Macomb County prosecutor, others charged with scheme to embezzle $600K
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed charges against Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith and three others in relation to the office's usage of forfeiture funds, accusing one of the county's top elected officials of racketeering as part of a scheme to embezzle $600,000 in taxpayer funds.
Businessman William Weber also was charged with crimes ranging from forgery to aiding and abetting. "We have been working and cooperating with the Michigan Department of Attorney General since last year while it continued to investigate politically motivated allegations about how our client, Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith, managed Macomb County’s forfeiture fund," defense lawyer, Martin Crandall of the Clark Hill law firm, said in a statement. He is representing Smith alongside attorney John Dakmak.
"We are shocked and dismayed to learn only through the media of the filing of charges by the attorney general"
Crandall added. "Regardless, we will vigorously defend Mr. Smith against these baseless allegations. We look forward to Mr. Smith’s day in open court, whenever that may be." Nessel noted in her statement that removal of Smith hinges on action from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer or the Macomb County Board of Commissioners, whose chairman is Bob Smith, Eric Smith's brother. Nessel, Whitmer and Bob Smith all are Democrats.
“This undermines people’s faith in government,” he said. “This is a complete betrayal of trust where you have the top law enforcement official in the county basically putting money into his own pocket. This is disastrous for the county.” “This undermines people’s faith in government,” he said. “This is a complete betrayal of trust where you have the top law enforcement official in the county basically putting money into his own pocket. This is disastrous for the county.”
Nessel's office after an audit and subsequent internal investigation found "inappropriate" expenditures for "personal gain."
The charges Tuesday weren't a surprise to Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel, who forwarded the case to
Peter Henning, a Wayne State University law professor and former federal prosecutor, said the charges are a tremendous blow for Macomb County.
The allegations are a stumbling block to public trust, Hackel said, but he hoped the county's and attorney general's actions to crack down on the activity help to restore residents' faith in government. He stopped short of calling on Smith to step down. "There’s a court of law, but there’s also the court of public opinion," Hackel said. "That question of trust is still there. How much more damage will this bring to that office knowing that those charges are there?"
Nessel's investigation allegedly found Smith and the others charged used the forfeiture
money for security for Smith's home; garden benches, flowers and make-
The account functioned as a campaign "slush fund" utilized by Smith to build up goodwill in the communities in which he campaigned, Nessel said. Weber, owner of Weber Security Group, produced false invoices for $28,000 as part of the scheme, Nessel said in a statement.
Forfeiture funds usually are used for department training, equipment or victim restitution and controlled by the county treasurer, Nessel said.But Smith allegedly had four accounts called "bad check restitution," "OWI forfeiture," "Warren drug court," and "drug forfeiture" that he maintained on his own without county treasurer oversight. “As attorney general, I take no responsibility more seriously than protecting the public trust,” Nessel said. “The reason is simple: Without public trust, government fails. Without public trust, justice stands no chance against reckless abuses of power.”
After an audit and internal investigation revealed inappropriate spending in 2018, Hackel and county Treasurer Lawrence Rocca pressed Smith for access to the forfeiture accounts until Smith finally closed the accounts and delivered four checks totaling $233,764 to Rocca, according to the charging document. Since then, the funds have been under the oversight of the county treasurer.
Michigan State Police raided Smith's office in April and his home in May as part of an investigation into his use of forfeiture funds.
The Michigan State Police officers search the garage of Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith's Macomb Township home on Tuesday, May 14, 2019. (Photo: Max Ortiz, The Detroit News)
On Monday, Smith said in a statement that he fully cooperated with police and will continue to cooperate with them. But he stood by earlier statements maintaining that the forfeiture funds were spent legally.
“During these extremely trying times of the COVID-
In early 2019, Jared Maynard, the former chairman of the Macomb County Republican Party, sued to obtain bank records for accounts set up by Smith that contained funds from forfeitures and bad checks.
Hackel also raised questions about the spending from those funds on donations to charities, churches, parties, trips and monthly security company bills ranging from $10,000 to $20,000.
Two of Smith's co-
Miller, 36, of Warren is a former assistant prosecuting attorney who was elected to the Michigan House in 2014, then stepped down in 2016 to serve out a term as Macomb County treasurer following the death of predecessor Ted Wahby. Miller lost in a bid for an elected term when his temporary term expired and was hired back on as an assistant prosecutor.
Miller’s family is well-
Liston, 58, is a former assistant prosecutor who was a chief deputy assistant for Smith before retiring three years ago.
Weber, 38, of Macomb Township, is the owner-
This past July, Weber was placed on one year of reporting probation after being charged with drunken driving, carrying a concealed weapon and a police badge in a September 2018 incident in Clinton Township. He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge.
Weber was arraigned Tuesday from the Michigan State Police North Metro Post via video
in front of Judge Cynthia Arvant of Southfield’s 46th District Court. Weber was released
on a $100,000 personal recognizance bond and ordered to have no contact with his
co-
A probable cause conference for Weber is scheduled for May 19 in Mount Clemens' 41-
Smith is the latest Macomb County public official charged with corruption during
a years-
The federal corruption investigation is ongoing and focused on former Macomb County
Public Works Commissioner Anthony Marrocco (/story/news/local/macomb-
Before losing re-
Marrocco’s aide, former Macomb Township Trustee Dino Bucci, is cooperating with the ongoing FBI investigation. Bucci was indicted on bribery, extortion, fraud, theft and money laundering charges in 2017.
Driven by greed: A database of corruption in Detroit
(https://content-
The Macomb investigations and convictions are part of a broader prosecution of corruption
in Metro Detroit. In the last dozen years, more than 111 elected officials, bureaucrats,
police officers and union leaders have been charged with corruption-
Smith is the second Macomb County prosecutor to be charged with crimes in the recent past.
In April 2004, then-
Smith was an assistant prosecutor under Marlinga for 11 years before winning election to the top job.
In another high-
Dunnings went on medical leave and resigned in July 2016.
In August 2016, Dunnings pleaded guilty to one count of misconduct in office, a five-
In November 2016, Dunnings was sentenced to three years of probation, with the first year served in jail. While he was serving his sentence, the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board formally disbarred him. Dunnings was released from the Clinton County Jail in September 2017
Stuart Dunnings III (Photo:stuartdunnings.com)
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Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith (Photo: Daniel Mears, Detroit News) Photo: Macomb
nocence!
Beth LeBlanc, Robert Snell and Mike Martindale, The Detroit News Published 12:37 p.m. ET March 24, 2020 | Updated 7:12 p.m. ET March 24, 2020