Muskegon Heights City Manager/Fire Chief Shawn Roberson was hit with state drug and tax charges Tuesday as federal prosecutors indicted three people, including his real-estate partner and an ex-con freed from prison by President Joe Biden.
The criminal charges were revealed three weeks after state and federal agents raided city hall and mark the latest expansion of a rare high-profile public corruption and drug investigation in west Michigan.
Roberson, 51, was charged with one count of delivering/manufacturing less than 50 grams of cocaine, a charge punishable by up to 20 years in state prison. He also was charged with two counts of tax evasion, each of which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. His lawyer, Terry Nolan, did not respond immediately to a message seeking comment.
The federal indictment charges three people, including ex-con Lakento Brian Smith of Houston and Roberson’s real-estate partner in Muskegon Heights, Javon Brewer, whom The Detroit News exclusively linked to the corruption investigation last month. Prosecutors also charged a third man: Fletcher Lee Salazar, 40, of Muskegon Heights.
“The charges allege that these individuals conspired to distribute dangerous controlled substances, including more than 400 grams of fentanyl — a poison that continues to drive overdoses across our district — and then sought to hide the proceeds,” U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey said in a statement.
Roberson, a Democrat running in the Aug. 4 primary election for one of two seats on the Muskegon Township Board, was suspended with pay after the July 23 city hall raid.
Smith, Brewer and Salazar were charged in a drug conspiracy involving the possession and distribution of cocaine, heroin and fentanyl. Smith, 54, and Brewer, 58, also were charged in a money laundering conspiracy.
If convicted, Smith faces 15 years to life in federal prison. Brewer and Salazar, meanwhile, face 10 years to life.
Smith’s lawyer, James Fisher, declined comment. A lawyer for Salazar is not listed in court records.
On the morning of July 23, as a team of investigators from the FBI, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service and Michigan State Police searched city hall and other locations, federal prosecutors slapped a lien on Brewer’s home. In the lien, Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel McGraw indicated Brewer’s home could be forfeited to the government because the ranch-style home is linked to drug dealing.
Along with Brewer’s home, prosecutors also want him to forfeit $21,286 seized during a raid at the home that unfolded simultaneously as the City Hall search. The government also wants his black 2024 Toyota Tundra.
“By targeting both the drugs and the money behind them, we are sending a clear message: drug traffickers will be identified, their operations will be dismantled, and they will be held accountable in a court of law for their actions,” Joseph Dixon, special agent in charge of the Detroit division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, said in a statement.
The lien and other documents, including property records and a Michigan State Police search warrant, sharpen the focus of a rare public corruption investigation in west Michigan. The records reveal a sprawling investigation involving a public official with a history of financial problems, two felons and a drug pipeline leading from downtown Houston, Texas, to the shores of Lake Michigan.
During the raid, state police and federal agents are interested in the fire chief’s finances and real estate deals with the Muskegon County Land Bank. That is according to the warrant investigators obtained to search Muskegon Heights City Hall.
The fire chief and Brewer have deep ties involving real estate, including properties previously owned by the land bank, public records show.
The indictment marks more serious legal trouble for Smith.
The former Muskegon resident was initially charged with money laundering conspiracy last month as investigators searched city hall.
The 54-year-old convicted drug dealer whose 30-year sentence was commuted last year by Biden is portrayed in court records as a drug supplier funneling 28 kilograms of cocaine per week to Michigan.
The Muskegon native is accused of helping launder at least $130,000 in drug money from Smith’s new home in Houston, Texas.
rsnell@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Muskegon Heights City Hall raid leads to new state, federal charges
Reporting by Robert Snell, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Snell, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
