Eight seek to fill interim Macomb County prosecutor seat
Cloud
Fox
Four current assistant Macomb County prosecutors, including the acting prosecutor, are among eight who have applied to serve as interim prosecutor for about six months.
Acting Prosecutor Jean Cloud and assistant prosecutors Dean Alan, Jurij Fedorak and Steven Fox all applied by the Friday deadline. An appointment will be made Wednesday.
Also applying were former assistant prosecutor
Dave Portuesi as well as two candidates running this year for a four-year term as prosecutor, Tom Rombach and Saimi Khalil. Brian Jaye is also seeking the post.
The 15-judge county Circuit Court bench will meet noon Wednesday via Zoom video to vote on the attorney to temporarily fill in for former prosecutor Eric Smith, who resigned March 30 three days after he was charged with 10 felonies. He is accused of pilfering of $600,000 from an off-thebooks forfeiture account.
The abrupt turn of events took place weeks before the filing deadline for this year’s August primary and November election to fill the new term, which will start shortly following the election.
Seven people — five Democrats and two Republicans — have filed. Rombach, a former State Bar of Michigan president, and Khalil, who often represents poor criminal defendants, filed as Democrats.
None of the assistant prosecutors who applied for the interim post filed for the election. All four of them have worked in the office since at least 2005 after Smith took office in late 2004. Fox was hired by Smith while Alan, Cloud and Fedorak arrived under former prosecutor Carl Marlinga.
Cloud has been the chief trial attorney since 2015 and served for 10 years as chief of the Child Protection Unit, formerly known as the sex crime unit.
Alan has been chief of warrants for many years, and Fedorak and Fox each has handled many, some high-profile, capital cases. Fox ran for circuit judge in 2014 against James Maceroni.
Postuisi is a criminal defense attorney and was an assistant prosecutor for more than 20 years under Marlinga and George Parish.
Jaye has been a lawyer since 2005 and practices out of a Rochester Hills office.
Smith, 53, of Macomb Township, and his three co-defendants faces a probable cause conference Tuesday in 41B District Court in Clinton Township. His co-defendants, who face fewer charges, include former chief of staff Ben Liston, suspended chief of operations Derek Miller and businessman William Weber.