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TexasTowelie's JournalEx-police chief pleads guilty to embezzlement
The former police chief in a west Michigan hamlet pleaded guilty to pocketing the fees of 699 “salvage vehicle” inspections in the village of Shelby, which has less than 2,000 residents.
Robert Wilson pleaded guilty Friday to one felony count of embezzlement and one count of motor vehicle-false certification in 27th Circuit Court, which covers Newaygo and Oceana counties, according to a news release issued Monday by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette. Wilson will be sentenced June 5.
A state investigation alleges that when Wilson was village of Shelby police chief, he performed 699 salvage vehicle inspections between December 2013 and November 2015 without turning the fees over to the village. The fees can cost up to $100.
Wilson didn’t tell village government officials that he was collecting inspection fees, the news release said.
Read more: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/macomb-county/2017/04/24/shelby-chief/100862562/
Conservative Kochs push Mich. criminal justice reforms
Lansing – The powerful Koch brothers and their namesake company are helping jump-start a renewed push for criminal justice reforms in Michigan.
The libertarian-leaning conservative businessmen argue that the state can do more to ensure fairness and fiscal responsibility in criminal sentencing, prison rehabilitation and re-entry services.
“It’s not ‘soft on crime, tough on crime’ or meaningful slogans,” said Mark Holden, senior vice president and general counsel for Koch Industries. “We want to be smart on crime and really soft on taxpayers.”
Holden is set to testify Tuesday morning before the Michigan House Law and Justice Committee, where chairman Klint Kesto is planning five or six hearings to discuss “safe and secure rehabilitation” policies and explore what other states have done.
Read more: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/04/24/conservative-kochs-push-mich-criminal-justice-reforms/100864576/
Lost appeal could cost GM billions
General Motors Co. could be exposed to billions of dollars in additional claims related to its defective ignition switches after the U.S. Supreme Court turned away an appeal from the company seeking to block hundreds of lawsuits from proceeding.
The justices on Monday left in place a lower court ruling that said the automaker’s 2009 bankruptcy did not shield it from liability in cases involving death and injuries, or for economic loss because the value of the cars plunged. The court did not comment on its reasoning for rejecting to hear the case.
That could open up the company to expensive and costly damages, which plaintiffs’ lawyers have estimated could be as much as $10 billion. GM has already paid $2.5 billion in legal costs and settlements related to the ignition switch defect, including a $900 million fine to the Justice Department and about $600 million as part of a compensation program to families of victims killed or those injured in accidents related to the faulty ignition switches. Those who settled in the compensation program can’t file another suit against GM.
The ignition switch defect, which allowed the key to inadvertently move to the “off” position and disable air bags, ultimately was tied to 124 deaths and hundreds of injuries. It led to a 2014 recall of nearly 2.59 million older cars.
Read more: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/general-motors/2017/04/24/gm-ignition-switch/100837116/
Snyder investigating state worker harassment in U.P.
LANSING – Gov. Rick Snyder's administration is investigating allegations that managers at an Upper Peninsula state government office have harassed employees and may have broken state law.
In a letter to Snyder last week, state Rep. John Kivela, D-Marquette, said he's heard "stories of employee intimidation, bullying, sexual harassment, and … an overall hostile work environment" at the Marquette branch of the Department of Health & Human Services. State workers also "shared with us concerns over official records manipulation and other legal violations," Kivela wrote to Snyder.
Kristie Carpenter, a children's service specialist who's worked at the Marquette office for two years, described managers who give unfair discipline and yell and swear at employees in front of others. She said she's fallen behind on her work only when her caseload exceeds federal limits, and managers discipline employees for getting behind without helping them catch up.
She said the office needs not only new management, but new training to improve communication between managers and employees and restore trust.
Read more: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/capitol/2017/04/13/snyder-investigating-state-worker-harassment-up/100365020/
Capitol repairs will happen, official says
LANSING – Lawmakers have been down in the guts of the Capitol on rainy days to see the leaks, a statehouse official said.
That's why John Truscott, vice chairman of the Michigan State Capitol Commission, said he's confident legislators will find a way to pay for the estimated $62.5 million in repairs and renovations needed in the mechanical guts of the 138-year-old building. He said that's true even as Republicans trim the budget to make room for a potential cut to the state income tax.
The building needs upgrades to its heating and cooling systems, pipes and other innards. The aging systems are putting the National Historic Landmark at risk; high humidity damages decorative paint, for example.
After legislation that would have allowed the commission to borrow for the repairs failed to advance last year, the commission and lawmakers are now taking a different tack. The repairs, Truscott said, would either be funded through the state's capital outlay process, a formal mechanism for paying for state building upkeep, or through a general appropriation from the Legislature.
Read more: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/capitol/2017/04/17/capitol-repairs-happen-official-says/100458790/
State agency 'actively working' despite embezzlement
LANSING - Despite allegations that its former director embezzled more than $73,000 from its coffers, the Hispanic/Latino Commission of Michigan "is actively working on a number of vibrant new initiatives," the commission said in a statement on Thursday.
Maria Louisa "Marylou" Mason of Williamston, who retired from the commission in 2015 after nearly 30 years at its helm, has been charged with multiple counts of embezzlement after Attorney General Bill Schuette on Tuesday accused her of using thousands of dollars in public funds on herself. The 80-year-old faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Commission leaders have not returned messages seeking comment, and it isn't clear how those alleged crimes affected the operations of the commission, a small operation that received $261,000 from the state this year. The funds Schuette said were embezzled were earmarked to build a statue honoring civil rights activist Cesar Chavez in Lansing, Schuette said. That statue hasn't been built.
Thursday's statement didn't mention the statue nor address specifics on the commission's operations. It said only that commissioners are "committed to continuing our work with our partners in government to advance the interests of all residents of the state of Michigan."
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/capitol/2017/04/20/state-agency-actively-working-despite-embezzlement/100699434/
How state workers, Facebook, Twitter have $1B in common
LANSING – This is the story of how Facebook and Twitter make Michigan's public pension systems unique.
The state-run pension plans for Michigan school employees and state government workers are among the biggest players in so-called "alternative investments" such as real estate, private companies and hedge funds, according to a new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Michigan has tens of thousands of individual investments in its alternative pool. Michigan retirees bought into companies that invested in Silicon Valley office buildings, apartments in Japan, toll roads in Peru, and a drinking water plant in California. Retirees currently own a little bit of Uber, a piece of Pinterest.
Michigan Treasurer Nick Khouri said the state's been in the alternatives game for decades, recognizing early that it pays off. Like when the state bought a piece of Facebook and Twitter before either company went public and turned a $364 million investment into more than $1 billion.
Read more: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/capitol/2017/04/24/how-state-workers-facebook-twitter-have-1b-common/100639812/
Michigan still fighting about mental health funding
LANSING – Five weeks after the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services issued a report calling on physical and behavioral health Medicaid dollars to be managed separately, a state Senate panel has given DHHS a goal of fully integrating the funds by 2020.
The proposal, part of the 2018 budget, was loudly criticized by mental health advocates, who are concerned the private health management organizations in charge of physical health will not offer the same transparency or expertise as the public mental health groups who currently manage the behavioral health money.
"How many times do the executive and legislative branches have to hear that no one except the (HMOs) wants" the change, Mark Reinstein, president and CEO of the Mental Health Association in Michigan, said in a written statement last week.
HMOs, however, said the model will result in better care for the large percentage of Medicaid patients who have both physical and behavioral health needs and will save administrative costs.
Read more: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/capitol/2017/04/24/michigan-still-fighting-mental-health-funding/100559550/
Legislature votes to help identify people with special needs
LANSING — Legislation designed to help identify lost or injured people with special needs will soon reach Gov. Rick Snyder.
Michigan allows for the fingerprinting of children under age 17 if parents or guardians request it. The Legislature voted Wednesday to let parents and guardians of those who have special needs to ask law enforcement for fingerprints and photos to be taken.
Supporters say the move would assist law enforcement in reuniting families when those with special needs are scared or unable to identify themselves. A sponsor, Republican Sen. Rick Jones of Grand Ledge, says the caregivers would pay the state police for the extra cost of fingerprinting and taking photos.
The bills won unanimous approval and will be enrolled Thursday.
Read more: http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/04/19/special-needs-michigan/100673994/
Common goal at NAACP dinner: Fight President Trump
After eight years with the first African American elected as president, people in the community have to come together to make sure progress isn't halted and the best cure for complacency in today’s electorate is President Donald Trump, said the Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the NAACP’s Detroit chapter.
Speaking to reporters before the NAACP’s 62nd annual Fight for Freedom dinner, Anthony said the actions taken in the first days of the Trump presidency -- including trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, appointing Jeff Sessions as attorney general and appointing conservative Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court -- should be sufficient to spur opposition, activism and challenges by all justice-seeking Americans.
“If that ain’t incentive enough for you, I’m not sure what else we can do,” he said. “The best ambassador for change is Donald Trump.”
It was a theme repeated again and again by speakers before the dinner, which was expected to draw a crowd of more than, 5,000, and is expected to be a theme from keynote speaker, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts.
Read more: http://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2017/04/23/common-goal-naacp-dinner-fight-president-trump/100823176/
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