Ex-Macomb prosecutor Eric Smith has month to consider plea offer in embezzlement case

Former Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith has just over a month to accept or reject a plea offer made by state prosecutors this week in an embezzlement case that alleges he misused drug and forfeiture funds in his former office.

Smith, 56, is accused of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars for personal and unauthorized business expenses over many years in office. He pleaded guilty to an unrelated federal charge and served seven months in prison for that.

The plea offer was read into the court record Wednesday by Michigan Assistant Attorney General Michael Frezza during an online pretrial hearing before Oakland County Circuit Judge Nancy Grant, who is hearing the case after Macomb County circuit judges recused themselves. Frezza said a written plea offer was sent to Smith's attorney Tuesday.

Details of the plea agreement offered to Eric Smith

Under the plea offer, Frezza said, Smith would plead guilty to one count of official misconduct in office, a five-year felony; tampering with evidence, a four-year felony; and conspiracy to commit forgery of a false receipt, a 14-year felony.

"Additionally, your honor, Eric Smith acknowledges as true or would under the plea acknowledge as true, and make a factual basis of his guilt as to count two that he acted with corrupt intent of the act in the exercise of his office while the elected Macomb County prosecutor, including by misusing public funds, that his acts were wrongful and malfeasance," Frezza said.

Frezza said the first recorded corrupt act in the state case took place March 24, 2014, "six years prior to the filing of the complaint before this honorable court, and Smith so acted similarly on other dates."

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Frezza said under the plea offer, the court would enter a restitution order at sentencing for $25,000 in favor of the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office drug and OWI forfeiture accounts.

The parties also would agree that Smith would be sentenced to incarceration in county jail for 12 months, Frezza said.

Smith has until July 26 to accept or reject the offer

He said if the plea offer was accepted by the court, the parties would dismiss seven other charges filed against Smith in the state probe.

Frezza said if convicted as charged, the prosecution's preliminary sentencing guidelines are 51 to 85 months, well over the 21-month sentence in the unrelated federal court case that would be concurrent with the state sentence from the plea offer.

Smith's attorney John Dakmak requested about 30 days to review the plea offer.

"There's ... a bit to unpack here," Dakmak said.

Grant said Smith must accept or reject the plea offer on or before July 26.

If the case goes to trial, Grant said all motions must be heard by Sept. 27. She would like to begin trial Oct. 23. A trial is estimated to take about three weeks, and the jury would be selected from Macomb County citizens.

Grant said the case is from March 2022, and she has worked hard on her docket so she doesn't have cases this old.

"I've got the time now to try this. And I don't want this to go much longer, especially as we're talking about dealing with another county," she said.

Smith, a Democrat, resigned from his position as the longtime prosecutor on March 30, 2020, less than a week after he was charged in the state embezzlement probe. He has been disbarred, according to a prior notice on the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board.

Three others, including two former assistant prosecutors, are awaiting sentencing for their roles in the state embezzlement probe involving Smith.

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Smith was released from federal prison in February after being sentenced for stealing money from his campaign fund in the unrelated federal case.

He pleaded guilty in federal court in January 2021 after being accused of stealing just under $75,000 from his campaign fund from 2012 to 2019. He was sentenced Feb. 16, 2022, to 21 months in federal prison. He reported to federal prison in June of last year and was released early after serving nearly 7 months.

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ex-Macomb prosecutor Eric Smith has plea offer in embezzlement case