DETROIT, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- A former Michigan prosecutor will be tried for misleading jurors and coaching witnesses to lie in a major drug trial, a judge has ruled.
The charges against retired Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Karen Plants carry a penalty of as long as life in prison. Judge David Robinson Jr. is expected to decide Wednesday whether retired Wayne County Circuit Judge Mary Waterstone, Inkster Police Sgt. Scott Rechtzigel and Officer Robert McArthur also should be tried on felony charges, The Detroit News reported.
Plants, Rechtzigel and McArthur were charged in March 2009 with obstruction of justice. Waterstone was charged with felony misconduct in office for allegedly allowing the perjury even after Plants told her about it. Waterstone could get as long as five years in prison and the officers face penalties of much as life.
Chad Povish, a paid informant, led police to more than 100 pounds of high-quality cocaine delivered to J Dubs, a nightclub in Inkster, Mich. The owner, Alexander Aceval, is now serving 10 to 15 years.
In the 2005 trial, the state hid Povish's role from jurors and Aceval's lawyers by lying about his activities, said William Rollstin, the assistant Michigan attorney general prosecuting the case.
