Leslie Love Does Not Love Sherry The Sleuth Gay Dagnogo

Leslie Love does not love Sherry "The Sleuth" Gay Dagnogo.

Come to think about it, not many people love her, let alone like her, or probably even voted for her, but that is another tale.

In the spirit of fuchsia...

Detroit legislative caucus to consider 'vote of no confidence' in Rep. Gay-Dagnogo

The Detroit Caucus of the Michigan Legislature will consider a vote of no confidence Monday in its
chairwoman, Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, D-Detroit.

Rep. Leslie Love, D-Detroit, called for the vote. She alleges that Gay-Dagnogo had misrepresented the caucus, forged their signatures on a resolution, was verbally abusive and attempted to file a false report of harassment against a member.

That sounds about right.

Someone needs to check any forged documents of my Sweetie's signature, too.

The vote of no confidence would inform those working with Gay-Dagnogo that she no longer speaks for Detroit members, Love said.

Will work for Rand$ or a new outfit.

“I just felt I could not be silent anymore,” said Love.

I am quite shocked Love made it this long.

Gay-Dagnogo pushed back on Love’s accusations and claimed they were a “political assassination” as she runs for Detroit mayor.

“She’s never had any confidence in my leadership so I’ve learned to deal with it, but this is just a witch hunt, a disgruntled decision from a colleague,” Gay-Dagnogo said.

One of the heftiest allegations laid against Gay-Dagnogo is that she forged the signatures of some caucus members February in a document that recognized the work of a Detroit musician.

She apologized for the mistake in a letter to the caucus last week and blamed the issue on a former staffer.

Forgery is a crime. I wonder if Sherry the Sleuth reported it. Probably not, because she was the one who more than likely oversaw the forgeries, like Fat Ass used to do.

On Monday, Gay-Dagnogo said it's not unusual for a staff member to contact staff working for other lawmakers to get signatures, but that apparently was not done properly for the Feb. 23 resolution.

“It’s more of an inclusive act of not leaving someone off,” the representative said of including the names of Love and other caucus members. “It’s something that’s been before.”

Gay-Dagnogo rejected claims of verbal assault, a failure to respond to member requests and immature, insensitive behavior. She also claimed to have had regular communication with the Detroit caucus during the historic vote on auto insurance reform last year, but Love said that also was false.

“I don’t make decisions in a vacuum,” Gay-Dagnogo said. “I always reach out to caucus members and get their input.”

Sherry the Sleuth is probably still in a state of morning for the loss of her Fat Ass and sister, causing her to lash out in her official capacity, but, hey, what do I know?  I know Fat Ass and her sister died long after she was stealin' the children, land & vote.

Mikey & Sherry are
no longer in love

Love also accused Gay-Dagnogo of making "back door" deals with former Gov. Rick Snyder's administration after the Michigan State Police director called Colin Kaepernick and his teammates "ingrates who hate America."

Gay-Dagnogo said she worked with Snyder in order to avoid the removal of Col. Kriste Etue, only to have her replaced by someone else of the administration's choosing.

Sherry the Sleuth will work with any foreign entity that will give her money to make her a fashion show selfie superstar.

Gay-Dagnogo repeatedly alleged Love was working for someone, perhaps Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, but Love denied those allegations.

“I’m not running for anything,” Love said. “I’m not working for anyone.”

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

The Transposable Model Of The Cyberperp Walk Of "Elected Ones" - City Of St. Louis - Not Detroit

Are you an elected official who used your office for the purposes of stealin' the children, land & votes?

Did you ever generate fraudulent governmental documents for the purposes of going shopping, casino, or just to tighten up your yaki weave that has pulled out half the natural hair on your head?

Did you ever run money through your child welfare NGO or its children's trust fund leftover from your political campaign, after you got elected?

Did your nonprofit get a land bank property?

Did your campaign get a land bank property?

Did you ever help procure for your ghetto ass boyfriend a public contract?

Did you ever forge a congressional missive?

Did you ever bear false witness into the public record?

Did you conspire in a coup to take out an elected official?

Well, if you have made it through this unenumerated list of queries without experiencing a rapid increase in heart palpitations, then you should find this livestream of the cyberperp walk to be quite pleasureable.

If not, you just might be one of the "Elected Ones" because you just do not care about anything but your next outfit.

East St. Louis mayor ends interview over inquiry about questionable hire

Jury finds East St. Louis official guilty of felony forgery

Convicted township leader's sister faces loan fraud charge

June Hamilton Dean on Wednesday afternoon surrendered at the St. Clair County Jail to be processed for a felony loan fraud charge. Charges state she and her brother, former East St. Louis Township supervisor Oliver Hamilton, took out a $200,000 loan.

June Hamilton-Dean, the East St. Louis community development and TIF director and former city councilman, was found guilty on one count each of forgery and public contractor misconduct in St. Clair County Circuit Court on Tuesday.

Hamilton Dean, 56, was charged with “knowingly making a false document,” a false letter of employment for another person “with the intent to defraud.”

Jury selection was completed Monday. Testimony and arguments were Tuesday. The jury deliberated less than an hour before reaching a verdict.

Both counts are class 3 felonies that carry possible sentences of either 30 months probation or prison terms of two to five years. Hamilton-Dean may also be ordered to pay restitution of up to $25,000.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 17.

The Transposable Model of the Cyberperp Walk of the "Elected Ones"

“I still maintain my innocence and have maintained my innocence from the beginning,” she said outside the courtroom following the verdict.

Hamilton-Dean was among seven metro-east public officials, which included her brother, Oliver Hamilton, who were arrested in December 2016 on corruption charges.

Oliver Hamilton was sentenced to five years in federal prison for wire fraud for making more than $230,000 in “questionable purchases” on a township-issued American Express card while he was East St. Louis Township supervisor. Among the purchases were trips to Las Vegas, supplies for his business, gasoline for his personal truck, car washes, and donations and gifts to friends.

The discovery of the credit card purchases were part of a BND investigation.

“This is politically motivated,” Hamilton-Dean said Tuesday. “They are punishing me for my brother. This is the classic example of voter intimidation, it’s classic harassment, and malicious prosecution motivated by corrupt individuals who use the justice system to settle the score.”

Two additional counts of loan fraud against Hamilton-Dean filed in 2017, relating to funds borrowed for a township youth program, were dropped.

In July, East St. Louis City Manager Brooke Smith hired Hamilton-Dean as the community development and TIF director without a vote of the City Council at a salary of $73,000 per year. The department has an annual budget of about $12 million.

East St. Louis Mayor Robert Eastern III defended the hiring of Hamilton-Dean, citing her more than 30 years of work for the Defense Department, including as a lead financial analyst and acting branch chief. He said in July that he would monitor her legal issues and “if warranted, we will re-evaluate the position at that time.”

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

NIXON: Recalling The Signing Of His Resignation Letter - Someone Should Record The Conyers Tale Of His Resignation

Someone should record the moments that led up to Conyers signing his resignation letter.

We could interview lots of people.

I would start with the U.S. House Judiciary.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

DOJ: Indictment Model For Fake Lobbying, Fake Congressional Documents, With Forged Signatures

It seems the Carolinas are having their way with "Legal Geniuses" (trademark pending) when it comes to fraud.

In order to claim the legal status of a whistleblower, one must first report through formal mechanisms established under the rule of law.

You cannot go around, using fake profiles, in some instances, on social media, representing yourself as singular letter, or as someone claiming to be engaging in "internet vigilante justice", for lack of a better description, producing bogus, public reports, which are videos for some, without any form of legal scrutiny, soliciting online investments for your online funding accounts, for purposes of furthering your fraudulent activities, and you cannot take foreign money for doing it.

It is like going around anonymously calling Child Protective Services, pointing fingers at random people accusing them of child abuse, then soliciting funding for your actions.

That is not a whistleblower, that is a predator.

It is also the same as funding propaganda with foreign money to interfere in an election, even if the origin of the money started out as tax payer dollars, laundered to overseas accounts, and back in to the U.S. online social media manipulative psychoptics.

In this case, we have an individual who has sworn an oath as a licensed attorney, registered as a lobbyist, engaged in a bold & cold financial fraud scheme, with bogus reports generated and filed with the Library of Congress and the National Archives, across state lines.

This sounds like Hobbs Act stuff.

This interference with the obviation of the Congress is but only one, of a multitude of complex fraud schemes, that have yet to see the light of day.

I am quite sure there will be more to come from this one when it comes to fake lobbying, and fake congressional letters, with forged signature of a member of congress, being entered into the formal congressional record.

Former Lobbyist Indicted for Obstruction of Justice

A former lobbyist was charged in an indictment with obstructing justice in connection with an ongoing federal investigation and proceedings concerning a multi-million dollar high-yield investment fraud scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  

Christopher Petrella, 51, of Greer, South Carolina, was arrested yesterday and charged in the Western District of North Carolina with one count of obstruction of justice.  

Ten individuals had been previously indicted by a Charlotte grand jury for their alleged roles in a high-yield investment scheme involving Niyato Industries Inc.  The charges in that case allege that the defendants raised money from investors by representing that Niyato manufactured electric and compressed natural gas (“CNG”) automobiles when, in truth, the company had no facilities, no operations, and no capability to manufacture anything.  That case is scheduled for trial.     

The indictment returned on Tuesday and unsealed yesterday alleges that Petrella, who worked to promote Niyato and purportedly lobbied on Niyato’s behalf, attempted to obstruct, influence and impede the ongoing federal investigation into the alleged Niyato fraud, as well as the upcoming trial, by misleading federal law enforcement about his own involvement with Niyato and by portraying himself as a whistleblower.  Petrella is alleged to have produced to a federal law enforcement agent a bogus “quarterly report” related to his lobbying work for Niyato.  According to the indictment, Petrella also falsely claimed he had filed the “quarterly report” with the U.S. Congress pursuant to certain requirements applicable to federal lobbyists.  The bogus “quarterly report” purportedly disclosed to authorities that certain individuals had made false and misleading statements about Niyato’s business and operations on Niyato’s Twitter and Facebook pages.  In reality, the indictment alleges that the “quarterly report” Petrella produced to federal law enforcement was a sham and Petrella’s statement that he had filed the document with the U.S. Congress was false. 

Petrella’s initial court appearance is scheduled on Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 10:40 a.m. before Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer in the Western District of North Carolina.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  Trial Attorneys William Bowne and Christopher Fenton of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Cocktails & Popcorn: Is Michael Cohen About To Sing The Ballad Of Detroit Foreclosure?

"It is a Detroit foreclosed, robo signed by a Corporate Shape Shifter real
property that was that later had their mortgage service providers allow
the Detroit Land Bank Authority to scheme for TARP
and proceed with more SEC international fraud schemes
in money laundering, stealin' the children, the land and the votes. 

Previously, on Cocktails & Popcorn,  The National Credit Union Administration charged Cohen on forgery, bribery and your basic stealin' as a Corporate Shape Shifter.

It was all about those crafty creatures called LLCs, Limited  Liability Company he and his 'buddies' at the financial institutions.

The charges read almost like  they were stealin' houses in Detroit through fake mortgages and fake corporations, or rather, Ham Sandwiches, but hey, what do I know?

Now, on to Deutsche Bank in Detroit, who, more than likely were the servicers of mortgages to the LLCs.

The following is from a 2015 special report by The Detroit News on the blight  in Detroit:

Deutsche Bank: 2,392 foreclosures, 53 percent 

Details: The investment bank, based in Frankfurt, Germany, was a significant backer of the U.S. subprime industry, according to a 2011 report from the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations under then-chairman U.S. Sen. Carl Levin. The bank "underwrote securities using loans from subprime lenders known for issuing high risk, poor quality mortgages and sold risky securities to investors across the United States and around the world," the report found. The bank maintains it only acted as a trustee for groups of investors who owned Detroit properties and that typically separate servicers handled the foreclosures. 

Response: "As trustee, Deutsche Bank has no financial stake in these properties nor is it responsible for the maintenance of foreclosed properties. Rather, loan servicing companies are responsible for property maintenance and property tax payments, as well as responding to legal proceedings, such as city code citations or fines arising from property maintenance issues," according to written statement by spokesman Ari Cohen.

But, hey, what do I know?

I know that engaging in schemes to cause fraudulent property foreclosures is a deliberate act of interfering with an election because it causes a forced migration, putting a state, like Michigan, to redistrict, with the financial fraudfeasors at the helm to redraw congressional maps and manipulate the vote.

Donald Trump's Longtime Attorney Michael Cohen Reaches Plea Deal With Feds

Donald Trump's onetime personal attorney, Michael Cohen, has reached a plea agreement with federal authorities, according to an individual familiar with the matter.

Cohen is scheduled to appear in court in New York City on Tuesday afternoon in the matter, but the details were not clear as to what wrongdoing Cohen might admit, what — if any — cooperation he might offer or what punishment he might finally face.

Cohen, who worked for Trump on a range of real estate, political and personal matters — including payments to buy the silence of women who said they had sexual relationships with Trump — knows as much or more as anyone in the president's inner circle.

Cohen hinted weeks ago that he might cooperate with federal prosecutors, but it isn't clear where those negotiations stood on Tuesday.

Specifically, Cohen reportedly was willing to tell special counsel Robert Mueller that Trump authorized the much-discussed June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York City between top Trump campaign aides and a delegation of Russians.

The president has repeatedly denied he had any advanced knowledge of that meeting.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Cocktails & Popcorn: Did Michael Cohen Forge Trump's Name For Some Money?

"Enough fun treats for everyone
who sucks at Perkins Coie"

It looks like Michael Cohen was doing some of those Corporate Shape Shifter moves and it also looks like he was bribing certain individuals to approve loans for his taxi business that was tanking from Uber and Lyft dominating the markets.


Below, are the National Credit Union Administration charges with Melrose Credit Union that mentions forgery.

Whose name was Michael Cohen forging?

I am going to go out their on a limb...just grab some at straws...holding my breath...taking a shot in the dark and make a wild, random, guess that he was forging the name of Donald J. Trump, but hey, what do I know?

I know I would definitely try some Checker Cab milk chocolate caramel crunch popcorn with a tall black of coffee!

They like to forge and lie alot up in D.C.

That, I do know.

Ex-Trump lawyer Cohen faces $20M fraud probe

U.S. authorities investigating whether President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, committed bank and tax fraud are focusing on more than $20 million of loans obtained by taxi businesses owned by him and his family, the New York Times reported.

Federal investigators are also looking at whether Cohen violated campaign finance or other laws by helping arrange financial deals to secure the silence of women claiming they had affairs with Trump, the paper said, citing people familiar with the matter. The inquiry has entered the final stage and prosecutors were considering filing charges by the end of the month, the paper said, citing two of the people.

The total of the bank loans under scrutiny hasn’t been previously reported. The loans came from Sterling National Bank and the Melrose Credit Union, two financial institutions in the New York region that have catered to the taxi industry, the Times said. The paper cited business records and people with knowledge of the matter, including a banker who reviewed the transactions.

Federal investigators in New York are seeking to determine whether Cohen misrepresented the value of his assets to obtain the loans, the paper said.

Cohen and his lawyers declined to comment on the investigation, the Times said. Federal officials in New York and Washington also wouldn’t comment, it said.

Former Melrose CU CEO Says NCUA Charges Part of a 'Cover Up'

Alan Kaufman speaks with CU Times Wednesday and says he hopes to reveal the real story behind the allegations.

Sterling National Bank Provides $6MM to Honest Kitchen

National Credit Union Administration Melrose Bank Fraud Charges 8-3-2018 by Beverly Tran on Scribd

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Cocktails & Popcorn: Gabe Leland's Detroit Witch Hunt & Steve Fishman's Attorney Client Privilege Future

"Me thinks I see, in front of me, more reasons
to stop by the dollar store to pick up more paper towel for the
buttery Detroit popcorn."  ~ The Detroit Baird

Me thinks I see the foreshadowing of an historic legal case addressing an historic component in the law of chattels when it comes to that darned "Attorney-Client Privilege" marriage thingy, here, in Detroit with Steve Fishman.

Steve Fishman knows stuff.

I am just going to leave this here for now.

Do The "Legal Geniuses" Of The Detroit Land Bank Authority Have An Attorney Client Privilege Issue Like Trump & Stormy?

Learn more: BEVERLY TRAN: Do The "Legal Geniuses" Of The Detroit Land Bank Authority Have An Attorney Client Privilege Issue Like Trump & Stormy? http://beverlytran.blogspot.com/2018/05/do-legal-geniuses-of-detroit-land-bank.html#ixzz5LYGR2BvD
Stop Medicaid Fraud in Child Welfare 

Stay tuned.

2 separate lawsuits say Detroit Councilman Gabe Leland sought bribes

DETROIT (WJBK) - A Detroit businessman claims Detroit City Councilman Gabe Leland demanded free drinks, free food and free admission to his club in return for a promise to get city officials off his back.

Scott Bridgewater, an owner of the now-shuttered Centre Park Bar in downtown Detroit’s Harmonie Park, says Leland and one of his associates received more than $5,000 in booze, food and perks. Bridgewater sued Leland Monday, accusing the District 7 councilman of extortion.

Bridgewater’s extortion claim marks the second time in four months that a Detroit businessman has accused Leland of demanding cash or goods in return for Leland’s help in a dispute with city officials.

Bob Carmack, who owns an auto repair shop on West Michigan Avenue, sued Leland in March.
Bridgewater says he has witnesses who can confirm that Leland demanded free food and booze.
Carmack says he wore a wire for the FBI and caught Leland on hidden camera demanding $15,000 cash to help with his re-election campaign.
Leland, through attorney Steve Fishman, denies any wrongdoing. No criminal charges have been brought against Leland.
Bridgewater and Carmack’s claims differ in that Bridgewater says Leland demanded goods, rather than cash. But both men say Leland also sought services – free admission to Bridgewater’s club and free repairs at Carmack’s garage. They each also said Leland either did not try or did not succeed in helping them in their battles with city officials.
A city spokesman dismissed both Bridgewater and Carmack’s claims against city officials as baseless.
The lawsuits against Leland, filed in U.S. District Court, are just the latest matters raising questions about Leland’s ethics.

I revealed last year that Leland voted to approve contracts with companies owned or managed by his then-girlfriend that were worth more than $2 million. Detroit Police Chief James Craig also says he contacted the feds last year after he had what he described as an uncomfortable conversation with Leland in which Leland seemed to be fishing for information about a law enforcement investigation into towing contractors.

MORE GABE LELAND COVERAGE:

Detroit Councilman Leland uses 5th Amendment in lawsuit deposition
Questions swirl around meeting Detroit councilman had with police chief
Detroit councilman votes for contracts worth $2M to his girlfriend's company
Leland had been dating Jennifer Fiore, the daughter of towing mogul Gasper Fiore, who has since pleaded guilty to public corruption charges.
To hear more of Bridgewater’s claims – as well as the denial of the Leland associate Bridgewater accuses of also accepting free goods and services – check out my latest Problem Solvers investigation in the video player above.
Contact M.L. Elrick at ml.elrick@foxtv.com or 248-552-5261. Follow him on Facebook at “ML Elrick,”on Twitter @elrick or on Instagram at “ml_elrick.” 

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Paul Ryan Exit Plan Stokes Fears In Detroit

We have everything.

Ryan’s exit plans stoke GOP midterm fears

Washington — House Speaker Paul Ryan abruptly announced Wednesday he will retire rather than

seek another term in Congress as the steady if reluctant wingman for President Donald Trump, sending new ripples of uncertainty through a Washington already on edge and a Republican Party bracing for a rough election year.

The Wisconsin Republican cast the decision to end his 20-year career as a personal one — he doesn’t want his children growing up with a “weekend dad” — but it will create a vacuum at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. It will leave congressional Republicans without a measured voice to talk Trump away from what some see as damaging impulses, and it will rob Trump of an influential steward to shepherd his more ambitious ideas into legislation.

It’s unusual for a House speaker, third in line to succeed the president, to turn himself into a lame duck, especially so for Ryan, a once-rising GOP star who is only 48 and was the party’s vice presidential candidate in 2012. His decision fueled fresh doubts about the party’s ability to fend off a Democratic wave, fed by opposition to Trump, in November. And it threw the House into a leadership battle that could end up pushing Ryan aside sooner than he intended and crush any hopes for significant legislation before the election.

Ryan, though, said he had no regrets after having accomplished “a heckuva lot” during his time in a job he never really wanted. He said fellow Republicans have plenty of achievements to run on this fall, including the tax cuts Congress delivered, which have been his personal cause and the centerpiece of his small-government agenda, even though they helped skyrocket projected annual deficits toward $1 trillion.

“I have given this job everything I have,” Ryan said.

Speculation over Ryan’s future had been swirling for months, but as he dialed up colleagues and spoke by phone with Trump early Wednesday, the news stunned even top allies.

Ryan announced his plans at a closed-door meeting of House Republicans. Rep. Mark Walker of North Carolina said an emotional Ryan “choked up a few times trying to get through” his remarks and received three standing ovations.

He later briefly thanked Trump in public for giving him the chance to move GOP ideas ahead.

While Ryan was crucial in getting the tax cuts passed, a prime Trump goal, he and the president have had a difficult relationship. Trump showed impatience with Congress’ pace in dealing with his proposals, and Ryan had to deal with a president who shared little of his interest in policy detail.

Still, for many Republicans, it’s unclear who will be left in leadership to counterbalance Trump. Ryan has been “a steady force in contrast to the president’s more mercurial tone,” said Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina. “That’s needed.”

The speaker had been heading toward this decision since late last year, said a person familiar with his thinking, but as recently as February he had considered running for another term. His own father died suddenly of a heart attack when he was 16, and though Ryan is in good health, the distance from his family weighed on him. A final decision was made over the two-week congressional recess, which he partly spent on a family vacation in the Czech Republic.

Ryan, from Janesville, Wisconsin, was first elected to Congress in 1998. Along with Reps. Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthy, he branded himself a rising “Young Gun” in an aging party, a new breed of hard-charging Republican ready to shrink the size of government.

He was GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s running mate in 2012.

Ryan was pulled into the leadership job by the sudden retirement in 2015 of Speaker John Boehner, who had struggled to control the chamber’s restless conservative wing. He has had more trust with the hardliners in the House.

“That’s probably his greatest gift to us,” said Rep. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota. “His ability to bridge the vast divide.”

House Majority Leader McCarthy, a Californian known to be tighter with Trump, is expected to again seek the top leadership post that slipped from his reach in 2015. He will likely compete with Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana. Both men spoke at the closed-door meeting Wednesday, delivering tributes to Ryan, and both attended a GOP leadership dinner Wednesday night with Trump at the White House.

Another potential rival, Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, demurred when asked if he’d pursue the speaker’s job. “Leadership has never been on my bucket list, and it’s not on my bucket list today,” he said.

Ryan’s announcement came as Republicans are bracing for a potential blue wave of voter enthusiasm for Democrats, who need to flip at least 24 GOP-held seats in November to regain the majority.

As the House GOP’s top fundraiser, Ryan’s lame-duck status could send shockwaves through donor circles that are relying on his leadership at the helm of the House majority. He has hauled in $54 million so far this election cycle.

“It injects some more uncertainty to be sure,” said the No. 2 Senate Republican, John Cornyn of Texas. “It’s just another issue that’s floating out there, and obviously there’s going to be some competition for his successor.”

But a top GOP fundraiser, Eric Tanenblatt, expects Ryan to remain a force in a tough cycle.

“Donors who are committed to making sure Republicans hold onto the majority will do whatever they have to do to make that happen,” he said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has worked with Ryan, praised his colleague’s tenure. The Democratic House leader, Nancy Pelosi of California, said she hoped Ryan would work constructively on bipartisan goals before he leaves.

In Wisconsin, Republicans had no obvious successor in waiting. The most likely GOP candidate for Ryan’s seat is state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, Republicans in the state said. Another Republican mentioned as a potential candidate is longtime Ryan family friend and backer Bryan Steil, an attorney and member of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents.

Democrat Randy Bryce, a colorful ironworker who has cultivated an “IronStache” moniker, had been Ryan’s best-known challenger, drawing liberal support from around the country. He had nearly $2.3 million in the bank at the end of the first quarter. Janesville teacher Cathy Myers has also been running on the Democratic side. The only declared Republicans are Paul Nehlen, who was banned from Twitter earlier this year for posts criticized as racist or anti-Semitic, and Nick Polce, an Army veteran who also co-owns a security consulting firm.

While his plans are uncertain once he steps down in January, Ryan has long said being speaker would be his last job in elected office. Others have suggested that an ideal job for the policy wonk could be running a think tank, noting the leader of the conservative American Enterprise Institute recently announced he would be stepping down.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Marion Brown Went Shopping In D.C.

No comment at this time...your honor.

https://knightfoundation.org/grants/4078

http://archive.is/xTgPg

Post-#MeToo, Stalled Careers, Alienation Still Haunt Sexual Harassment Victims

Lawmakers say they are aware of challenges

Shortly after Marion Brown’s account of sexual harassment toppled a powerful congressman last fall, she returned to Washington on a frigid afternoon to ask for support from the lawmakers who had lauded her as a hero.

Wearing a smartly tilted fur cap, she left her business cards with aides who, to her, looked two generations her junior. She hoped for a reference, a lead on a new job, a bit of advice. She left the Capitol feeling disappointed, although lawmakers told Roll Call they want to do all they can to help.

Brown, 62, who spent 11 years as a Detroit-based outreach director to former Michigan Democratic Rep. John Conyers Jr., is among a handful of former congressional employees to publicly disclose sexual harassment allegations in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement. Their stories attracted a surge of media attention and inspired bipartisan legislation that unanimously passed the House and is making its way to the Senate.

But the hoped-for reckoning in Congress has sputtered, and several of the alleged victims say the publicity has done little to diminish the toll on their careers and personal lives.

“People try to be as nice as they can, but I’m still feeling the backlash,” Brown said.

In the months after sexual misconduct allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein inspired a national conversation about sexual harassment in American institutions, eight members of Congress — seven of them in the House — have either resigned or announced they will not seek re-election because of allegations of harassment or sexual misconduct. That number, though large by historical standards, pales compared to the dozens of accusations against powerful men in other industries.

Meanwhile, details of past allegations against members of Congress remain unclear. There are lingering questions about lawmakers’ ability, or willingness, to investigate their own colleagues. And calls for accountability have largely given way to attempts to improve working conditions for future employees.

Brown and other women who have come forward say all the attention has not improved their stalled careers or their sense of isolation — repercussions that they believe will continue to prevent other women from speaking up about mistreatment.

Lawmakers say they know it is tough for women in Brown’s position. The only thing that will make it easier is to change the culture surrounding gender dynamics in the workplace, and that conversation is just beginning.

The aftermath

Brown, petite and steely-eyed, first encountered those consequences when she lost her job in Conyers’ office in 2013 and filed a complaint alleging that he had touched her inappropriately and pressured her for sex for years. Her case was buttressed by four signed affidavits from colleagues who said they had witnessed Brown’s treatment, and that Conyers had harassed them too.

Not ready to retire, she tried to get another job in politics. She gave up shortly after another member of Congress told her he needed Conyers’ support too much to cross him, she said.

“That was his reputation,” she recalled. “Nobody is going to hire you. Nobody is going to touch you, unless you have a blessing from him.”

In 2014, she signed an agreement never to talk about her allegations in exchange for a $27,000 payment. It was fraction of her $72,000-a-year salary, and did little to compensate for the years of productivity remaining in her career. She took a job as a part-time airline gate attendant for $15 an hour and the promise of occasional free flights.

She thought she had moved on when she got a call last Thanksgiving weekend saying she was about to be thrust into a media firestorm.

Mike Cernovich, a blogger with a far-right following, had offered $10,000 to anyone who could document a sexual harassment claim against a member of Congress. The offer netted him Brown’s settlement agreement, though the source, he later said, declined the reward.

Brown said she still doesn’t know who gave Cernovich the documents. This point is important, she said, because people think she leaked her own story to take revenge on Conyers. Cernovich is best known for promoting a debunked conspiracy theory that the Hillary Clinton campaign ran a pedophile ring from a D.C. pizzeria.

She waited over a week to respond publicly. She made up her mind after watching Conyers deny her allegations and House minority leaderNancy Pelosi defend him on national television as “an icon.”

Watch: The #MeToo Impact on 2018

“I just wanted to control the story,” Brown said. She also hoped that she could rehabilitate her career and play a role in what she saw as an emerging social movement. And for a head-spinning week, she did. She met with lawmakers and House officials who wanted to know how they could change the system.

Conyers’ supporters held a rally at a Detroit church, saying he had been treated unfairly and deserved due process under the law. But the pressure on him mounted as several other alleged victims came forward, and he resigned.

Brown returned to the same pressures of her post-congressional life in Detroit — the unpaid bills, the rapidly diminishing savings, the uncertainty about her future.

This time, though, she faced the added stress of suddenly becoming a public figure in a local community that had expressed extreme ambivalence about Conyers’ rapid descent. Some offered support. Her indoor cycling instructor even led the class in a round of applause. But others shunned her. She was snubbed at restaurants, she said. Friends stopped speaking to her.

“People feel like supporting me publicly is like not supporting him,” she said. “In the community, it’s like, ‘Why did you do it?’ These are the most hurtful things, when you lose people who you thought were friends.”

Conyers’ lawyer Arnold Reed said the former congressman would not comment for this story. He said Conyers is enjoying his civilian life.

“It’s a proven fact that her claims are false,” Reed said, without elaborating. “John Conyers has become the poster child for people to bring false allegations, and then they feel bad, because they lie.”

A better future?

Lawmakers say they are acutely aware of the challenges facing alleged victims like Brown, who lost their careers and reputations for speaking out at a time when there was little incentive to do so. Some have thrown their energies into trying to ensure future victims are better protected.

Female house members played a key role in drafting the workplace protection changes that passed the House last week — the first such update for congressional employees since 1995. Some changes went into effect immediately, including a rule that would create an office devoted to counseling House staffers throughout the claims process and a commitment to pay for their legal representation. Others, like a provision that would require all members of Congress to pay for settlements involving their own alleged misdeeds, are awaiting a vote in the Senate.

Indiana Republican Susan W. Brooks, who chairs the House Ethics Committee, told Roll Call columnist Patricia Murphy last month that her work on the legislation was “some of the most important work I’ll ever do in the House.”

The sponsors spent hours meeting with victims. California Democrat Jackie Speier, one of two former staffers in the group, filmed a video in which she talked about being assaulted as a young staff member.

Other female sponsors said privately they were motivated, in part, by personal experiences they were not prepared to divulge. They also said they feared their male colleagues would respond by shutting young women out of jobs or the social interactions that can be crucial to career development on the Hill.

Critics, however, said it was unclear whether the legislation would make much of a difference, partly because it didn’t specify how the new resources would be paid for. It also took away authority from the Office of Congressional Ethics — the only independent body tasked with investigating ethics allegations against House members. Instead, cases would be automatically referred to Ethics committees in the House and Senate, which are composed of members and their staffs.

Those committees have frequently been criticized for being overly lenient on lawmakers.

“It’s clear that Ethics committees are not just asking what the person is charged with, but what does it mean to the institution, how will impact my party down the line,” said George Derek Musgrove, author of the book “Rumor, Repression, and Racial Politics: How the Harassment of Black Elected Officials Shaped Post-Civil Rights America.”

Most ethical investigations in the House or Senate drag on for years or are resolved in secret — 125 of the 190 cases the House Ethics Committee has opened since 2011 were resolved confidentially, according to a report released Wednesday by the watchdog group Issue One.

Even under the intense media scrutiny spurred by the #MeToo movement, the fallout for members who have been named as alleged harassers in recent months has been mixed, with lawmakers’ themselves deciding their fate and little that amounts to due process.

Keeping secrets

Many allegations still remain secret. The names of members or offices involved in the more than $300,000 in payouts for sexual harassment and other workplace discrimination claims since 2003 have not been released, and it is uncertain if they ever will be.

Rep. Barbara Comstock, who has been at the forefront of calls for institutional changes, said last week that she would continue to press for those details.

“We need to let the victims know that they can speak out from the past,” the Virginia Republican said on the House floor. “If they want to speak out, they can; that this body is not going to be using any of our resources to stop a victim from the past from speaking out.”

Those who have already spoken out, though, say they need more than an assurance that Congress won’t stand in their way. Brown, for one, is still wondering what happens next.

“I don’t want it to be five minutes of fame, to be associated with wanting to just have revenge and taking someone down,” she said. “I want to be a part of the movement for change, for women’s equality. And I would want them to help.”

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Day 83.4. Don’t Blame Me For MAVNI

FBI: Awans Security Clearances “Forged;” Granted Access to Congressional Intel Despite Falsified Vetting

Military accessions vital to national interest

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

CONYERS Retired, Resigned Or Is It A Federal Investigation?: Michael Gilmore Wants A Special Election

Michael Gilmore is launching his congressional campaign for the Michgian 13th Congressional  District with a bang.

He is going to do the dramatic Hollywood style ceremonial "filing of the complaint" on the courthouse steps.

I am excited to see the video and what he is going to do with it for his campaign, because you know he is going to use the federal litigation for his campaign.

Well, the days of the political drama have been, oh, let us just say, have been placed under the lens of the cyber community, so all eyes shall be watching this case, in real time.

To begin, let us exam the reason why Michael is filing this lawsuit.

On second thought, that would be a waste of time so I am just going to identify his motivation to file the lawsuit in the title of the article, below.

He is filing to launch his campaign, and not for the greater good of society.

I say this because a congressional seat does not belong to a man nor is it an American title of nobility; it belongs to all people of the 13th Congressional District of Michigan, not just a targeted population of Detroit.

Can one use federal resources, in this case, the federal court, for a political campaign, particularly if the suit of law is for the seat you are attempting to sway to public to win?

This is a questionable way to kick off a political campaign.

This is also the part that where I defenestrate my reservations and remain consistent.

There is a formal process for a Member of Congress to resign and it is my belief that process was executed in a fraudulent manner.

The following is copy of the Congressional Letter of "retirement" of John Conyers, Jr. which was found published with media outlets.

Congressional Retirement Letter of U.S. Representative John Conyers, Jr., signed December 5, 2017 by Beverly Tran on Scribd

That does not look like his signature to me and I should know.

How could he sign a letter dated December 5, 2017 and enter it into public record when it was reported that he was hospitalized, medically incapacitated, November 30, 2017 in Detroit?

Hmmmmm....

According to media reports, Conyers' "retirement" was lobbied by a non-governmental, unlicensed attorney, and other Members of Congress, despite the fact that Arnold Reed was retained to represent Mr. Conyers.

Hmmmmm....

Date of signature: December 5, 2017

Date of signature: July 7, 2007

Date of signature: November 18, 2017

Date of signature: December 16, 2016

Date of signature: January 22, 2015

Only one of these signatures from United States Congressional Letters, is the real signature of John Conyers, Jr.

Can you guess which one is his?

The reason why I question the validity of the "retirement" letter signature, is not from the poorly written congressional letter of "retirement", but from the eleventh grade written so-called legacy letter read, on the Floor of the House, by U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, into the congressional record.

Mother Superior Augustine would have had a heart attack if she bared witness to the reading of this letter with just about every sentence commencing with first person pronoun, "I", giving me every indication that the Gentlelady Jackson Lee was in rather a pressurized bind by a few unsavory characters.

See, I know what Nancy Pelosi did last summer, and the summer before that, and so on, with Bitch Boy, which is another reason why I speculate the legality of the process, because Nancy has been terribly mean to my Sweetie for quite some time.

I challenge the veracity of Mr. Conyers' voting record and policy positions because people have been forging his signature on congressional letters, for a long time, which is why I did this.

Original signature of John Conyers, Jr.

I was quite shocked when I found out how much individuals were getting for his forged signatures on congressional letters.

Quintessentially, if there are relevent questions raised surrounding the legitimacy of the "retiring" of Mr. Conyers, perhaps, this is the real reason why there will be no special election, as there are multiple, ongoing federal investigations.

Maybe Michael could attempt to validate his racist theories in discovery, or he could just do a basic internet search.

It is just a jurisdictional issue that would immediately halt any state "retirement" process.

But, hey, what do I know?

Candidate says he'll sue Gov. Snyder to move up election for Conyers' seat

A candidate for the U.S. House seat vacated by former U.S. Rep John Conyers filed a lawsuit against Gov. Rick Snyder demanding that the election be moved up to an earlier date.

On Dec. 8, Gov. Snyder had announced that Conyers' congressional seat would remain empty until the regularly scheduled November election, leaving it vacant for nearly a year. What's more, political observers have pointed out that since the post will be listed twice — once in the August primary and again in the November general election ballots — the office could be held by two different people before January is out.

In short, the move would leave Detroiters without effective representation for 11 months — and perhaps even longer.

Michael Gilmore

As the Associated Press noted earlier this month judging by a review of roughly 100 vacancies and successors listed on the House website for the last 20 years, it is unusual for a congressional district to stay vacant for so long. Eleven months would be the longest time a House seat stayed empty during that period.

Gov. Snyder had said his decision would both save money and give candidates ample time to campaign. But given his role in establishing Emergency Management in Michigan, this situation calls another lawsuit to mind — namely one filed by the Detroit Branch of the NAACP against Gov. Snyder that Emergency Management has violated the voting rights of the state's African Americans, effectively stripping representation away from residents in majority-minority cities and school districts. By some estimates, more than half of the state's blacks had their representatives overruled by Snyder-appointed viceroys.

None of this is lost on candidate Michael Gilmore, who has announced his intention to sue the governor over the scheduling of this election:

"Gov. Snyder continues to treat residents of urban areas across the state as second-class citizens and is violating a laundry list of constitutional laws in doing so," Gilmore said in a statement released today. "By holding this congressional seat vacant for 11 months, he is denying minority residents of the 13th Congressional District the right to vote and the right to be represented in Congress. This is yet another attempt to further silence the voice of minorities in the state and disregard their views. From putting emergency managers only in minority school districts and city halls to signing off on the Flint water crisis for fiscal benefit, Gov. Snyder has historically cited cost-saving measures as his reason for denying civil and human rights to urban areas. Here, he is once again attempting to balance the state's budget on the backs of Black people, in the name of 'cost savings.'"

Gilmore says he will discuss his lawsuit against Gov. Snyder at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018, at the Fort Street entrance of the Theodore Levin United States Courthouse, Detroit.



One man hoping to win an empty congressional seat is suing the governor for waiting until November to fill the seat. Most residents have a representative in Congress until the next election.

However, because Congressman John Conyers resigned in 2017, and Gov. Rick Snyder set an election to fill his seat starting in November, residents of the 13th congressional district will not have a representative in Congress for 11 months in 2018.

"Governor Snyder continues to treat residents of urban areas across the street as second class citizens," Michael Gilmore said. Governor Snyder has historically cited cost saving measures as his reason for denying civil rights and human rights to urban areas," he said.

The governor does believe setting the date for the special election in August and November on the same dates as the regular general election will save local taxpayers up to $2 million.

"Divide $2 million by the 658,000 residents, that totals roughly $3 per person," he said.

Gilmore calls this systemic discrimination in the 13th congressional district, which he says is composed of over 62 percent minority residents.

"He is once again attempting to balance the state's budgets on the backs of black people in the name of cost savings," he said.

Gilmore is also a candidate for this seat. Might his lawsuit be self-serving?

"I don't believe this is self-serving, in fact I'm actually quite ashamed that I'm the only one talking about it," he said. "Donald Trump has already begun to illuminate important social programs that we need in this area, and no one else is talking about it?"

Gilmore says that typically vacancies are filled within a few months and he has asked the federal court to make a quick ruling hopefully by the end of February. There's been no formal response from the governor's office. 

http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/local-news/candidate-for-conyers-seat-suing-governor-for-waiting-to-fill-vacancy

UPDATE: I am impressed with the finess of Charlie Langton.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

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.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©