinger, an attorney with Bryan Cave law firm who reviewed the Alameda County Superior Courts destruction of records for The Appeal. What I am about to relate is not an attempt to shame my fellow reporters, nor is it sour grapes as I was able to to find a form of resolution in that the story got told. I checked with my editor at the Free Press who gave an enthusiastic green light. 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. On the morning of March 21, I interviewed Senator Pete Lucido (R). Recent headlines have been focused on several public officials, including four from the Detroit City Council, three from the Detroit Police Department and three from Macomb County. But I was assured, by Free Press leadership, that in no way had the publication ever allowed outside pressure to interfere with an investigation. But that wasnt on the high level reviews agenda. The destruction of the Riders files is also an erasure of an extraordinary case of corruption that ended with the Oakland Police Department placed under a federal judges oversight. As part of his plea deal, Perez turned states evidence and accused dozens of other LAPD officers of misconduct. Its a high-level review of elder care issues. 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%. In 2000, Ortiz, Liddy, and Buchanan were convicted by a Los Angeles County jury of framing gang members and planting evidence. Kirkpatrick pointed to a 2018 internal city document made public that said police Commissioner Ginale Harris demanded the department and the chief pay her back for towing fees Harris owed the city. Feds file obstruction case against ex-W. Bloomfield schools official . It included Nessels press conference announcement which noted that only credentialed members of the press who had RSVPd to a Nessel communications team member would be allowed to attend. These charges have surfaced over the last year or so, and have only driven the total number of public corruption cases that can be accounted for in the last four years. Chapter 5: The Runaway. If you want to know exactly what Yun, Carney, and Fraser did to earn their brief,moment in the sun Friday, then you are quite welcome to click the links below: These stories goto the heart of both Gretchen Whitmer and Dana Nessels 2018 campaigns for Michigan Governor and Attorney General. And his percentage of the overall vote actually declined slightly. And then you did. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Flowingdata.com I do hope hes got his Geiger Counter on standby. This year, he won the precinct again. Under the Brady rule, prosecutors must disclose material that might help the defense, including information that undermines the credibility of state witnesses. Thatdifference was even more stark in Kent County in west Michigan, where Trump lost,getting 165,318 votes to Biden's 186,753. You can't wait until the last week. 2023 www.freep.com. 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.. After the city rejects a claim, a lawsuit can be filed. My concerns about a possible catch and kill situation didnt come out of nowhere. The reforms that Nessel, alongside Michigan Supreme Court Justices Richard Bernstein and Megan Cavanaugh, proposed that morning all stemmed from issues I had brought up in the meeting with Teter as well as Catallos reporting and ones which were clearly laid out in an updated 2019 federal Qui Tam lawsuit brought by Ann Arbor attorney Bradley Geller. This was a rare opportunity to press her on the issue in person and, given its name, my questions clearly fell smack in the middle of the Task Forces wheel house. When my stories resulted in positive changes, to even a single life, then my salary and the resulting can of Spaghettios was earned. When Catallo was shooting the story, the Kirks attorney, Sterling Heights Mayor and rabid Democrat Michael Taylor showed up to do a bit of schilling for his clients. In Livingston County, for instance, Trump won by 23 points but that was 7 points worse than he had done against Clinton. While the rest of the country engages in hand-wringing over the treatment of undocumented immigrants not one civil rights group has raised a finger in protest about the rights that have been stripped from innocent, American citizens. About This Work. You shared the chart of the home sales information with me and it included one sale that was over $100,000 below the market value. 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. After all, the families had already agreed to go on the record with their stories. It is now . And one. Teter gravely asked if I had shared the information with anyone. Just as he did in 2016, President Donald Trump this year mounted a late-breakingsurge in Michigan, using anaggressive campaign to bolster turnout, disproving myriad polls that showed his support lagging and drawing even greater backingfrom voters across wide swaths of the state than he did four years ago. We have it and it is clear and incontrovertible. At the state level, Smith has been charged with five counts of embezzlement by a public official, one count conducting a federal enterprise, official misconduct in office, tampering with evidence in a civil proceeding, accessory after the fact to embezzlement by a public official and one count conspiracy to commit forgery, according to the Michigan Attorney Generals Office. 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. The March 12 meeting had yielded no comment to any of my questions concerning what was allegedly happening in Oakland County and statewide nor had Nessel, herself, been present. Teresa James, assistant division director for the Alameda County Superior Courts traffic and criminal division, confirmed that the Valerga, Richholt, and Neely files were destroyed in accordance with state law that allows the court to dispose of misdemeanor criminal files after five years. If your case does not appear in the MiFIle efiling system please email efiling@oakgov.com to have it added. "We know that a lot of that was baked in. The difference? 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. Smiths felony charges from the Michigan Attorney Generals Office are all in relation to alleged misuse of forfeiture funds. 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.. 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