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The assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of prosecuting domestic terrorism, threats involving weapons of mass destruction & national security just opened a new federal grand jury case...
BREAKING: FBI agents have uncovered new threats to kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, along with other Democratic politicians, law enforcement officers and those in the LGBTQ+ community via
@detroitnews
Breaking: A jury Tuesday convicted two men accused of orchestrating a plan to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as prosecutors salvaged the largest domestic terrorism case in a generation that has shed light on political extremism in Michigan via
@detroitnews
ALERT:
Accused Whitmer kidnap plotter Barry Croft
Count 1 Kidnapping Conspiracy: GUILTY
Count 2 Conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction: GUILTY
Count 3 Possession of an unregistered destructive device: GUILTY
Two of Michigan's nine most recent House speakers are under investigation and the probes are examining key GOP figures' actions as their party held control of both the House and Senate from 2011-22. New tonight w/
@CraigDMauger
via
@detroitnews
Breaking: Kaleb Franks, the Metro Detroit-area man convicted of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, is sentenced to 48 months in federal prison
@detroitnews
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A member of the National Security Unit in Detroit, which prosecutes terrorism, threats involving weapons of mass destruction, espionage & more, opened a new grand jury case Friday.
At least the 17th case since May...
Michael Martin, the AUSA who opened the grand jury case in federal court in Detroit, heads the National Security Unit here. He helped prosecute Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the so-called underwear bomber, more than a decade ago
SCOOP: Prosecutors are set to announce charges Thursday against ex-Michigan House Speaker Rick Johnson & 3 others following a corruption investigation into whether bribes influenced the licensing of marijuana businesses. w/
@CraigDMauger
via
@detroitnews
The unsealed federal criminal case marks the latest crackdown on violent antigovernment extremism in Michigan and comes 2 1/2 years after FBI agents thwarted a plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer
@detroitnews
The judge is bringing in jurors to read the verdict. The jury’s note said they had come to a “conclusion” but the word was scratched out and replaced with “verdict.”
Breaking: A former high-ranking University of Notre Dame official has been arrested in Metro Detroit with a kidnap kit – including a gun, handcuffs, rope, knife & a stun gun -- and accused of trying to abduct his ex-girlfriend via
@detroitnews
The arrest of a prominent member of the Boogaloo Boys comes less than one week after members of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force searched his Detroit-area home amid concerns about attacks on politicians and plans to disrupt the Nov. 8 midterm elections
UPDATE: Gov. Whitmer responds to the convictions...
"Today’s verdicts prove that violence and threats have no place in our politics and those who seek to divide us will be held accountable. They will not succeed."
via
@detroitnews
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The Assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Unit in Detroit (which prosecutes voting rights violations and hate crimes, for example) just filed a secret, sealed case in federal court...
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A new federal grand jury case from the National Security Unit in Detroit, which prosecutes terrorism, threats involving weapons of mass destruction, espionage & more.
The unit has opened at least 26 cases in last 13 months
BREAKING: Sealed federal court filing obtained by
@detroitnews
in Whitmer kidnap plot levels new juror misconduct claim that threatens to upend one of the largest domestic terrorism cases in a generation via
@detroitnews
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The assistant U.S. Attorney in Detroit in charge of prosecuting terrorism, threats involving weapons of mass destruction, espionage & more just opened his 12th federal grand jury case since late-May...
NEW: A former Detroit Police officer caught in an FBI bribery sting was sentenced to more than two years in federal prison Tuesday, the stiffest punishment to date for someone convicted in an ongoing public corruption scandal via
@detroitnews
This might explain the grand jury filing from Tuesday:
Retired miner to plead guilty after FBI finds homemade pipe bombs near Michigan stores
@detroitnews
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The assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of prosecuting domestic terrorism, threats involving weapons of mass destruction & national security just opened a new federal grand jury case...
UPDATE: Federal prosecutors moved Friday to seize money donated to a crowdfunding account that is soliciting donations for former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his wife to buy an $800,000 home in Florida
@detroitnews
🚨👀A new federal grand jury case from the National Security Unit in Detroit, which prosecutes terrorism, threats involving weapons of mass destruction, espionage & more. The unit, headed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Martin, has opened at least 21 cases since May
Court records also describe Ryan Kelley as being an active participant in the Jan. 6 riot, climbing onto portions of the Capitol, encouraging, yelling, gesturing to participants and removing a covering from a temporary structure outside the Capitol
Just in: A federal judge said former Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley will stand trial July 31 in Washington on charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot after prosecutors and Kelley failed to negotiate a plea deal via
@detroitnews
A northern Michigan man who prosecutors say called for putting Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi's head on a stick faces being jailed indefinitely Monday in a federal criminal case involving pipe bombs, anti-government extremism and an arsenal via
@detroitnews
BREAKING: Feds raid home of Detroit-area art gallery owner accused in $1.6 million fraud involving more than 100 rare fine-art photos, including some by Ansel Adams
The FBI raid and arrests come amid a separate investigation of bribery, extortion and fraud within Detroit City Hall and a decade after a scandal led to at least six convictions and the downfall of Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano
The feds are painting a more troubling picture of a former Notre Dame official accused of attempting to kidnap an ex-girlfriend in Metro Detroit, saying he victimized a second woman, mounted a spy operation & shopped online for body bags via
@detroitnews
@UAW
During his tenure, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit ranked at or near the top nationwide for the number of convictions of corrupt public officials
Wayne County public services manager Kevin Gunn was arrested by the FBI this morning at his nearly $700,000 home & charged with embezzling $1.7M from taxpayers.
Gunn has filed bankruptcy five times since 1999. Here he is on vacation in 2020 in the Bahamas
...The Montblanc pen featured solid, 18-karat gold fittings, a blue sapphire & a mother-of-pearl cap ringed by diamonds. The pens cost $35,700 and were so rare Montblanc made only 50.
Fiat Chrysler VP Al Iacobelli bought two
👀🚨 The assistant U.S. attorney in Detroit handling election-related complaints, voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff and election fraud just opened a new federal grand jury case four days before midterm elections...
Before the fall, marijuana lobbyist Vince Brown had a lucrative real-estate portfolio, a $190,000 Lamborghini Huracán in the garage and former Michigan House Speaker Rick Johnson in his pocket.
Then, FBI agents knocked on his door
… via
@detroitnews
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The National Security Unit in Detroit, which prosecutes terrorism, threats involving weapons of mass destruction, espionage & more, opened a new federal grand jury case today. The unit, headed by Michael Martin, has opened at least 18 cases since May...
A Waterford Twp. man convicted of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer deserves a "substantial" federal sentence to deter rising threats from domestic extremists bent on achieving political change through violence, prosecutors said via
@detroitnews
Catch up on the largest public corruption scandal in Lansing in 30 years as a businessman later this morning is expected to become the first person to plead guilty to a federal crime for his role in a bribery scheme involving Michigan's marijuana industry...
The new grand jury case is at least the eight opened by the public corruption unit since March 16 and comes amid a widening investigation of bribery, extortion and fraud at Detroit City Hall
@detroitnews
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The assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of prosecuting domestic terrorism, threats involving weapons of mass destruction & national security in Detroit just opened his 4th new federal grand jury case this month...
Rick Johnson, a former Michigan House speaker, faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to accepting bribes as he led a board with the power to decide which businesses got into the marijuana market first via
@CraigDMauger
@detroitnews
Breaking: At least one lobbyist hired a sex worker for former Michigan House Speaker Rick Johnson to secure licenses to grow and sell marijuana and referred to the powerful Republican politician by the code name “Batman," the feds allege
The juror misconduct allegation was briefly available on the federal court docket late Thursday. I grabbed a copy of the brief before court staff sealed the filing
@detroitnews
Breaking: The court filing adds fresh international intrigue to a case that drew worldwide attention — and a security guard — to the museum last week via
@detroitnews
Breaking: The FBI and a federal grand jury are investigating if former Michigan House Speaker Rick Johnson & others received bribes in return for awarding state licenses to operate medical marijuana facilities, sources tell me and
@CraigDMauger
Tuesday, my
@detroitnews
front-page scoop foreshadows new federal corruption case
Less than 24 hours later, the indictment:
For more federal court exclusives, subscribe for $1 for the first 6 months here
'I am a corrupt politician': former Michigan House Speaker Rick Johnson headed to prison for taking marijuana business bribes
via
@CraigDMauger
via
@detroitnews
Russian weaponry is helping fuel gun violence in Pontiac, where rappers and rival gang members are accused of waging a war that has led to more than 40 shootings since July and the killing of a 7-year-old girl
@detroitnews
The feds have unsealed criminal charges against an associate of former Michigan GOP gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley accused of illegally entering the U.S. Capitol during the J6 attack and encouraging rioters who assaulted officers via
@detroitnews
A man accused of assisting the leaders in a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor pleaded guilty Wednesday, the ninth conviction in state and federal courts since agents broke up a scheme by anti-government rebels in 2020 via
@detroitnews
@CraigDMauger
and I broke the scandal open in February by revealing FBI agents and a federal grand jury were investigating whether former Michigan House Speaker Rick Johnson and others received bribes
The indictment was unsealed five months after FBI agents arrested her son Randall Robert Berka II in a case coinciding with a broader crackdown on violent antigovernment extremism in Michigan
Shane Hernandez, the Republican nominee to be Michigan's lieutenant governor, posted and then deleted Saturday a photo of himself with the flag of an anti-government militia movement in the background. via
@CraigDMauger
BREAKING: Federal agents have arrested Detroit rapper 42 Dugg for failing to surrender and serve a six-month prison sentence, the latest legal problem for the popular entertainer
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gardey's fingerprints are all over high-profile public corruption crackdowns in recent years, including the prosecution of
@UAW
Presidents Gary Jones and Dennis Williams...
Former Detroiter Michele Johnson is in the Livingston County jail while prosecutors puzzle over her real identity, wonder where she has been and the number of victims that were plucked from her past, thin air and the ranks of high society via
@detroitnews
Scoop: Pacino Horne, the former Detroit Lions and Toronto Argonauts player who was a hero of the 100th Grey Cup, is under investigation for leading a Metro Detroit drug ring while being accused of stealing $150k in COVID-19 relief funds via
@detroitnews
...and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's frat bro, city Treasurer Jeff Beasley, who liked his bribes in birthday cards stuffed with $100 bills...
NEW tonight: The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy exec charged w/stealing $40M owned a portfolio of real estate & side hustle businesses, including a million $$$ suburban home, a piece of “Black Eden” & a nightclub that got a $1.4M bailout via
@detroitnews
Days after that scoop,
@CraigDMauger
and I identified a second target of the FBI public corruption probe: former marijuana industry lobbyist Brian Pierce
The
@detroitnews
has learned FBI agents are also investigating former Detroit Riverfront Conservancy finance chief William Smith for theft/bribery involving federal funds and money laundering via
@detroitnews
...during the same scandal, the
@UAW
built a lakefront cottage for retired President Dennis Williams as FBI agents questioned union leaders' spending of membership dues and money from Detroit's automakers on personal luxuries
Today marks the last day at work for Assistant U.S. Atty David Gardey (second from left), corruption unit chief in Detroit, one of the most accomplished federal prosecutors in the office in decades who is leaving to become an immigration judge in Virginia…
So far, four people have pleaded guilty, including former Detroit Councilman Andre Spivey, who is living in a West Virginia federal prison until early 2024
The prosecutor is overseeing a corruption probe targeting Detroit City Hall, which FBI agents raided last year. There are at least 5 targets who have not been charged with wrongdoing as the investigation continues, including Councilman Scott Benson and ex-Councilwoman Janeé Ayers
A few weeks later,
@CraigDMauger
and I had another scoop showing how former Michigan House Speaker Rick Johnson voted in support of a marijuana business and then accepted a $75,000 loan from an investor with a stake in the deal
@UAW
The Williams cottage, featuring granite counters, stainless-steel appliances, a wood-burning fireplace, a wine cooler and a patio overlooking Black Lake.
The
@UAW
hired nonunion labor to build the $1.3 million lakefront home in a move to lower costs .
We had spent about six months trying to break the story of the FBI investigation until we were led to a small rural courthouse and found a document marked "United States of America vs Johnson, Rick V"
BREAKING: Feds open investigation of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to recoup taxpayer money squandered in racketeering scandal via
@detroitnews
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The assistant U.S. Attorney in Detroit in charge of prosecuting international & domestic terrorism, threats involving weapons of mass destruction, espionage & more just opened his 8th federal grand jury case this summer