One of my challengers has accused me of having failed to respect and observe the law, pleading to a crime and betraying the public trust involving allegations, some of which are now decades old.
The reality is, that after years of litigation and a mediation, the case was resolved by a conditional plea with a delay and outright dismissal of all charges. I have no criminal record. The presiding judge in that matter, in agreeing to dismiss the case, found on the record that he didn’t think Lapeer County was denied any money and that any money I received was put back into the Prosecutor’s Office. He further found that the money I paid, out of my own funds, for the benefit of that office I held at that time, far exceeded the amount of money in question.
An independent Master appointed by the Judicial Tenure Commission, heard testimony from 39 witnesses and reviewed over 350 exhibits last summer and concluded that there was no law or regulation in effect that was contrary to my handling of funds while in the Prosecutor’s Office. He further concluded that the Prosecutor’s Office provided the services at that time and the Prosecutor’s Office received the benefits.
Every dollar of funds ever entrusted to me (and many of my own) when I proudly served this community as its Prosecuting Attorney was spent on my staff, law enforcement, victims, witnesses and/ or the community at large. There was and is no betrayal of public trust.
No litigant that has ever come before me has ever accused me of being anything but fair and impartial. I have served Lapeer County for most of my professional career and vow to continue to serve Lapeer County with dignity, integrity, competence and respect to improve the quality of life for us all. My family and I deeply appreciate the support this community has shown to us in the wake of this irresponsibly painted picture.
—Judge Byron Konschuh and Family
