Report: Schmidt, Bolger attempted 'fraud' in race for Mich. House seat, but did not break law
Source: Detroit Free Press
State Rep. Roy Schmidt and House Speaker Jase Bolger attempted to perpetrate a fraud on the electorate by persuading a fake Democrat to file as a candidate for a Grand Rapids House seat, but they will not be charged because they did not break the law, Kent County Prosecutor William Forsyth said in a report released today.
Forsyth said Schmidt, a Democrat who switched his allegiance to the Republican Party also just before the May 15 filing deadline got his son to recruit a fake Democratic candidate and offered to pay Matt Mojzak $450 an offer that was later increased to $1,000 before Mojzak withdrew his candidacy in the face of a media furor.
... Incredibly, while it would be illegal to pay a boxer to take a dive; or a basketball player to point shave, it is not currently a crime in Michigan to recruit someone to run for public office, place them on the ballot at the eleventh hour and essentially pay them to make no effort to win, Forsyth said in an eight-page report.
... Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer ... said he would continue to pursue possible violations of campaign finance law and potential civil liability.
Read more: http://www.freep.com/article/20120717/NEWS06/120717063/bolger-schmidt-fraud-house-race-report