Another day, another municipal corruption case locally. Melanie Scott Dorsey of the Freep has details:
Arthur Blackwell II [Photo from WXYZ broadcast]Arthur Blackwell II, the former emergency financial manager of Highland Park, pleaded no contest Tuesday to one count of safe keeping of public money -- a two-year misdemeanor -- after a three-year legal battle stemming from accusations that he embezzled money from the city. . . .
The plea comes eight months after the Michigan Court of Appeals reinstated criminal charges that Blackwell embezzled money while he was emergency financial manager of Highland Park.
Wayne County prosecutors initially charged Blackwell with embezzlement in 2009 after accusing him of improperly paying himself about $264,000 after agreeing to be paid $1-a-year as emergency financial manager. They also accused him of misconduct in office and refusing to turn over the city's financial records.
Dorsey notes that his plea "is not an admission of guilt, but is treated as such for sentencing."
She quotes a Wayne County Prosecutor's Office statement that says:
"By pleading no contest, Blackwell did not contest the allegations that he . . . used the money for his own personal use."
