I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
Sam Riddle says he’s hired his own attorney to defend him on federal bribery and corruption charges after the first trial on those charges ended in a mistrial — assuming the judge allows that attorney to take the case. The new attorney, Riddle says, is Richard Convertino, a former federal prosecutor.
The problem, however, is that Convertino also represents Riddle’s (ex?) girlfriend, former state Rep. Mary Waters, on federal bribery charges. In a separate state case, Riddle is charged with assault for brandishing a loaded shotgun at Waters when she walked in on him with another woman in the home they shared.
Riddle told U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn that he has hired Richard Convertino, who did not appear in court. Cohn gave Riddle until 2 p.m. Tuesday to show up with his attorney but indicated that there may be a conflict because Convertino represents Waters in the same bribery case involving Riddle and former Southfield City Councilman William Lattimore.
Cohn said he’s puzzled how Convertino can represent both Waters and Riddle at the same time, but he did not give an indication of how he’ll rule.
Convertino is no stranger to controversy. He sued the Department of Justice claiming he was fired as a U.S. Attorney for being a whistleblower, and in that case he tried to force a reporter to reveal his sources. A federal judge ultimately ruled in favor of the reporter.
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