Putting an end to ‘police for profit’
Forfeiture fund had been source of Smith’s accused illicit spending
Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido on Thursday announced termination of the controversial drunken driving forfeiture fund that was the source of the most of the alleged illicit spending by former prosecutor Eric Smith.
Lucido gained unanimous approval from the Records and Public Safety Committee of the county Board of Commissioners to eliminate the county’s “OWI forfeiture fund,” which was to be an estimated $110,000 this year.
The program, operated for years by Smith, was put on hold in March 2020 when Assistant Macomb Prosecutor Jean Cloud took over as Smith’s temporary replacement following Smith’s resignation amid criminal charges; Lucido took office Jan. 1.
Under Smith, first-time drunken drivers for years paid $900 and second-time offenders 1,800 to get their vehicle back. That was on top of the original fees for towing, storage, legal fees, fines and court costs placed on convicted drunken drivers.
Lucido cited fairness to drunken driving defendants as well as the scandal involving the fund.
“All you do is oppress the poor in this county,” Lucido told the board of the prior practice. “Those
individuals have already been fined and (paid) costs. That money was brought in as an additional sum of money as punitive in nature. I appreciate the fact the line item was for $110,000, but I don’t want to police for profit.”
Lucido referred to the “debacle” of how the money was spent under Smith.
“I believe given the nature and circumstances as the public perceives this as punitive, and more importantly, abusive as to what happened (with Smith), we decided in the Prosecutor’s Office to put a pause on it (when he first took office),” he said. “I decided to terminate it because I just feel $110,000 isn’t worth it to penalize and punish.”
Smith is accused of using this money and funds from three other much smaller accounts as a slush fund over six years to pay for up to $600,000 in alleged illegal expenditures on items such as security for his Macomb Township home, retirement and holiday parties, unknown credit-card payments, and donations to nonprofits and churches. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged him with 10 felonies: five counts of embezzlement by a public official, and one count each of racketeering, misconduct in office, conspiracy to commit forgery, tampering with evidence and accessory after the fact.
Smith and two of his three co-defendants face a March 26 probable-cause conference and April preliminary examination in 41B District Court in Clinton Township. Also charged are suspended Assistant Prosecutor Derek Miller and businessman William Weber. Ben Liston, Smith’s retired chief of staff, has pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors and will be sentenced after Smith’s case is resolved. Liston agreed to testify against Smith.
Smith also faces federal prison time after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice related to his illegal expenditure of $75,000 in campaign funds. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 27.
Thursday’s meeting was a virtual session held over Zoom.
Regarding the forfeiture funds, Commissioner Veronica Klinefelt, an Eastpointe Democrat, said her only concern about the ma- neuver is that local police departments that made the arrest received half of the total amount collected, and now will lose revenue.
“We might hear from the locals,” she said.
For this year, all but $4,300 of the $110,000 was slated to be spent on “supplies and services,” reducing that budget to $64,200. The $4,300 was allocated for “contract services.”
The preliminary approval will go to the final board for approval at its meeting next Thursday.
In another budget move, Lucido gained a unanimous OK to move $45,400 from one account to another to pay for a part-time assistant prosecutor for the rest of the year. He did not indicate the job description of the new position but indicated, “We need bodies on the front line.”
Lucido last month informed the board he would need to add 10 more people to his staff at a cost of about $900,000 to effectively operate the office and handle the caseload, although most of the positions would be nonattorneys, such as at least two for information-technology, an executive assistant, a communications director and part-time court liaison.
County Executive Mark Hackel, through whom Lucido must request the funding, has indicated the 2021 budget process ended last year and would not support increasing the budget by any amount. Lucido would have to come up with a budgetneutral way to fund any new positions.
Lucido reminded commissioners, “I had nothing to do with this budget for 2021, and he said he and his top assistants “scrounged together” money to pay for the post.
He again is taking money from supplies and services, and noted he may have to return to the board to gain approval to move other money if the supplies-and-services fund is short due to taking funds away from it.
The account had extra funds because the office has spent less on mileage in the past year due to COVID-19, he said. Assistant prosecutors have been attending cases over Zoom from their home or office rather than traveling to the several district courts in the county.
Commissioner Barb Zinner, a Harrison Township Republican, said she supported the move.
“We have to have a prosecuting attorney as fully vested as we can,” she said. “That’s how I feel as a citizen. I hope we can help them with all we can.”
“You do need bodies,” said committee Chairman Joe Romano, a Sterling Heights Republican.
In a third budget maneuver for the Prosecutor’s Office, the board panel approved his transfer of $15,100 in federal forfeiture dollars to capital outlay to purchase $23,000 worth of office furniture to fund a room for crime victims to talk with assistant prosecutors and victim advocates. Funds are available due to a drop in travel for conferences, which have been held online for the past year because of COVID-19 instead of in person in another city in Michigan or other state, Lucido said.
Lucido said under his predecessor, victims had nowhere in the office to talk privately about their cases.
“I could not see victims pouring their guts out in the lobby,” he said.