Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith charged with embezzlement, 3 others also charged

Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith was charged Tuesday with embezzlement and other criminal offenses after a nearly yearlong investigation into how his office spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug and alcohol forfeiture funds.

Two others in his office and the owner of a security business also have been charged, according to the Michigan Attorney General's Office.

Smith, 53, is charged with five counts of embezzlement by a public official and one count each of conducting a criminal enterprise, official misconduct in office, tampering with evidence in a civil proceeding, accessory after the fact to embezzlement by a public official and conspiracy to commit forgery, the Attorney General's Office said in a release.

The alleged crimes range from four to 20-year felonies. Court records list alleged offense dates starting on Jan. 1, 2012.

Also charged are Benjamin Liston, 58, a retired assistant prosecutor and former chief of operations for Smith's office; Derek Miller, 36, an assistant prosecutor who is the current chief of operations for Smith's office, and businessman William Weber, 38, the Attorney General's Office said.

Counsel for Smith released a statement Tuesday afternoon:

"We have been working and cooperating with the Michigan Department of Attorney General since last year while it continued to investigate politically motivated allegations about how our client, Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith managed Macomb County’s forfeiture fund," it read.

"We are shocked and dismayed to learn only through the media of the filing of charges by the attorney general. Regardless, we will vigorously defend Mr. Smith against these baseless allegations. We look forward to Mr. Smith’s day in open court, whenever that may be. As he has for over fifteen years, Mr. Smith will continue to run the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office efficiently and effectively with the needs of victims, law enforcement partners and the community as its top priority."

Liston is charged with conducting a criminal enterprise, official misconduct in office and two counts of embezzlement by a public official. Miller, a former county treasurer and state representative, is charged with official misconduct in office and conspiracy to commit a legal act in an illegal manner, according to the Attorney General's Office.

Steve Fishman, who is representing Miller, had no comment Tuesday.

The Attorney General's release stated that Weber, owner of Weber Security Group, is charged with forgery, larceny by conversion, aiding and abetting Smith's embezzlement by a public official and receiving and concealing stolen property.

Weber was arraigned via video Tuesday from the Michigan State Police North Metro Post. He was released on a $100,000 personal recognizance bond and was ordered to have no contact with the co-defendants, to surrender his passport within 48 hours and to not travel outside Michigan, the Attorney General's Office said.

A probable cause conference was tentatively set for May 19. Smith, Miller and Liston are scheduled to be arraigned via video from the same State Police post Friday, according to the Attorney General's Office.

County Executive Mark Hackel said Weber did some work on technology at Smith's home and the security system in the office.

Southfield's 46th District Court Judge Cynthia Arvant was appointed by the State Court Administrator to sign the warrants after judges in 41B District Court in Clinton Township recused themselves, according to the Attorney General's Office. Arvant arraigned Weber.

"In order for citizens to maintain trust in the institutions of government, public officials must, at all times, conduct themselves in accordance with the laws of our state,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said.

“When public officials fail to do so, the people must have confidence that they will be held to account, fairly, and without any special treatment based upon their status as a public official. The Department of Attorney General will continue to work to protect this fundamental principle, that no one is above the law," she said.

Investigators estimate the total amount of money allegedly embezzledsince 2012 to be around $600,000, according to the release from Nessel's office.

It stated that investigators found that Smith and other defendants used the money to buy flowers and makeup for select secretaries, a security system for Smith’s residence, garden benches for staffers’ homes, country club catering for parties, campaign expenditures and more.

Under statute, forfeiture accounts are to be controlled by the county treasurer, the release stated. However, investigators found Smith had four accounts containing public monies he controlled without official county oversight. Those accounts are: Drug Forfeiture, Bad Check Restitution, OWI (Operating While under the Influence) Forfeiture, and Warren Drug Court.

Investigators also determined that Weber provided false invoices totaling nearly $28,000 as part of the operation, according to the release.

The charges come after a State Police investigation in which Smith faced scrutiny over how he spent some of the $1.8 million in the four funds that had been under his office’s control for many years.

State Police began the investigation at the direction of the Attorney General's Office following a request in March 2019 by Hackel. State Police raided Smith's office and home last year.

On Tuesday, Hackel called the impact "unfortunate," but said when officials sent the information to the Attorney General there was substantial information "that something was wrong."

Hackel said everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and that Smith now has to try to deal with the court of public opinion and the court of law, adding that Smith "is a top law enforcement official in the entire county."

Hackel said Smith does not have to step down: "That's an independent judgment on behalf of the person. If they truly believe that they have not done anything wrong, I don't know if I would force him to make that decision. That is up to him at this point in time."

For Smith to be removed, it would be either a decision by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer or an action by the Macomb County Board of Commissioners and its chairman, Bob Smith, who is Eric Smith's brother, the Attorney General's Office release stated.

Bob Smith later released a statement, saying he had just learned of the charges Tuesday.

"I will not comment on any of the details of the case. I hold myself to an even higher standard of accountability than the public, and will continue to recuse myself from any actions related to the case that may come before the Board," the statement said.

The charges come less than a month before the filing deadline for candidates who want to run for county office, except executive, this year.

As of Monday afternoon, no one had filed to run for prosecutor, including Eric Smith, a Democrat who has been prosecutor since he was first elected in 2004. He has been with the prosecutor's office since 1993, according to his biography on prosecutorsmith.com.

Smith's activities also have come under the radar of the federal government, which is reportedly conducting its own investigation.

More:Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith expected to be charged within days

In a release Monday when stories circulated that Smith was expected to be charged, he said: “I have fully cooperated with the State Police Investigation from the day it began. I will continue to do so. Furthermore, I stand by my previous statements that these forfeiture funds were spent appropriately in accordance with the law.”

More:Police sought Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith's cellphone, computer in raid at office

More:Macomb Prosecutor Eric Smith's home searched by State Police

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.