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State Sen. Bert Johnson (Photo from his website)
Bert Johnson's voice could incriminate him in a federal criminal case charging the state senator with putting a "ghost employee" on his payroll.
A federal court filing Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit states that prosecutors plan to use evidence including state government documents and a consensual recording on Nov. 19, 2015 between Johnson and Glynis Thornton, listed as an aide on his payroll. Johnson was indicted April 11.
It's legal in Michigan for only one party in a conversation to consent to a recording. A third party listening in requires a court order.
Federal investigators are looking into whether Johnson put Thornton, a former contractor with the Education Achievement Authority, on his payroll as a ghost employee as a way to repay a loan. Authorities say he paid her more than $23,000 in public money from March 2014 to January 2015.
The recording apparently was made after Thornton left the payroll and four months after her federal grand jury indictment in the Detroit Public Schools scandal. Thornton operated Making a Difference Everyday (“M.A.D.E.”), which provided tutoring at Mumford and Denby high schools. She pleaded guilty last year to bribery charges for paying kickbacks to a school principal.
It's not unusual for someone under indictment to cooperate with the FBI and record a conversation with a target of a probe in hopes of getting a break in their case.
Federal prosecutors last September recommended that because of cooperation her sentence should be 15 month, rather than 24-30 months under customary guidelines. She's not yet sentenced, records indicate.
Besides the recording, the new filing shows that prosecutors in the Johnson case intend to use:
- Documents/records from the state.
- Documents/records from financial institutions.
- Documents/records obtained during search of Bertram Johnson, Jr.’s residence, office and Senate vault.
Related coverage today:
Lessenberry on 'Reverse Racism, Liberal Hypocrisy' and the Sen. Bert Johnson Mess
