Lucido cell phone claim contradicted by Hackel

Prosecutor told employees funding was denied; Executive Office says funding is available

Macomb County prosecutor Peter Lucido may be reconsidering his decision to take away work cell phones from about 30 assistant prosecutors for financial reasons after County Executive Mark Hackel informed him money is available.

Lucido on Wednesday sent a letter to the assistant prosecutors telling them the “Executive Office” denied his request for funding to pay for county-issued cell phones. The phones in total cost the county about $17,000 per year.

“We have asked the Executive Office several times to secure al

ternative funding for this request, however, we were denied the funding request as a means to maintain the current cellular service,” Lucido wrote.

But Hackel responded with a letter Thursday telling Lucido he was “misinformed on the issue” and the funds are available in the drunken driving forfeiture fund, which paid for the phones for many years under Lucido’s predecessor.

“I have been informed by Finance Director Steve Smigiel that sufficient funding was identified in the OWI forfeiture account some time ago and this information was previously communicated to your office,” Hackel wrote in the singlepage, four-paragraph letter. “Therefore, there is no apparent need to terminate cell service at this time because an alternate funding source has been identified.”

Lucido did not return a call Thursday seeking comment.

The forfeiture fund is being

depleted of money after its revenue source – fees for drunken drivers to retrieve their impounded vehicle – was suspended last year by Acting Prosecutor Jean Cloud and terminated this year by Lucido, who called it unfair to the offenders and tainted by scandal.

The fund was the primary source of money former prosecutor Eric Smith is accused of illicitly spending on non-law enforcement purposes, such as office parties, gifts for employees, equipment for his chief of staff and security for his home. Smith has been charged with 10 felonies and faces a court hearing next Friday.

The fund had a balance of $159,000 on Dec. 31, enough to pay for not only the phones but estimated extradition costs, both for the next 2-½ years, Smigiel said.

Lucido told The Macomb Daily this week he is concerned about the lack of funds to pay to extradite criminal suspects from other jurisdictions as the $5,000 budgeted for this year has already been spent. But Smigiel said the

forfeiture fund can provide $25,000 per year for the rest of this year and next year for the extraditions, in addition to the phones.

The fund also has paid for other expenses such as conferences for assistant prosecutors and transportation and hotel accommodations, when necessary, due to travel for witnesses and victims, Smigiel said.

The county also collects a relatively small amount of money in drug forfeitures, which was not discontinued.

Lucido in February told the county Board of Commissioners he needed an additional $900,000 in general-fund dollars mostly to add 10 positions to his staff. He said more employees are needed to handle the “tsunami” of court cases expected to be progressing following the lifting of restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Smigiel said it is unclear whether the county could transfer the funds to pay for personnel costs with forfeiture money. Forfeiture funds must be spent on lawenforcement purposes.

“We play it safe” and

don’t allow it, he said.

He added officials are certain the dollars cannot “supplant” general-fund money for personnel but are uncertain whether, under state law, they can pay for a new position.

Also as part of his request, Lucido sought $49,000 in general-fund dollars to pay for 60 cell phones for employees for a year.

About half of the approximately 60 assistant prosecutors had been provided cell phones under Smith, and officials said that number may have dropped slightly under Lucido. The remaining assistants use their own cell phone for mobile use; all of the assistants have office phones.

In his one-page, threeparagraph letter to employees, Lucido says the countyprovided cell phones will no longer work after April 30, and must be turned in by then.

He tells assistants they can take advantage of a computer telephone app called “Jabber,” that will allow work calls to go through their county-issued laptop computer.