The Tale Of Breach Of Public Trust In Office: Theresa Brennan & Her Deleted Emails

Theresa Brennan is becoming quite famous in the annals of history as an educational reminder of what it means to hold public office, and in this instance, the judiciary.

Way back in the days of yore, many ancient moons ago, when you were elected to public office and breached the public trust, you were expelled from office through a formal nullification process.

This is about ethics, a body of law in dealing with the breach of public trust as a fraud.

I want to know what was in those emails and text messages she deleted.

Livingston Co. judge to stand trial for perjury, tampering with evidence, misconduct

Livingston County Judge Theresa Brennan will face trial on charges of perjury, tampering with evidence and misconduct in office.

Genesee County District Judge David Guinn bound over Brennan on the charges Wednesday after a multi-day preliminary examination in which several witnesses testified, according to Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office. The charges carry up to 15 years in prison.

Former Attorney General Bill Schuette’s office authorized the charges against Brennan last year, alleging Brennan deleted information from her iPhone after her husband filed for divorce in December 2016 and then lied about it during depositions in January and February 2017.

The Michigan Supreme Court is weighing whether Brennan should be removed from the bench after the Judicial Tenure Commission found she committed at least seven instances of misconduct that merited her removal and would prevent her from resuming office should she run for and win re-election next year.

Dennis Kolenda, Brennan’s lawyer, could not be reached for comment immediately on Guinn’s decision, but he said last week the Judicial Tenure Commission had an “unrequited desire” to find something wrong with his client.

Earlier this year, after a lengthy investigation and hearing processthe commission said Brennan should be removed from the bench and pay roughly $35,570 in costs and expenses for making misleading statements to the commission.

Judicial Tenure Commission investigators had determined Brennan failed to disclose her relationships with a police officer involved in a homicide case over which she presided and with an attorney who appeared before her.

Brennan also is accused of tampering with evidence in her divorce case, lying under oath, persistently abusing attorneys, witnesses and staff, and directing staff members to perform personal tasks for her during work hours.

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Cocktails & Popcorn: Bashara & His Habeas Corpus Heavy Media Coverage

I should definitely say that Bashara has a logical argument to pursue a writ of Habeas Corpus!

I just adore the extraordinary writs.

Bashara turns to federal courts to try to get out of prison

Bashara & his "Habeas Corpus Heavy Media Coverage"

Detroit — Bob Bashara was unable to get his murder conviction overturned in the state court system, so he's now turning to the federal courts.

Bashara's attorney, Ronald Ambrose, on Friday filed a petition in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

The filing claims Ryan Correctional Facility Warden Lee McRoberts is unlawfully detaining the former Grosse Pointe Park businessman.

A writ of Habeas Corpus petition allows someone to report an illegal detention and ask the court to compel testimony from the jailer to determine if the imprisonment is legal. The filing is Bashara's only available legal recourse since all his state appeals to be released from the Detroit prison have been exhausted.

The federal petition makes the same arguments Bashara presented during his state claims: that his trial was tainted by ineffective attorneys and heavy media coverage of the case; that key evidence was lost or not reported in time to be beneficial to the defense.

Ambrose told The Detroit News on Friday that Bashara, 61, is suffering from "health issues," although he declined to elaborate.

"I'm a little worried about him in that respect, but his spirits seem to be good," Ambrose said. "I'm looking forward to getting some relief in the federal system."

Friday's filing is Bashara's latest attempt to overturn his conviction after he was sentenced to life in prison for paying handyman Joseph Gentz to kill his wife, Jane Bashara, in January 2012.

The case made national headlines after it was revealed that Bashara, former president of the Grosse Pointe Rotary Club, lived a secret life as "Master Bob" in Detroit's bondage, discipline and sadomasochistic (BDSM) community.

Prosecutors said Bashara, who operated a sex dungeon beneath the former Hard Luck Lounge on property he owned near the Detroit-Grosse Pointe Park border, wanted his wife killed so he could collect $800,000 in her 401(k) account.

His plan, prosecutors said, was to purchase a house he dubbed "the cottage," where he would be served by multiple submissive women and live the BDSM lifestyle full-time.

Bashara was charged in June 2012 for trying to have Gentz killed after a furniture store owner wore a wire and recorded Bashara setting up the hit.

Bashara pleaded guilty to solicitation of murder and was serving a 20-year sentence when he was charged with wife's murder.

Following a trial that featured 74 witnesses and 460 exhibits, Bashara was found guilty of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison in January 2015.

In September 2017, the Court of Appeals affirmed Bashara's conviction after litigation went through lower courts. The matter was appealed to the state Supreme Court, which in May 2018 declined to hear the case.

"Mr. Bashara has exhausted all state remedies available to him," Bashara's 110-page court filing said.

The filing also claims police and prosecutors dragged their feet in presenting the defense a report about small bits of leaves found on Jane Bashara's body.

"The (delaying) tactics of obtaining the report of the leaves found on

Jane Bashara and in her vehicle denied the defense an opportunity to further

research where these leaves were initially located," the filing said.

"At first blush, the evidence of the leaf on Jane Bashara's sock when she is found may seem quite insignificant. Once we dig deeper into the case, we realize it was quite an important part of the case, so much so that an officer falsely declared it came from the Bashara's garage. In an independent test by Michigan State University, the evidence showed, however, it did not."

Jane Bashara's clothing was misplaced after it was taken into evidence, leading to police in Detroit and Grosse Pointe Park blaming each other for the loss. Friday's filing claimed losing the clothing also tainted his case.

"The police and prosecution failed to secure key evidence (Jane Bashara's clothing), and failed to obtain and disclose a report until late into the trial (a leaf found on Jane Bashara' s sock and within her vehicle) — these would have vindicated Mr. Bashara," the filing said.

University of Detroit-Mercy law professor Larry Dubin said courts rarely grant Writ of Habeas Corpus petitions by convicted prisoners.

"It’s a way to attempt to indicate that the constitutional rights he’s alleging were violated in the state courts were not properly decided, and therefore, he’s bringing it into the federal court arena as violations of the federal Constitution," Dubin said.

"In general, it's a tough sell, where you have the issues litigated through the trial and appellate courts of the state, to get relief granted in the federal courts. But it's the only legal recourse that available for him to take."

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Cocktails & Popcorn: Will Mike Duggan Renew His Wedding Vows During The Divorce?

"Renewing wedding vows are really fun psyoptics!"

Oh my!

Mike and his wife, Mary, have filed for divorce.

I wonder if they are going to file protective orders on all electronic devices.

This could be open new chapters to be written in domestic law when it comes to being a public office holder.

Have no fear!

They could always renew their wedding vows during the divorce case.

Married spouses cannot testify against each other, you know.

Too bad Vonda is no longer on the bench, she would be able to officiate the renewal of vows.

Charlie LeDuff is back in action, though.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan's wife Mary Loretto Maher files for divorce

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, whose personal life has been the subject of media reports in recent months, is now facing divorce.

His wife of more than three decades, Mary Loretto Maher, filed for divorce Friday in Wayne County Circuit Court.

The divorce filing comes a month after a Free Press investigation raised questions about Duggan's ties to Dr. Sonia Hassan, a Wayne State University physician who heads a maternal health program the mayor supported.

Online court records show Maher, who commonly goes by Lori, filed the divorce complaint Friday. Novi-based attorney Julia Perkins, a partner in the Varnum law firm, is listed as having been retained. Perkins could not be immediately reached for comment.

Information available through the court online contains limited information about the divorce case. The record shows the complaint was filed Friday and that a settlement conference is scheduled for Aug. 2.

More: Mayor Mike Duggan set her up to succeed. That raises questions.

More: She's in charge of investigating Duggan. What she said in secretly taped conversation.

Mayor Mike Duggan and his wife, Lori Maher, arrive at
Greater Grace Temple to pay their final respects to
Aretha Franklin in Detroit, on Friday, Aug. 31, 2018. 

Neither Duggan's spokesman, John Roach, nor his chief of staff Alexis Wiley, could be reached for comment by the Free Press. The couple released a statement to several media outlets confirming they had made the painful decision to divorce. Numerous attempts to obtain the statement from city officials were unsuccessful.

Six months ago, Duggan and Maher defended their marriage after Detroit businessman Robert Carmack aired surveillance video showing Duggan and Hassan arriving at the same suburban residence last year.

More: Mayor Mike Duggan refuses to answer questions about relationship with doctor

"We decided to write this statement together because we are proud of the marriage we’ve built over 32 years, proud that our bond today remains strong, and proud of our goal to spend the rest of our lives together," the statement read.

Duggan and Hassan both have repeatedly refused to address the nature of their relationship in recent months.

The City of Detroit and Duggan supported Hassan's organization, Make Your Date, with $358,000 in federal grants from 2015 to 2017 and a fundraising effort in 2017. The Detroit inspector general has opened an investigation into the city's support of Make Your Date.

"I'm never going to talk about my personal life, as you well know," Duggan said at a news conference last month.

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Theresa Brennan & Her Breach of Public Trust In Office Reminds Me So Much Of Detroit

I find this case to be of particular interest simply for the fact that it reminds me of another Michigan Judicial situation where Judge Vonda Evans steps down from the bench.

Are there similarities in the cases in dealing with a breach of public trust in office and witness tampering, while failing to disclose personal relationships during a murder trial?

Possibly.

Could there be parallels in comparing a divorce of a public official, where a party to the case was granted an order of protection of any and all electronic devices of the marriage, the household, but ended up deleting emails, and chats, and fake social media accounts, after, the order was granted?

There is a likelihood.

Were there preceding, investigations from another law enforcement jurisdiction into the activities of the destruction of evidence, during the course of the divorces?

I am going to go with a strong, "Yes."

Attorney General seeks added perjury charge against Brennan; hearing to continue in April

 from the JTC hearing on Monday March 4, 2019 where
Judge Theresa Brennan listens to oral arguments.

Livingston County District Court Judge Theresa Brennan may face an additional perjury charge after prosecutors from the Michigan Attorney General's office raised the issue during a preliminary hearing Thursday.

Brennan currently faces one count of perjury, tampering with evidence and a common law offense after failing to recuse herself immediately from her own divorce case and allegedly using the delay to dispose of evidence. 

Witnesses testify in the preliminary hearing for Judge Theresa Brennan. Gillis Benedict, Livingston Daily

The Attorney General's office charged her with perjury last year alleging she gave false testimony during her divorce deposition about a cell phone that was considered a marital asset.

Assistant Attorney General William Rollstin said Thursday his office hopes to add a second perjury charge related to alleged false testimony Brennan gave during the Judicial Tenure Commission hearing last fall.

Rollstin did not specify what testimony he was referring to.

Thursday's hearing was adjourned after four hours of testimony and will continue on April 11 in Livingston County. 

Charges surrounding cell phone

Brennan's now ex-husband Donald Root filed for divorce on Dec. 3, 2016. Three days later Tom Kizer, Root's attorney, filed a motion to preserve evidence, including phone data.

The court did not receive Brennan's order of disqualification until Dec. 8, two days after the motion was filed, the same day her cell phone had been reset to factory settings according to a Michigan State Police Sergeant.

Michigan State Police Detective Sergeant David Vergison testified the forensic exam of Brennan's marital phone showed the device had been reset to factory settings on Dec. 8, 2016 at 1:16 p.m. 

Michigan State Police began a criminal investigation in the spring of 2017, executing search warrants at her county office and her home.

In an affidavit filed in support of the warrant request, state police Detective Sgt. Brian Reece said the phone was an iPhone 6 provided to her by her then-husband Don Root's company and that evidence on that phone was destroyed.

Brennan testified last year that she doesn't believe she did anything wrong concerning her cell phone.

"So, at a time when a motion to preserve evidence was filed in your court, you felt okay deleting information from one of the pieces of evidence covered in the motion?" Judicial Tenure Commission Executive Director Lynn Helland asked, during an evidentiary hearing in October.

"I did," Brennan said.

"In Michigan, it is a crime to alter evidence in an official proceeding, do you know that?" Helland asked. "How would deleting information from your phone when it is under a motion to preserve evidence be following the law?"

"You (Helland) and I are going to have to agree to disagree," she said. "I don't believe I committed a crime. I don't think I destroyed evidence."

In her 2017 divorce deposition, Brennan said she did not take any steps to reset her phone. When asked by Kizer if she had made any effort to have the phone wiped or have apps removed, she said, "No, I never had all my apps go off my phone."

Last year, Brennan testified she had the phone reset to factory settings while buying a new one so she could return the original phone to her husband. She said the information on the old phone was transferred to the new one.

Brennan attributed the change in her testimony from the divorce deposition to the fact she "did not want to make Kizer's job easy."

Tampering with evidence

Brennan's former court reporter Felicia Milhouse testified Thursday that she was asked to remove an email account from the judge's phone.

She said she was asked by Brennan to leave the courtroom while court was in session. Milhouse said she used her county computer to conduct a search on how to remove the judge's email account from her phone.

She was ultimately unsuccessful and said she gave the phone back to Brennan.

At some point in the following days, Brennan purchased a new cell phone and had the old one reset to factory settings. 

Future proceedings

Brennan hasn’t been on the bench since June, after Livingston County Chief Judge Miriam Cavanaugh removed her from her docket.

She was suspended earlier this year but is still being paid as a wide-ranging misconduct investigation by the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission plays out.

The Supreme Court is expected to determine the validity of the agency’s complaint against Brennan. The criminal case is separate from the Judicial Tenure Commission inquiry and narrower in scope.

Brennan is accused of destroying or tampering with evidence in a Circuit Court case and using her office to enable her to destroy evidence, according to the affidavit released by Attorney General Bill Schuette's office.

She faces up to 15 years in prison on the perjury charge, while the charge of tampering or destroying evidence is punishable by up to four years in and the charge of common law offenses is punishable by up to 5 years in prison. 

Media access 

Genessee County District Court Judge David Guinn banned journalists from taking photographs or using social media during the hearing.

Guinn informed media through a court bailiff that he would not allow photographs or the use of Twitter to document the criminal hearing for embattled Livingston County District Court Judge Theresa Brennan. He did consent to video recordings that could be used after the hearing concludes.

Brennan was charged in December with perjury and two other felonies by former Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette. Guinn was appointed by the State Court Administrative Office to hear the case.

The Livingston Daily submitted a request for photography and video and use of social media nearly two weeks ago. He did not address it until Thursday.

A Livingston Daily reporter who identified herself as a credentialed journalist objected to his ruling, raising the issue of whether it amounted to special treatment for an embattled public official.

Guinn asked the reporter whether she was an attorney and then said he wasn't treating the Brennan case differently from any other. Michigan courts routinely allow still photography and many have adapted to the growth of social media.

STATE OF MICHIGAN BEFORE TH... by on Scribd

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Cocktails & Popcorn: Vonda Evens Is About To Go Away

Wayne County Judge Vonda Evans announces retirement

"Next..."

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Vonda Evans announced Monday she is retiring.

"It's time now for me to close the book on being your Third Circuit judge," Evans said in a video posted on Facebook. "I trust that our wonderful governor, Governor (Gretchen) Whitmer will appoint someone to my seat who will continue my legacy of fairness and firmness."

Evans said she would disclose her retirement date later. 

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Vonda Evans announces retirement to avoid suspension

DETROIT (WXYZ) — Vonda Evans, the outspoken Wayne County Third Circuit Court judge who came under fire in a recent 7 Action News investigation, announced her sudden retirement today on social media.

“There comes a time when you have to make a decision. Do we turn to the page or do we close the book?” Evans said in a tearful video posted to her Facebook account. “It’s time now for me to close the book on being your Third Circuit Judge."

Evans was facing a suspension from the Judicial Tenure Commission, 7 Action News has learned, but decided to retire instead. Last April, 7 Action News aired a series of reports about Evans’ attendance on the bench, with undercover cameras frequently showing her coming in hours late, leaving hours early and—on some days—not showing up at all, all while submitting false attendance reports that claimed she was present.

Judge Vonda Evans makes her own hours, submits false attendance reports

'We waited hours for Judge Vonda Evans,' family of slain veteran says

Complaint filed against Judge Vonda Evans over poor attendance

“We expect judges to tell us the truth as to when they’re here and when they’re not here,” said Robert Colombo, then the court’s chief judge. “Because the supreme court says if you lie, you shouldn’t be a judge.”

The 7 Action News investigation triggered at least one complaint with the Judicial Tenure Commission, the state watchdog agency that polices judges.

Today by phone, JTC Executive Director Lynn Helland said he could not comment on whether Evans’ retirement was related to the complaint.

In her video announcement, Evans did not say when her retirement would take place, but said she looked forward to the state’s new Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, appointing her replacement. She said she will be joining the law firm Hall and Makled, where Evans will be of counsel.

Judge Vonda Evans Admits Tweeting During Bob Bashara Murder Trial

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Cocktails & Popcorn: Gasper Fiore, FBI, Detroit & Hamtramck Politics - Busy, Busy, Busy

Boy, oh, boy, Gasper surely was a busy body in Detroit and Hamtramck politics.

Busy, busy, busy!

Oups, j'ai dit une bêtise...

Feds: Lock up Gasper Fiore — He bribed many, including Kilpatrick aides

It doesn't matter how generous Gasper Fiore is, how hard he worked to become a millionaire tower or how much he loves his family — he greased one too many palms along the way and deserves prison for it, prosecutors argue.

And among those he bribed, they say,  were members of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's administration.

"Gasper Fiore, while a self-made businessman,  is also a prolific bribe payer dating back to at least the administration of Kwame Kilpatrick," prosecutors wrote in a scathing memo Thursday. "Investigations by the FBI over the past two decades revealed that there was virtually no public official whose palms Fiore wouldn't try to grease if there was something in it for him or his business."

According to prosecutors, Fiore "got preferential treatment in city towing matters because he was a big financial supporter of Kilpatrick."

The government disclosed this information as Fiore is scheduled to be sentenced in two weeks for bribing a Macomb County official. He faces up to two years in prison. This week, the judge received 80 letters of support from Fiore's friends and relatives, many of whom pleaded with the judge to show Fiore mercy.

In their letters, friends have suggested that Fiore – a high school dropout who ran an ice cream truck and pumped gas before building a towing empire that dominated southeastern Michigan for decades – get community service instead. They described him as a humble and generous working man who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty and puts others before himself.

Prosecutors tell a different story.

"For over a decade, Gasper Fiore has been an enemy of honest government in Detroit. His offense here is yet another example of his trading cash for contracts and corrupting an otherwise fair process," Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Bullotta and David Gardey wrote in the memo. "His conduct is very serious, and he deserves a punishment that addresses his embrace and continuation of pay-to-play politics."

Friends of towing titan Gaspar Fiore: He's no tycoon, but a working man

FBI wiretaps reveal how towing titan Fiore built his empire

Fiore is facing prison for bribing only one official – a crime he admitted.

Prosecutors argue he was "happy" to do it.

"With not the slightest bit of convincing or cajoling needed, Fiore happily agreed to dole out stacks of $100 bills to bribe then Clinton Township trustee Dean Reynolds, whom Fiore didn't even know,"  the government's memo states. "Fiore was well aware that what he was doing was illegal."

Fiore, 57, of Grosse Pointe Shores, pleaded guilty Dec. 20 to paying $7,000 in cash bribes to Reynolds in order to obtain a municipal towing contract with the township.  Reynolds also was charged and was convicted of multiple crimes by a jury last month.

Fiore paid the bribes to Reynolds through trash executive Chuck Rizzo, who was cooperating with federal law enforcement at the time of the bribe payments.

Rizzo, the former CEO of Rizzo Environmental Services, pleaded guilty to bribery and embezzlement last year and is serving 5½ years in prison for bribery and fraud.

Fiore and Rizzo were targets in a public corruption investigation that focused on pay-to-play schemes in Macomb County. The probe has so far ensnared 18 defendants and led to the demise of the Rizzo garbage empire.

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More Detroit Federal Criminal Probe Breadcrumbs Dropped

Now, does this not look familiar?

Bribery?

Forgery?

Blackmail?

Drugs?

They just refuse to stop.

via GIPHY

"Let's get this Detroit show going!"

Stay tuned, because this "accidental unsealment" is nothing more than another breadcrumb.

 

New names emerge in federal corruption probe

Detroit — Several previously undisclosed Metro Detroit public officials and politicians drew scrutiny from federal agents during a public corruption investigation that started in Macomb County and spread to Wayne County and Detroit, according to federal court records obtained by The Detroit News.

The records, for the first time, publicly mention former Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Anthony Marrocco in a criminal investigation that has led to charges against his former right-hand man, Dino Bucci.

Federal wiretap documents filed in federal court contain a list of “target subjects” that includes several public officials. Among them: Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon, Wayne County Circuit Judge Vonda Evans, two former state representatives and Detroit City Councilman Gabe Leland.

FBI agents were investigating conspiracy to distribute marijuana, bribery, extortion and other crimes in connection with Detroit towing mogul Gasper Fiore or others, according to court records obtained by The News. The records included an application to continue wiretapping Fiore’s cellphone.

Of the public officials named in the filing, only former Detroit deputy police chief Celia Washington has been charged with a crime in connection with the investigation. Napoleon and others reached Tuesday by The News said they were unaware they had been named in the filing.

The names were included in a federal court filing that reflects the broader scope of a years-long investigation that has led to charges against 18 people so far. The filing, which was temporarily unsealed in federal court, gives a rare snapshot of an early stage of a high-profile investigation involving Fiore, a multimillionaire businessman who built a towing empire in Metro Detroit by securing lucrative contracts with municipalities and the federal government.

One court filing by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Bullotta from 2016 said there was probable cause that the target subjects “are engaged in the payment and receipt of bribes and corrupt payments.”

“Certain sensitive investigative documents were inadvertently filed on the public docket by a non-governmental attorney,” acting U.S. Attorney Daniel Lemisch told The News in a statement Tuesday.

“There’s a reason why such documents are filed under seal. They may contain allegations against individuals, including public officials, that never rise to the level of criminality. It’s unfair to impugn the character of anyone, especially a public official, with an investigative document that the public official never gets to contest in open court. That’s the reason why these documents should be, and now are, back under seal.”

I am so sorry but that is just hilarious.  "Oops. My bad." "Spoof!"

The ongoing corruption investigation has led to 13 convictions so far. The court filings were temporarily unsealed days after Fiore struck a plea deal last week with prosecutors, admitting he bribed former Clinton Township Trustee Dean Reynolds.

The government filing indicates FBI agents started wiretapping people in 2014. By summer 2016, agents were tapping Fiore’s phone.

Using phone records, agents analyzed which public officials and other people were in communication with Fiore’s phone. After realizing Fiore was in contact with several public officials, FBI agents started scrutinizing whether any were involved in wrongdoing.

Those named listed as “target subjects” in the filing included:

■Leland, a Detroit city councilman who was re-elected in November to his second, four-year term on Detroit’s City Council. Leland, 35, first took office in January 2014 and formerly served six years in the state House.

■Napoleon, a former Detroit police chief who has been Wayne County sheriff since 2009. He ran for Detroit mayor in 2013.

■Evans, a Wayne County judge who presided over high-profile trials, including the murder case against Grosse Pointe Park businessman Robert Bashara.

■Brian Banks, a Harper Woods Democrat who resigned from the state House in early February and pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of making false statements of financial condition to try to obtain a $7,500 personal loan. He was sentenced to one day in jail.

■Alberta Tinsley-Talabi, a Detroit Democrat. In 2015, The Detroit News reported that the former Detroit City councilwoman was under investigation in connection with a Detroit pension scandal that led to the conviction of her former chief of staff, George Stanton. She left the state House last year amid term limits.

■Assad Turfe, who is chief assistant to Wayne County Executive Warren Evans.

■Romel Casab, former owner of the Packard Plant, who was convicted last year in a separate medical marijuana investigation.

■Jennifer Marie Fiore, daughter of Gasper Fiore and Leland’s former girlfriend. She is an attorney who is an executive with several Fiore-owned companies. In a lawsuit filed in August, Detroit officials alleged Jennifer Fiore, along with her mother, Joan Fiore, Gasper’s ex-wife, her sister Jessica Lucas, Boulevard & Trumbull Towing and other Fiore-related companies, committed “fraud, tax evasion and other crimes against the City of Detroit and its residents.” The city later dropped the lawsuit.

■Michael Irvin Lucas, who worked at B&G Towing in Detroit. He’s married to Jessica Lucas, a daughter of Gasper Fiore.

■Paul Ott, a former Detroit police attorney who owns Gene’s Towing in Detroit.

■Shane Anders, owner of Area Towing and Recovery in Taylor.

■Morris Joseph, a Detroit police officer. He was sued in May, with Gasper Fiore as a co-defendant, and accused of improperly towing an owner’s cars, although a federal judge found the plaintiff’s civil rights hadn’t been violated.

■Louay Hussein, whose brother Hussein Hussein owns MetroTech Collision in Detroit. Detroit officials said in a Sept. 11 federal court filing — which was later withdrawn — that Louay Hussein was supposed to provide Detroit police with information about an alleged stolen vehicle ring involving cops, a towing company and a collision firm. Hussein Hussein “was criminally charged for his involvement in the theft of a stolen motor vehicle,” said the complaint. Louay Hussein offered to provide Detroit police “information on similar crimes involving other individuals in exchange for leniency with respect to his brother,” said the filing. The city agreed to the deal and the charges against Hussein Hussein “were either dropped or reduced,” according to the court filing. In 2016, Louay Hussein purchased an interest in Nationwide Towing, the city said, adding the company since 2010 has been associated with Gasper Fiore, whom the city said engaged in “fraudulent and criminal conduct.”

Bullotta, the federal prosecutor, listed each name in a request to continue tapping Fiore’s phone.

Last year, agents sought permission from a federal judge to keep tapping Fiore’s phone in search of evidence of various crimes, including extortion, honest services mail and wire fraud, and conspiracy to distribute marijuana, according to the filing.

The wiretap application that names the public officials is among evidence the government shared with lawyers representing people charged so far, including Washington, the former Detroit police official who was indicted on federal conspiracy and bribery charges in October.

According to the indictment, Washington, 57, of Detroit, pocketed bribes in exchange for helping Gasper Fiore grab a bigger piece of a Detroit towing industry that totaled more than $2 million a year.

Her lawyer, Arnold Reed, filed a copy of the wiretap application Friday among several motions to dismiss charges against Washington.

The wiretap application was filed despite a protective order that is supposed to shield sensitive documents from the public in the early stages of the prosecution. By Tuesday afternoon, the filings were resealed.

In one document, FBI Special Agent Robert Beeckman, who helped prosecute former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, describes the ongoing investigation.

“Evidence has been gathered showing that crimes involving corruption have been committed by some of the target subjects, including Tinsley-Talabi, Napoleon and Casab,” the agent wrote. “However, those investigations have been pending for months or years and the evidence so far has not been sufficient to bring federal charges.”

Federal agents were tapping multiple phones during the investigation. Marrocco’s name emerged in 2014 while agents tapped the phones of at least three people, including engineering contractor Paulin Modi of Troy, according to court records.

Modi has struck a plea deal after being accused of bribing a Washington Township public official.

The court filing names Marrocco as one person communicating with Modi and two other phones.

Marrocco has not been charged with a crime.

Earlier this year, Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller said a federal grand jury was investigating her office during Marrocco’s tenure and had subpoenaed testimony from about a dozen public employees.

FBI agents were asking questions about Marrocco, who lost to Miller in the November 2016 election; Bucci, his former deputy; and millions of dollars in payments to an unnamed county contractor, Miller said.

Public officials named in the court filings had a mix of reactions.

In a statement posted on Evans' Facebook page, her attorney Todd Russell Perkins defended her integrity.

"It is an unfortunate event that Judge Evans' image could be besmirched as a result of knowing an individual who is being investigated," Perkins wrote. "In the sentiment of our Acting US Attorney, Daniel Lemisch, it is wrong to draw the implication of any wrongdoing against those who are mentioned during the course of an investigation. To do so denies an individual due process and the simple freedom to lawfully associate with one another.

He continued: "It is a sad day when a public servant must field questions about her integrity as there are conclusions drawn against her. Please don't do that. Trust the system, and trust that Judge Evans is a servant for the people by the people and that her service to the people is without reproach."

Reached Tuesday, Napoleon said he was unaware of any of the activities described in the filing.

Napoleon said there has never been a hint of impropriety during his law-enforcement career, including stints as Detroit police chief and county sheriff.

Fiore was a county vendor and the two occasionally would talk about questions or issues related to the towing contract, Napoleon said in a statement Tuesday.

“As sheriff, I am required to answer those questions and attempt to resolve those issues when they are brought to my attention,” Napoleon said. “I have never attempted to influence the awarding or implementation of a towing contract. Any suggestion to the contrary is so ridiculous as to deserve no further comment.”

Napoleon said after Fiore was indicted in May, he was removed from the county’s towing rotation.

Leland was unaware that his name was included in the list until being contacted by The News.

“This is the first that Councilman Leland has heard about this and, as I understand it, he has not been contacted by anyone,” said Leland’s spokesman, Daniel Cherrin.

According to the filing, Beeckman wrote that Fiore claimed Detroit Police Chief James Craig had “briefed Gabe Leland about the towing case, and Leland has briefed the Fiore family about it.”

In an interview Tuesday, Craig insisted he never told Leland anything about the investigation. He said he contacted the FBI after a meeting last year with the Detroit city councilman.

“He said he wanted to meet with me for the purpose of discussing something unrelated to towing, but once he gets into the meeting with me, he starts asking about the towing investigation,” Craig told The News. “It’s not my investigation, so I didn’t have anything to give him. I never felt comfortable with him, so I made sure to have a witness in the room with me during this meeting.

“I was not comfortable with Leland’s questions, and I immediately contacted the FBI as soon as he left the room and told them he was asking me questions about the towing investigation.”

Turfe said Tuesday he was unaware and had not been contacted by authorities.

“I have not been contacted and wouldn’t expect to be,” he said in a statement provided to The News.

Banks said Tuesday said he had no knowledge of the investigation and directed The News to his attorney, Ben Gonek, who could not be reached for comment.

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