Lucido prepares to take office
From appearance to assignments, Macomb prosecutor-elect says to expect change soon
Pete Lucido said he has been frequently asked in recent weeks about whom he is going to name as his chief assistant when he takes over as Macomb County prosecutor Jan. 1.
His deflection has been: “My mother.”
“My mother would be a great chief of staff and a great asset,” Lucido repeated to The Macomb Daily as to what he has told people. “She knows exactly how I am thinking and how I react because of her motherly instincts.”
Lucido, of course, was joking that his 90-year-old mother, Anne, would be appointed.
But Anne Lucido might as well be appointed, for now, as Lucido is virtually mum on the topic.
“I have candidates,” he said.
He said he expects to announce the appointment late this coming week or the first week of January when he takes office. He said he will pick “the best qualified” person. “I won’t pick someone who isn’t qualified. My pick won’t be political,” he promised.
The appointee would occupy the sole at-will, non-union position that Lucido can make, under the county’s past practices. The approximately 90 remaining employees all have union protection,
including a handful of top administrators.
Lucido, a Republican state senator from Shelby Township, defeated former judge Mary Chrzanowski, a Democrat, for the position in the November election.
The seat became available when former longtime prosecutor Eric Smith resigned in March, three days after he was formally charged with 10 felony counts for his alleged pilfering of up to $600,000 from a county forfeiture fund.
Jean Cloud, his prior chief trial attorney, was named acting prosecutor until Lucido takes office Jan. 1.
In addition to Cloud, a remaining top administrator is William Cataldo, who is chief of homicides.
Two other top administrators, James Langtry and Derek Miller, aren’t there, although Miller is still employed by the county.
Langtry, who was Smith’s chief assistant, was fired by Cloud shortly after she took over.
Miller, who was chief of operations, remains on suspension for his alleged role in Smith’s alleged scheme to steal the funds. Miller is charged with misconduct in office and conspiracy to commit a legal act in an illegal manner. Miller, Smith and co-defendant William Weber face a scheduled three-day preliminary examination next month in 41B District Court in Clinton Township.
Smith also is expected to plead guilty next month in U.S. District Court to a federal count of obstruction for asking three people to lie for him to cover up his alleged theft of $75,000 in campaign funds.
William Harding, a longtime assistant prosecutor, was temporarily elevated earlier this year by Cloud to serve as her chief assistant during her tenure. Harding retired in 2012 under the Deferred Retirement Option Program and returned to the office part-time as head of the Internet Crime Unit.
Lucido remains a senator through Dec. 31 and was in session last week when lawmakers and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer worked out a $465 million COVID-19 relief package.
Those responsibilities kept Lucido busy during the transition period but hasn’t kept him from preparing for his new position, he said.
“I am laser-focused,” he said.
He has already has moved into his office, and his desk is “stocked and ready to go,” he said. He has visited the office and met with staffers a halfdozen times.
Lucido said he is confident in his ability to do the job.
“I think I’ll be a strong
and more insightful prosecutor,” he said.
Lucido operated a law firm for many years before running for office for the first time in 2014.
In his new job, he ants to build a positive, productive atmosphere following the scandal brought upon the office by Smith. Smith also was known to play favorites and seek retribution against certain employees by giving them undesired assignments.
Lucido has asked employees to submit an “intake” form in which they express their wishes for their duties. He vowed to meet with each employee, undeterred by the COVID19-pandemic restrictions and many employees working remotely. He said most employees have had to at least occasionally visit the office during the crisis.
“I want to hear from individuals who can help me make this a better place to work,” he said. “You have to give them hope for the future and that they want to be part of the solution.
“I’m going to tell them things are going to start looking different.”
He said he is reviewing the assignment of individuals to various post.
“I’m going to put people where they belong, because they belong there,” he said.
He expects jury trials, which have been halted in the county courthouse since the onset of the pandemic, to restart relatively early in the new year and wants his office to be ready for an onslaught of proceedings.
Lucido said he has “a laundry list” of new programs or efforts he wants to initiate, and wants to review operations for potential changes.
Cloud is providing an “obligation list” to Lucido to detail any outstanding plea offers to criminal defendants. Many “deviation” requests for exceptions to policy for plea deals from defense attorneys in recent months have been postponed as court officials decided to wait until the new prosecutor takes over.
Lucido said he is reviewing Smith’s strict no-plea policy, in which no plea deals were offered for cases of child victims, among other types of cases.
“I’m going to be reviewing a lot things, including plea offers,” he said.
He wants to ensure that victims and their families are satisfied with the outcome of a plea deal.
He said he plans to follow through on his promise to create a public-corruption unit. Both Lucido and Chrzanowski said during the campaign a unit is needed in light of the corruption that has swirled in the county in recent years. In addition to Smith’s troubles, more than two-dozen people have been charged, and most convicted, in a
Macomb County-centered, several-year federal investigation into public corruption.
He aims to form a conviction integrity unit because as a state lawmaker he learned about too many wrongful convictions in Michigan and wants Macomb County to be part of the solution to ending those results, he said.
During his four years as a state representative and two years as a state senator, Lucido focused on reforming criminal laws. In the Senate, Lucido was chairman of the Judiciary and Public Safety, one of four legislators on the state’s Elder Abuse Task Force and a member of the Criminal Justice Policy Commission.
He wants to restart the internship program that was stopped by Smith to give young prospective lawyers a chance to gain insight and experience, he said. He said his internship in Oakland County led to him becoming a probation officer before he became a lawyer.
Lucido said part of transforming the office’s atmosphere is making physical changes. The office operates on three floors of the Administration Building in downtown Mount Clemens.
Lucido already has spiced up the previously drab, gray office walls by adorning them with 50 or so pieces artwork, photographs, inspirational quotes and legal documents, he said.
“I made it look like a nice place to work — warm and welcoming,” he said.
He is working on an arrangement with University of Michigan to provide student artwork on a rotating basis, he said.
Also on the walls are framed bills that he introduced related to criminal law reform and photos of him with various officials.
There has not been space for victim advocates and assistant prosecutors to meet with victims and their families for sensitive discussions, he said. Those meetings have often taken place in the courthouse, where there always wasn’t a great deal of privacy. To improve that situation, he is opening a conference room on each floor for such meetings.
“Victims deserve better,” he said.
He plans to assign assistant prosecutors from specialized units to desk locations near each other to create a more collaborative environment.
“I can put people in pods, where they can work together — more efficiency and proficiency,” he said.
Lucido, who founded Macomb Now Magazine, said he plans to hire a communications expert to help inform the media.
Lucido hasn’t practiced law in a courtroom in a few years, but said he also is planning to handle some cases at some point though that will be at least six months and likely more than a year away.