Feds: Johnson deep in debt before stealing from state
Detroit – Sen. Bert Johnson (D) was deep in debt in fall 2013 when he conspired to steal from taxpayers by hiring a ghost employee for a no-show state job so he could repay loans, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
Prosecutors offered a glimpse at their trial strategy and an apparent motive three weeks before the Highland Park Democrat is scheduled to stand trial in federal court. Johnson is facing conspiracy and theft charges that carry penalties of up to 10 years in federal prison and is accused of stealing more than $23,000 from taxpayers between March 2014 and January 2015.
Johnson, 44, faced several pressing debts in fall 2013, including his son’s private-school tuition at University of Detroit Jesuit High School, his own tuition at the University of Detroit-Mercy and his own debt to a political consulting firm, prosecutors said.
He is accused of putting a ghost employee on his Senate payroll so he could repay loans. The ghost employee is Glynis Thornton, who was ensnared in an earlier corruption scandal involving the state-run Education Achievement Authority in Detroit.
Read more: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2018/02/20/bert-johnson-deep-debt-stealing-taxpayers-feds-say/110637884/
