Former prosecutor’s plea hearing delayed again
Action comes as Smith recovers from COVID
The Thursday federal plea hearing scheduled for former Macomb County prosecutor Eric Smith has been delayed again as Smith is still affected from contracting COVID-19.
U.S. District Judge Linda Parker wrote in an order Tuesday she was postponing the case until Jan. 27 because Smith “continues to recover from COVID 19.”
“Defendant ’ s current physical state will preclude him from meaningful participation in his pending plea hearing,” she says. “It is in the best interest of justice that the plea hearing be adjourned to a date in January of 2021 that is mutually convenient to the Court and the parties.”
This is the second time Smith’s plea hearing has been delayed due to him contracting the coronavirus. His late-October hearing was pushed back to Thursday after he was hospitalized with COVID-19 and continued to “exhibit severe symptoms of the virus.”
At the hearing, Smith, 54, is expected to plead guilty to obstruction for trying to get potential witnesses to lie for him regarding his alleged illegal use of $75,000 in campaign finance funds.
As part of a plea deal, Smith has agreed to a sentence of between 15 to 21 months in prison. The two sides were unable to agree on a fine, which could be up to $250,000, although Smith has agreed to pay $70,000 in restitution.
The hearing is slated to be held remotely over Zoom.
Federal prosecutors in September revealed the results of a federal grand jury investigation into whether Smith stole $75,000 from his political campaign funds. He told two assistant prosecutors and a friend to lie when questioned by authorities about his use of campaign funds.
Investigators allege he used the money to pay for personal expenses dating back to 2012 through this year.
Smith, the prosecutor for over 15 years, devised a scheme in January 2012 to steal some of the money from his campaign fund by false pretenses, according
to U.S. attorneys.
The federal charge was unrelated to a separate state investigation that resulted in the Michigan Attorney General’s Office filing racketeering charges in March.
Smith resigned in March after he and three others were accused of participating in a scheme to embezzle $600,000 in county forfeiture funds. He is charged with 10 felonies, the most serious of which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
A preliminary examination in that case is scheduled for three days beginning Jan. 22 in 41B District Court in Clinton Township. Those proceedings have been stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.