Michigan campaign documents reveal financial contributions from police, judges, and nearly every public defender in Hastings, Michigan, contributed to the prosecuting attorney.
Multiple lawyers, judges (both current and former, such as James Fisher and Former Allegan County Judge Roberts Kengis, allegedly forced into retirement by the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission due to misconduct and abuse of power) inside Barry County as well as in Allegan and Eaton, made donations.
Other contributors include big time real estate developers, Michigan State Police Officers, investment firms, and other notable figures. Even connecting to a certain Hastings company twice over, and the Michigan State Police Wayland post.
Multiple donors connect to the Cleon Brown case, one in which the Blue Wall of Silence was prevalent. Cleon sued Hastings Police Department for harassment and won. This includes individuals like former Hastings Police Chief Jeff Pratt (ex-husband), as well as officers Dale Boulter and Josh Sensiba, who according to court documents, participated in harassment of Cleon Brown.
Former Judge Amy McDowell’s parents and even Vicki Alspaugh’s husband and daughter (who would have been a minor at the time) donated to Julie’s campaign. Vicki Alspaugh’s husband is still a process server for the court. At the time of the donation, Vicki was a Juvenile Referee.
Former Prosecutor turned Public Defender Shane McNeil’s (then) minor children also donated.
It is interesting that particular donors’ cases occurred in Barry County and a guest prosecutor was required to come in due to community connections, such as this case.
Nearly Every Public Defender Made Donations
Also worth noting is that nearly every public defender and their spouses gave money to the 2012 Campaign.
Shane McNeill’s Minor Children Made Campaign Donations?
There is another concerning piece to this that needs further investigation. One of her primary donors, Shane McNeill, was a prosecutor for Barry County. He then became a public defender.
Raising eyebrows is the fact that Shane’s children would have been 13 and 14 at the time of the donations, according to the records.
Connections to Pharmaceuticals and Opioid Diverting
Another interesting twist, is a donation by podiatrist Dr. Craig Sherwood, who eventually plead to drug diverting and insurance fraud. I cannot find any information on where the spare opioids went; there was no evidence he or his family were abusing opioids. So where did they go?
Dr. Sherwood did not receive any jail time in the scheme.
Also worth noting, Barry County has significant stake in the State Opioid Lawsuit Settlement, receiving around $1.5 million dollars.
According to The Lansing State Journal, the main priorities for the settlement money are supposed to be as follows:
- Recovery treatment, including residential centers and mental health assistance
- Prevention programs, including in schools and for both first responders and medical workers
- Expanding medication access and treatment options for opioids
Yet Barry County does not seem to have the necessary resources nor court diversion opportunities to send people to these programs, even though the state of Michigan acknowledges jail is not an appropriate response to opioid addiction.
What’s Next?
As the seat has run unchallenged, 2012 is the most recent set of finance disclosures available.
