Former Macomb County District Attorney Eric Smith has agreed to plead guilty to a federal obstruction of justice charge for encouraging two of his deputy prosecutors to help cover his theft of $ 70,000 from a campaign fund .
US attorney Matthew Schneider said Smith stole money from his re-election account to use it on “his personal whims.” Schneider, the highest federal prosecutor in Southeast Michigan, said in a video describing the case that he thinks Smith should serve at least 15 months in federal prison for betraying public trust.
Schneider described Smith’s attempts to cover the $ 70,000 that his campaign said he spent on rent and political advice which, in effect, was sent back to Smith.
According to federal prosecutors, in September 2019, Smith attempted to lie to a person described only as “Person A” about $ 50,000 in rent that ended up in Smith’s pockets. Person A was asked to describe the payments as a loan that Smith intended to repay.
Then Smith on two separate dates in February dismissed deputy prosecutors – after first making sure they didn’t have cellphones that could record him – and asked them to help him cover up his ploys, according to prosecutors.
First, he met an underling identified only as Prosecutor A in a stairwell inside the DA’s office, said the FBI was investigating, and asked the assistant to create a fake council agreement to explain a campaign expense of $ 20,000 paid in 2016 for the council, according to prosecutors. . The plea agreement stated that Attorney A was allowed to keep $ 5,000 of that expense while Smith took the rest.
A week later, prosecutors said Smith took Attorney B for a walk and asked Attorney B to claim that the assistant searched Person A’s offices to justify the alleged rent payments from the campaign account.
The plea deal didn’t say how any of Smith’s potential accomplices reacted.
Smith said in a statement he “respects that he must be held accountable for his wrongdoing,” but said he never started a case.
“I have never traded justice for money or any other advantage. Let’s be clear: the Macomb County District Attorney’s office has never been for sale under my watch. I have acted irresponsibly and recklessly. , and I will be held responsible for my actions. “
Martin Crandall, Smith’s attorney, agreed with Schneider that sentencing guidelines provide for 15 to 21 months in prison, but said he would “work to mitigate that position.”
Of Smith’s expected guilty plea, Crandall said: “It’s always a tough decision, but it’s a decision that is evidenced by Eric’s decision to accept responsibility and do the right thing. thing by the county, its constituents and its family. ”
Black-smith resigned from his post on March 30 after being indicted by a state court with 10 counts, including racketeering, embezzlement and misconduct in the performance of his duties for his use of confiscated drugs and alcohol. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a complaint after a state police investigation.
Schneider said federal officials forced Smith to resign. He also praised Nessel’s work on the state’s charges against Smith.
The case is not part of the long-drawn, high-profile federal investigation into payment-to-play programs involving government procurement in the Detroit subway, but it is an offshoot of the FBI’s focus on corruption in Macomb County.
An attorney general spokesperson declined to comment on how the federal charges could affect the state’s case, which is due to go to a preliminary hearing next month to determine whether Smith will be bound to stand trial .
In the state case filed in March, Nessel accused Smith of using the confiscated money as a slush fund to pay for gifts, moving expenses, office parties, country club events, a system security for Smith’s house and even pens with Smith’s name and “One Tough Attorney.” The money is supposed to be used for law enforcement purposes.
When he resigned in March, Smith said he intended to “wholeheartedly defend himself” against the allegations.
“I have been in the criminal justice system for almost 30 years. Please know that I have absolute confidence that our precious justice system will bring the truth to light and exonerate me,” said Smith, who has become a deputy prosecutor. in 1993 and was first elected Macomb County District Attorney in 2004.
Nessel’s office also laid felony charges against Smith’s COO, Derek Miller, and his former COO, Benjamin Liston. They were charged with misconduct in the line of duty and other counts for their role in the alleged misuse of confiscated funds which state police said began in 2012. William Weber, owner of Weber Security Systems, has been charged with aiding and abetting embezzlement and other counts in providing false invoices totaling nearly $ 28,000.
If convicted of the charges against the state, Smith and Liston face up to 20 years in prison. Weber risks up to 10 years and Miller risks up to 5 years behind bars. Smith’s lawyers called the allegations “baseless.”
Macomb County Director Mark Hackel, who has called for an investigation into the prosecutor’s use of confiscated accounts, praised Nessel for indicting Smith. The three elected are Democrats.
“It’s not about politics. It’s about someone doing the wrong thing,” Hackel said after Smith resigned. “She’s also indicting one of the state’s most popular prosecutors. It wasn’t about partisan politics or whether she liked Eric or not.”
Nessel said no one is above the law and in March explained his decision to indict Smith and his co-defendants in this video.
Editor Christina Hall contributed to this report.
ML Elrick is a Pulitzer Prize-winning and Emmy Award-winning investigative journalist. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @elrick, Facebook at ML Elrick and Instagram at ml_elrick. Become a subscriber.
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