Macomb County prosecutor’s top deputy accused of breaking state law over fundraising for wife, 2 judges

Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido’s top deputy is accused of violating state campaign finance laws and a county ethics ordinance when he helped raise money to protect his wife and two other Wayne County judges from being knocked off the ballot.

Macomb County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Donn Fresard, the second-in-command in the office, created a “Back the Bench” group to defend his wife, Judge Patricia Fresard, the chief judge of Wayne County Circuit Court, and her judicial colleagues Sheila Ann Gibson and Kelly Ramsey.

The judges were raising money for attorneys after Highland Park activist Robert Davis tried to get them removed from the November 2022 ballot for failing to declare on campaign paperwork that they have no party affiliation, as required by law.

“They were shaking down lawyers and judges for donations through Fresard,” Davis tells Metro Times.

Fresard held at least one fundraiser and distributed fundraising flyers for the judges, but he failed to register the group as required by state law and also violated a county ethics ordinance by working on the campaign during work hours, according to a complaint filed by Davis.

In a March 31 letter to Fresard, the Michigan Bureau of Elections said he may have violated the Michigan Campaign Finance Act and ordered him to disclose reports on the donations. He also may be fined $1,000 or the amount that he failed to report, whichever is greater, the letter states.

“You were obligated to: form and register a committee, file pre-election and post-election reports disclosing the contributors and the dollar value of the contributions, and file additional reports or dissolution, whichever is appropriate,” the letter states. “These reports were required to be filed with the Department but have not been filed to date.”

The Michigan Bureau of Elections declined to comment for this story, saying the potential violation is still under investigation.

In September, Court of Claims Judge Brock Swartzle ruled that Davis was correct when he alleged the judges failed to properly file their campaign paperwork. But Swartzle said the complaint was made too late.

Davis also filed a complaint last week with the Macomb County Ethics Board, alleging Fresad violated an ordinance prohibiting employees from performing personal duties on work time. In the complaint, Davis said he has “personal knowledge that Donn Fresard sent out solicitation emails on behalf of his wife, Judge Patricia Fresard, and Wayne County Circuit Judges Kelley Ann Ramsey and Sheila Ann Gibson, which they may have been sent during this working hours and while he was being paid by Macomb County.”

In December, Lucido fired an assistant Macomb County prosecutor, Joshua Van Laan, over similar allegations. Van Laan was accused of helping another Macomb County assistant prosecutor, Steve Fox, fend off a legal challenge to remove him from the ballot for circuit court judge while on work time.

Van Laan denied wrongdoing and filed a lawsuit alleging his termination was retaliatory.

Neither Fresard nor Lucido would comment for this story.

The judges whom Fresard was helping were fined by the Michigan Bureau of Elections for not filing timely campaign finance reports.

Davis also alleged that two court employees — Julie Dale, general counsel for the Wayne County Circuit Court, and Richard Lynch, associate general counsel for the court — violated state law by helping the judges with the lawsuit while they were on the clock.

In a letter to the employees on April 7, the Bureau of Elections concluded that the employees committed “a potential violation” of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act and should not have helped with the lawsuit while at work.

“A known violation is a misdemeanor offense and may merit referral to the Attorney General for enforcement action,” the letter states.

Davis said he plans to file a lawsuit against the judges, alleging they were pressuring his employer to fire him.

Subscribe to Metro Times newsletters.

Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter