Beyond the Rules and the Bleaus

[XLFD]

Pere Marquette Charter Township (PMCT) Supervisor Jerry Bleau (pictured below) has come under fire recently along with his wife, PMCT Treasurer Karie Bleau, who both find themselves as targets of recall drives.  Language for the recall petitions has been approved and these are currently being circulated around the township in an effort led by Tim Iteen, who initiated the recall.  The drive for the petitions centers primarily on the perceived negative effects of Jerry's leadership characteristics and a miscue by Karie in utility billing, but recent revelations of a Michigan State Police (MSP) investigation indicate a very troubling past issue that could bolster the recall efforts significantly by its implications.

In introducing this latest issue, let's look at a similar problem that has been brought up three times in our Facebook entity, The Ludington Pitchfork, over the last three months.   We have posted pictures taken during the middle part of the workday of 1) a Scottville DPW worker's truck parked outside of a Ludington barber shop, 2) a Scottville DPW worker's truck parked outside Family Fare Food Market in PMCT, and just this Thursday, 3) a Ludington city worker's truck going through the Taco Bell in Amber Township, as seen below.

Now, both Scottville and Ludington City governments have employee policy manuals that are very explicit in noting that city vehicles are not to be used for private purposes and cannot be used for such purposes absent any written consent by their respective city managers.  City managers are not likely to give this consent, as they know that the optics of having their city's vehicles going to barber shops, grocery stores, and fast-food franchises outside of their jurisdiction is very bad to the public, who are effectively their ultimate supervisors.  

Each time these have been posted in the LP there have been a lot of people defending the actions of the rule-violators even when they are shown the city policy and are shown that the vehicles and employees are miles outside of their jurisdiction doing something outside of their work's purview.  Their arguments appear to fall in two categories.  Either it's no big deal that they are doing personal tasks on company time and with company vehicles or that they are on break, so it's all good despite what policies say.  

The problem is that the additional use of these vehicles cost the taxpayers plenty of money, the current standard mileage reimbursement rate is at 65.5 cents/mile, so Scottville DPW excursions rob over $10 from the taxpayers of Scottville each time they travel to Ludington even when they are on a lunch break.  Beyond this petty theft, one subjects their employer to liabilities that their insurance may not be able to cover, because of this unlawful use.  

The workers involved in these three instances are thus effectively stealing from their employer (and the public at large, who have instituted those city governments), subjecting their employer to potential liability and ridicule, and knowingly violating the rules put in place in a manner that allows the public servant to enrich himself.  Any sanction should be proportional, but an understanding needs to be instilled that they should not be violating this policy in the future.

The Ludington Torch has been attending PMCT Board meetings since late last year where we have witnessed a lot of discord from the public and staff as relating to Supervisor Bleau and his wife (pictured above).  We have also talked with Mr. Bleau for the better half of an afternoon, along with several township residents, workers, and officials.  The issues surrounding the township are often complex and controversial. 

Tim Iteen appears to have issues stemming from interactions between himself and Bleau in regard to the Pallet Recycle property.  Similarly, James Nash has been contentious in regard to the 'Outcalt' property that neighbors his land.  Though these properties are a couple miles away on Old 31, the claims by the supervisor is that he and the township has acted properly at all times in their plans for both, Iteen and Nash claim otherwise. 

A turnaround of a half dozen employees of the PMCT has also led some now-former employees, their allies, and township citizen activists to claim a hostile work environment exists because of the supervisor's management 'style'.  He insists that such characterizations exist only because he expects his workers to have the same hard work ethic he has.  As in the prior disputes, it's difficult to discern who is closer to the truth, as the record is generally incomplete and based on subjective or oral components.  

So when concerned PMCT resident Kim Kaines presented the board with the knowledge of a 2020 investigation by the MSP that turned up some interesting things in regard to Bleau's qualifications for office and how it appears that he used an octogenarian to carry out an intentional fraud, we considered that a big deal.  

Records since received show that MSP Trooper Leanne de Waal Malefyt initiated an investigation into Mr. Bleau on March 12, 2020 looking into a potential fraudulent qualified elector status.  Although we never contacted the MSP, the Ludington Torch had received information earlier that winter about the two Bleaus living in a residence in Hamlin Township, two miles away from where it borders PMCT on North Lakeshore Drive and not the residence on Ellis Road claimed by Mr. Bleau as his residence in order to qualify as a resident of PMCT.  

Over a period of three weeks, we had conducted an investigation and discovered that the Lakeshore property appeared to be where the Bleaus were living, as his (and her) vehicle always showed up there when that address was checked after nothing was seen at the other place; however, in the last week, a vehicle started appearing at the Ellis property regularly that may have been theirs'.  We had found out a few other facts that were compelling but not conclusive, that were passed along to those who had originally brought this to our attention.  These may be revealed in time, for now those cards will remain face down.

At that point, our investigation made a FOIA request to the PMCT clerk to look at the voter rolls of PMCT and have her send us the one where Jerry Bleau first appeared.  I received the Aug 2019 PMCT voter roll.  It showed he was registered at the Ellis property, while curiously his wife was not.  

At that point, March 5th, a week before the MSP looked into it, up-to-date online records show she was still registered only in Hamlin.  With the additional tools available to the MSP, they were able to do deeper investigations as revealed in their report which was sent to the prosecutor in the summer of 2020, who allowed it to sit unacted upon to the end of the year, which was also the end of his term.  Compelling though it is, the new prosecutor has let it sit.

Most interesting was an interview with an octogenarian (according to Kim Kaines) who related in relevant part to the trooper in a recorded interview after noting his ownership of the house on Ellis which was purchased by the Bleaus only in May 2020, over half a year after Jerry was using the address as his residence:

If we are to believe the interviewee, it appears that Supervisor Bleau used this older gentleman to support the charade of Bleau residing there to the township without the actual homeowner knowing about it.  Ms. Kaines would key in on the impropriety of this arrangement and the use of this pawn at the last PMCT Board meeting during the last public comment, but Bleau would only look a little unsettled, avoid the accusations therein, and mysteriously cancel the following regular board meeting for lack of business, when they had plenty of township business that should be addressed.

The search warrants on utility service and billing indicate that the octogenarian was indeed paying the utility bills and usage indicates that there was no change in energy output over that time, making it unlikely that a new owner was living there, and lending credence to the narrative of the interview. 

It appears that Jerry Bleau was working as appointed PMCT supervisor between November 1st, 2019 and the summer of 2020 and was actually living in Hamlin Township, and that he actively kept up this pretense through April 2020, when he needed to either file a nominating petition or a $100 payment in lieu of the petition to get his name on the ballot for 2020.  

A qualified elector is one who has minimally resided in the township for at least 30 days.  According to election law, "A person is not eligible to a township office unless the person is a registered and qualified elector of the township in which election is sought by the filing deadline."  April 21st was the filing deadline in 2020, meaning he had to have been living in PMCT since March 21, 2020, which appears to not be the case.  

Thus if the MSP investigation is accurate, and there's nothing disputing that except for some assuredly bogus documentation in the possession of the township claiming Jerry Bleau was a qualified elector in August 2019, Bleau could not have been appointed to the supervisor position in October 2019, nor could he have filed for candidacy in April 2020 and consequently win the supervisor spot thereafter.  

Additionally, one would have to conclude that Karie Bleau who was also not living at the Ellis property but back in Hamlin Township, was also illegitimately elected in 2020, for she was also not able to be called a qualified elector for PMCT.  Karie would roundly defeat Jeremy Piper in the August 2020 primary and assume the title uncontested that November, much like her husband.

With those implications, it is hard to imagine why Prosecutor Paul Spaniola dropped the ball when presented this information after the 2020 filing deadline had passed and the qualifications of two candidates were in serious question.  It's perhaps more mysterious that Prosecutor Lauren Kreinbrink hasn't actively pursued getting this problem resolved and spare the township and the county the need to conduct recall elections when neither official seems to be legally qualified to hold their offices.

Like our friends working for Scottville and Ludington getting haircuts, groceries, and cravings meals outside their jurisdiction using city property and obviously knowing that it's against policy, the Bleaus have decided to also bend the rules in order to get and keep their jobs.  The difference is that they seem to have actively defrauded the township and its citizens in the process, rather than just do it on the sly.  Worse, they have actively suppressed this over the course of three years as officers that the township puts its greatest trust in with its money:  the supervisor and the treasurer.  It's not comforting that they also have marital privilege if it should come to finding out the truth in a court of law.

[Willy]

Thanks for the update X.