Former House Speaker Lee Chatfield, wife to stand trial on corruption charges

Lee Chatfield is confronted with 13 crime counts, whereas Stephanie Chatfield was sure by two crime counts to the circuit. District courtroom Molly Hennessey Greenwalt denied a movement from the lawyer -general to sort out an alternate indictment of Larceny on the case.

In the course of the provisional examination in February, witnesses and skilled accountants walked by way of lush editions and holidays that the couple took, typically with former high staff Anne and Rob Minard. That pair can be confronted with a collection of comparable corruption-related masses, though the 2 pairs are tried individually. The minards haven’t argued responsible both.

Nonetheless, Hennessey Greenwalt discovered their actions intertwined, and famous that there was adequate proof of darkening the Peninsula Fund and Chatfield Majority Funds “by suspect Lee Chatfield and/or Anne Minard” to deliver the case to courtroom.

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The provisional examination supplied proof that Lee Chatfield “assisted, procedures, Counciled or Holieded Anne Minard, a peninsula fund agent, to transform the fund’s cash into his personal private use,” wrote Hennessey Greenwalt.

The 2 brothers of Lee Chatfield, sister -in -law and an outdated household pal, described to money within the lee chatfield checks, who despatched a part of the cash again to him and accompanied him on free journey to Las Vegas, Miami and the Bahamas.

Mary Chartier, Lee Chatfield’s lawyer, has sworn to struggle the case “Tooth and Nail” and accused lawyer -general Dana Nessel of “her workplace armament”.

Hennessey Greenwalt additionally rejected the argument of Lee Chatfield’s lawyer that he was the goal of a former high workplace holder. Chartier has claimed that the entire quantity of darkened cash is lower than $ 30,000 of the Chatfield collected, whereas the duty is moved to a legislation agency that has been contracted to obtain the funds.

“This file is disadvantaged of any proof” that public prosecutors wrongly acted, the decide wrote within the ruling. “Quite the opposite, the file exhibits that this prosecution was arrange by a criminal offense report and investigation.”

The case initially arose from 2021 accusations of a long time -long sexual abuse made by the previous sister -in -law of Chatfield, Rebekah Chatfield, however that investigation concluded with out costs. Corruption Prices have been introduced towards the Minards and Chatfields in December 2023 and April 2024 respectively.

Hennessey Greenwalt additionally rejected an argument of the protection that Lee Chatfield had merely made a mistake when taking $ 1,000 in mileage charges from Michigan’s home for journey that he didn’t make.

“The proof on his face exhibits that the suspect has signed the 4 kinds,” ​​she wrote.