Shawn Ley
ROMULUS, Mich. -
Sex, lies and an audiotape.
A Local 4 investigation broke
the story Thursday night at 6 p.m. about a witness used by Wayne County
prosecutors against former members of the Romulus Police Department accused of
staggering corruption while on duty.
That witness now says he was
paid $12,000 by a Michigan State Police detective for his testimony, and he
says he was paid to lie on the witness stand.
Here’s the background: the
witness is named Milton DeSilva.
DeSilva was a confidential
informant for Romulus police detectives.
In March of 2011, Michigan
State Police conducted several raids of the Romulus Police Department -- as
well as a raiding the home of former Romulus Police Chief Michael St. Andre and
a tanning salon owned by St. Andre’s wife, Sandra Vlaz-St. Andre.
St. Andre and five defendants,
who were Romulus police detectives, at the time are accused of padding their
overtime, using drug forfeiture money to engage in drug and sex parties at
strip clubs and for allegedly pocking department money set aside to pay
confidential informants.
During a preliminary hearing,
DeSilva testified for Wayne County prosecutors, testimony that helped bound the
case over to circuit court and towards a trial.
Later, DeSilva called the
office of one of the attorneys defending one of the Romulus detectives.
An investigator for attorney
Mike Rataj taped a phone call with DeSilva.
A recording of that call was
sent anonymously to Local 4.
DeSilva is heard telling the
investigator, “I was told to lie and I was paid cash for it.”
"Who paid you to lie?”
DeSilva: “The state police.
They gave me $12,000 cash.”
Thursday, attorney for former
Romulus detective Richard Balzer, Mike Rataj, told Local 4, “It raises some
serious questions about the integrity of the investigation.”
Friday, a spokesperson for
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy told Local 4, “It is not true about the
witness being paid by MSP.” Spokesperson Maria Miller added that DeSilva is not
a witness in the upcoming trial against the former Romulus chief and
detectives.
Also Friday, Rataj is questioning
how prosecutors could use DeSilva’s testimony to help them in a preliminary
hearing only now to say he is no longer a witness for them.
“You people (Wayne Co.
prosecutors) put him up on the witness stand to have our clients, in part, to
be bound over," Rataj said. “You think there should be some sort of
investigation conducted. These are serious allegations."
The state attorney general’s
office will not confirm if they are investigating allegations being made about
how Michigan State Police conducted its probe of the Romulus officers.
The investigation has already
claimed its first conviction.
Sandra Vlaz-St. Andre was found
guilty of taking part in a criminal enterprise for her role in the corruption
case. She is serving 7 to 20 years in prison.