(WWJ) – Former Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith on Tuesday pleaded guilty to three felony charges tied to a public corruption scheme uncovered three years ago.
Smith took a plea deal Tuesday in a hearing before an Oakland County judge appointed by the State Court Administrative Office as Macomb County judges recused themselves.
He pleaded to one count each of official misconduct in office, tampering with evidence in a civil proceeding and conspiracy to commit forgery. Those charges are punishable by five, four and 14 years, respectively.
Smith was offered a plea deal last month by Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office, leading to seven charges being dropped.
As part of his plea deal, Smith admitted to misusing public funds in four different accounts that were under his control. A Michigan State Police investigation uncovered that Smith had embezzled more than $600,000 in drug and forfeiture funds from the county.
That money was intended to be used for law enforcement, but Smith instead used it for personal use, including buying gifts, throwing parties and installing a home security system. The owner of the security company that installed the system previously pleaded guilty to charges tied to the case.
He admitted to tampering with evidence and planning to forge documents related to the security system.
Smith was initially charged in the case in March of 2020 and resigned from his position as prosecutor several days later.
He is set to learn his sentence on Sept. 6.
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