‘We own the board’: Court documents detail Michigan Medical Marijuana bribery scandal
Pot is now legal in Michigan, although lots of laws were broken in issuing the first licenses to sellers and growers.
Two additional bad actors were sentenced today in connection with a brazen bribery scandal.
The person who admits accepting the bribes is Rick Johnson—a former Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives who became chair of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Licensing Board in June of 2017.
Johnson went on to receive 38 illegal payments over the next 28 months from lobbyists representing medical marijuana license applicants.
The total amount received was over $110,000.
According to court filings, the bribes came in the form of direct payments, private plane trips to Canada, and even a $2,000 payment for commercial sex between Johnson and a woman in the adult entertainment industry.
Court documents further indicate that Johnson set up elaborate systems to conceal the bribes that included burner phones, multiple LLCs, and cover stories. For instance, Johnson’s wife was paid $2,000 per month for bookkeeping services she never performed.
Johnson and the medical licensing board had the power to decide which marijuana sellers and growers were going to be the first to operate legally in Michigan at a time when a marijuana license was seen as a “golden ticket.”
“What is ringing through my mind is the words, four words from a text message that Vince Brown sent to one of his clients, when he said, ‘We own the board,’” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten upon leaving the courtroom in Grand Rapids. “Now, in fact, he didn’t own the board, but he did own the chair of the board, and for $40,000 and some free commercial sex, they owned Rick Johnson. The problem with that is obvious. No one should ever own an elected official.”
Two of the lobbyists involved in the scandal were sentenced today. Vincent Brown received a 20-month sentence, while Brian Pierce received 24 months behind bars.
Johnson was sentenced last month to 55 months. He’ll begin serving that sentence on Dec. 2, after he has recovered from a recent heart surgery.
