Eric Smith is an American attorney and the former Prosecuting Attorney of Macomb County, Michigan. He resigned in 2020 after his arrest of embezzlement and corruption charges.
Smith rose through the ranks of the Prosecutor's Office, starting his career there in 1993. He would eventually serve as senior trial attorney, chief of the sex crimes unit and chief assistant prosecutor. Smith filed to run for the Democratic nomination for Prosecutor in 2004. Incumbent Prosecutor Carl J. Marlinga announced he would not seek re-election following his indictment in April 2004 by a federal grand jury that he helped a convicted rapist receive a new trial in exchange for campaign contributions to Marlinga's failed congressional run in 2002. Smith emerged victorious from a six-person primary field, taking approximately 29 percent of the vote. Smith defeated Republican nominee David Viviano in the general election, taking 53 percent of the vote. Smith would win re-election in 2008, 2012, and 2016; beating Republican Michael Wrathell in each election. Smith gained national notoriety in 2007 due to the Tara Grant murder case, a case that Smith personally prosecuted. Grant was strangled to death and eventually dismembered by her husband, Stephen Grant, in the couple's Washington Township home on February 9, 2007. Stephen Grant was convicted of second degree murder in December 2007 and was sentenced to 50 - 80 years in prison. Smith was fined $750 by Michigan's Attorney Grievance Commission in September 2012 for calling Stephen Grant a "sociopath" after his February 2007 arrest. The commission said Smith's comments lacked "courtesy and respect." Smith did not contest the fine. In October 2010, Smith left an angry, profanity-laced, physically voicemail to Republican James Perna, who was running against Smith's brother, Bob, for a seat on the Macomb County Commission. Perna initially filed a complaint with the Michigan State Police over the incident. Perna eventually dropped the complaint after Smith personally apologized and the matter was settled privately.
Public Forfeiture Funds Investigation
Allegations and Investigation
In August 2018, Macomb County Treasurer Lawrence Rocca informed the Macomb County Board of Commissioners of potential misspending of approximately $1.8 million in funds from four accounts controlled by Smith's office that were mostly generated via civil forfeiture through drunken driving convictions. The accounts were created after Smith took office in 2005 and were never audited because they were not part of the formal county budget. In February 2019, the Board of Commissioners approved hiring a forensic accounting firm, UHY Advisors, to conduct a formal audit of the funds. Rocca was concerned that Smith had not saved any receipts to match up with his spending, while Smith accused Rocca, a Republican, of using the issue for political purposes. The board fired UHY Advisors one day after hiring them after learning that one of the firm's partners had served as the treasurer for the campaign committee for Democratic Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel. Hackel, who spent 10 years as Macomb County Sheriff, claimed the dismissal was orchestrated by Smith's brother Bob, who was chairman of the Board of Commissioners. On February 25, 2019, Hackel announced he was seeking a criminal investigation into Smith's activities from the office of Michigan Attorney GeneralDana Nessel and was requesting the Michigan Department of Treasury to conduct a forensic audit. Smith said Hackel was only making the recommendation to divert attention from his relationship with UHY Advisors and called for investigations into expenditures and funds controlled by Hackel and Rocca. On April 1, 2019, Nessel's office and the Michigan State Police confirmed they had opened a criminal investigation upon Hackel's request. The State Police executed a search warrant at Smith's office on April 17, 2019, and his Macomb Township home on May 14, 2019. The Detroit News also reported that the FBI was conducting a criminal investigation of Smith.
Indictment, Arrest and Resignation
On March 24, 2020, Smith was formally charged by the Michigan Attorney General's office with 10 felonies; five counts of embezzlement by a public official and one count each of conducting a criminal enterprise, official misconduct in office, tampering with evidence in a civil proceeding, accessory after the fact to embezzlement by a public official and conspiracy to commit forgery. The penalties for convictions range from four to twenty years in prison. Smith turned himself in to the Michigan State Police and was formally arraigned via video conferencing on March 27, 2020 and released on $100,000 personal bond. Also charged with Smith were former Macomb County Treasurer and state representative Derek Miller, who was an assistant prosecutor and served as Chief of Operations, second-in-command under Smith; Benjamin Liston, a retired assistant prosecutor who served as Smith's Chief of Operations before Miller; and William Weber, owner of a security company. Following the charges being announced, Smith once again said the investigation was political payback, this time saying it was because he did not initially support Nessel in her 2018 election for Attorney General. Despite professing his innocence, Smith resigned from office on March 30, 2020.
