Michigan jury awards nearly $60M to man who said his rights were violated by prosecutor
It is extremely rare for a prosecutor to be successfully sued for his or her actions because of broad immunity protections in law.
Brian Kolodziej and state police Lt. David Busacca acted 'intentionally, deliberately or with reckless disregard for the truth' in pursuing charges against Sean MacMaster, the jury said.
The jury awarded $33 million in lost wages, pain and suffering and damage to MacMaster's reputation, in addition to $25 million in punitive damages for conduct done with 'malice or in reckless disregard' of his rights.
'The truth has come out, and the jury saw the pain and suffering that he was put through at the hands of people with immense power,' MacMaster's attorney, Josh Blanchard, told The Associated Press.
Kolodziej was a Michigan assistant attorney general whose career crashed in 2019 when it was revealed that he was having a romantic relationship with a woman in a sexual assault case under his control. He pleaded no contest to willful neglect of duty and surrendered his law license. Besides the improper relationship, a judge said he had altered documents.
Attorney General Dana Nessel at the time said she was 'horrified' and 'disgusted.'
The MacMaster case was a separate but related matter. MacMaster's lawyers said Kolodziej pursued sex charges against him in an effort to impress and get close to a woman who was related to MacMaster's former wife. The MacMasters were in a contentious child custody battle.
MacMaster was a high-ranking police officer for Duval County, Florida, schools in 2019 when he was charged in Michigan with sexually abusing a child — allegations he adamantly denied. Kolodziej, with Busacca's help, pursued the case, although authorities in Oakland County had earlier investigated and found no merit.
MacMaster was in solitary confinement in jail for months before Nessel dropped the case against him and his stepfather, citing 'serious violations of our prosecutorial standards.'
Outside the Detroit federal courtroom, MacMaster was in tears Tuesday as he relayed news of the jury's verdict to friends by phone.
'The amount of money and destruction it's caused my family — it's been devastating,' MacMaster said, referring to the humiliation of being charged in 2019. 'I no longer have a relationship with my daughter because of it. I've lost friends."
The result of the trial, he added, gives "my reputation back to me a little bit by saying they did not have probable cause to arrest me. There were a lot of lies and everything out there.'
Kolodziej and Busacca declined to comment about the verdict. Kolodziej represented himself during the trial, telling jurors it was "embarrassing' to inform them that he was forced to resign as a state prosecutor six years ago.
'But it has absolutely nothing to do with the facts of this case supporting probable cause for an arrest warrant and a search warrant,' Kolodziej said in his opening remarks.
Busacca's attorney told the jury that his actions were supervised by others and that he was a road patrol trooper on the midnight shift in 2019 while working with Kolodziej.
'David Busacca's not going out on a limb here to help Brian Kolodziej get a girlfriend,' Audrey Forbush said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
16 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump administration partially retreats from a takeover of Washington's police. Here's what to know
Federal troops are patrolling the National Mall and neighborhoods across Washington while President Donald Trump 's administration exerts extraordinary power over law enforcement in the nation's capital. But the administration backed down from an attempt to take over the city's police department by installing its own emergency police commissioner after a federal judge indicated she would rule against it. The partial retreat interrupted one aspect of the most sweeping uses of federal authority over a local government in modern times. How it will play out and whether the federal government will use this experience as a potential blueprint for dealing with other cities remains up in the air. Here's what to know about the situation and what might come next: Why is Trump taking over the police in DC? The Republican president this week announced he's taking control over Washington's police department and activating National Guard troops to reduce crime, an escalation of his aggressive approach to law enforcement. But District of Columbia officials say the action isn't needed, pointing out that violent crime in the district reached historic 30-year lows last year and is down significantly again this year. Can he do that? D.C.'s status as a congressionally established federal district gives Trump a window to assert more control over the district than other cities. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser didn't offer much resistance at first, allowing city workers to clear homeless encampments and work closely with federal immigration agents. But on Friday, the heavily Democratic district asked for an emergency court order blocking Trump officials from putting a federal official in charge of D.C. police. So, who is in charge of police in Washington? The Trump administration on Friday agreed to leave the Washington, D.C., police chief in control of the department. That came one day after Attorney General Pam Bondi said the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration would take over the police chief's duties, including authority over orders issued to officers. The two sides sparred in court for hours before U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes after the city sued to stop the order. The judge indicated the law likely doesn't grant the Trump administration power to fully take over city police, but it probably does give the president more power than the city might like. She pushed the two sides to compromise, promising to issue a court order temporarily blocking the administration from naming a new chief if they couldn't agree. But while Attorney General Pam Bondi agreed to leave the police chief in charge, she directed the District's police to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement regardless of any city law. What's at stake The showdown in Washington is the latest attempt by Trump to test the boundaries of his legal authority to carry out his tough-on-crime agenda, relying on obscure statutes and a supposed state of emergency to speed up the mass deportation of people in the United States illegally. What are the federal troops doing in DC? About 800 National Guard troops are being activated, with Humvees parked along the Washington Monument and near Union Station. Troops have been spotted standing outside baseball's Nationals Park and neighborhood restaurants. The White House says guard members aren't making arrests but are protecting law enforcement officers who are making arrests and helping deter violent crime. Trump says one of the objectives will be moving homeless people far from the city. How long can this go on? Trump has the authority to do this for 30 days and says he might look into extending it. But that would require congressional approval. Whether Republicans in Congress would go along with that is unclear. Some D.C. residents have protested against the increased police presence. For some, the action echoes uncomfortable historical chapters when politicians used language to paint predominantly Black cities with racist narratives to shape public opinion and justify police action. Will Trump try to take control in other US cities? Washington is very different from any other American city, and the rules that govern it give the federal government much more control than it would have anywhere else. Whether Trump is using this as a blueprint for how to approach cities — largely Democratic cities — that he wants to exert more control over remains to be seen.
Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Teen sisters in jet ski crash were warned about dangerous behavior by cops moments before fatal collision
Two teenage sisters who lost control of a jet ski and crashed into a concrete dock in Florida were warned about safety by officers just moments before the tragic accident. Rachel Aliza Nisanov, 13, of New York, was riding a jet ski with her 16-year-old sister, Aviva, in the waters of Fort Lauderdale this week when the watercraft suddenly veered out of control and crashed into a dock, according to NBC 4 News. The tragic accident claimed Rachel's life and left Aviva hospitalized in a critical but stable condition. On Friday, officials revealed that Marine Unit officers had spoken with the sisters just moments before the fatal crash, engaging in a 'proactive' conversation about water safety, according to WSVN News. As officers were en route to another call, they noticed the girls' Yamaha personal watercraft commit a minor violation, prompting them to stop the sisters on the water, as reported by the outlet. Although officials did not specify the nature of the violation, they described the stop as 'brief and proactive in nature'. But because officers were responding to another call, no written report was filed and no body camera footage was recorded - and sadly, disaster struck just minutes later. 'I want to make sure we get to the bottom of this,' the sisters' father, Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov of Queens' Bukharian Jewish community, told WPLG Local 10 News after his daughter's funeral. 'It's very troubling. I didn't come to Florida to bury my daughter,' he added in tears. 'I came to Florida to have a good time with her and now I have to take her back in a casket. It's not the way I imagined my vacation.' On Tuesday, Rachel was enjoying a surprise family trip to celebrate her eighth-grade graduation. She was behind her older sister at the controls with their parents and an instructor on a separate jetski. Florida law permits a 14-year-old to be on a personal watercraft as long as someone aged 16 or older is driving. But as the teens made their way back to shore along the Intracoastal Waterway near the 2800 block of Northeast 24th Court, the jet ski suddenly veered out of control. The Yamaha violently slammed into the dock ahead, launching both girls into the air before they rammed into the structure. Their father immediately jumped in despite not knowing how to swim. 'Their life jackets were on. They were lying flat,' the girls' brother Yonah Nisanov said. 'My father jumped in and scraped up his hands, feet, his back, all over to save them, and he did what he could.' 'I saw one of the girls being taken in a stretcher,' resident Renée Beninate told WSVN News. 'I didn't know it was a young girl at the time, but my heart still broke,' she added. Both girls were rushed to Broward Health Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. Rachel tragically succumbed shortly afterward, with the Broward County Medical Examiner determining that she died from blunt force injuries sustained in the collision, according to the outlet. Aviva underwent surgery Tuesday night and remains sedated in the hospital, listed in critical but stable condition, according to CBS News. 'They're going to try to wake her up soon and see how she's doing,' Yonah told the outlet. 'But right now, she's sedated.' Aviva (left) underwent surgery Tuesday night and remains sedated in the hospital, listed in critical but stable condition According to the preliminary report obtained by NBC, the the sisters 'jumped the wake of a passing vessel, lost control, and collided with a concrete dock. An investigation launched by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) remains ongoing. Rachel's body was swiftly flown back to New York, where she was honored with a funeral held Wednesday night at the Bukharian Jewish Community Center in Forest Hills, Queens. 'Parents are not supposed to bury their children. Children are supposed to bury their parents,' Shlomo tearfully said after the funeral, according to WPLG News. 'She was just a kind person,' Yonah told NBC. 'A spiritual person. Kindhearted, always going the extra mile.'
BBC News
16 minutes ago
- BBC News
Aimee Betro: How a second bungled plot was hitwoman's downfall
Aimee Betro failed at her mission to assassinate her long-distance lover's rival - but in the days after her bungled attack, she still believed she could cover her tracks and evade police. The US woman, who had been on the run for five years, was this week found guilty of conspiracy to murder after trying to shoot dead a Birmingham businessman in 2019 as part of a revenge it was a second failed plot, alongside her co-conspirator, to frame an innocent English man for Betro's failed shootings that eventually led to her a post office in Illinois, Betro sent packages of ammunition and gun parts to that innocent party in Derby - and police in England did initially arrest him, suspecting him of being responsible.A series of mistakes, though, left a plethora of DNA and other evidence that gave the police and prosecutors a strong case against Betro - leaving her facing a lengthy jail term when she returns to court for sentencing next week. Betro, 45, had travelled to England from her home in West Allis, Wisconsin, to carry out a planned assassination that was conceived by co-conspirator Mohammed Nazir, whom she had met on a dating and his father Mohammed Aslam launched a vendetta after they were injured during disorder at bridal shop Seher Boutique on Alum Rock Road in July 2018, which was owned by businessman Aslat pair were so angered by the fight - reportedly over the price of a wedding suit - they set out for revenge against Mr Mahumad, recruiting Betro to though she had no obvious criminal background, she agreed - flying to the UK to kill a man she didn't know. On the night of the attack, Betro disguised herself in a niqab and laid in wait outside the Mahumad family home in Yardley, Birmingham. When Mr Mahumad's son Sikander Ali arrived at the property, she stepped out and attempted to shoot at point blank range. Her gun jammed or malfunctioned, and Mr Ali fled the scene the early hours of the following day, she returned to the scene and fired three times at the empty day after that, Betro left the UK and the second plan came into effect, with Nazir joining her back in the US as the pair hatched a plot to target another man. CCTV footage captured Betro at a post office in Palatine, Illinois, where she shipped off the illegal goods, using the false name M Chandler. As part of the scheme, Nazir also tipped off the police about the packages in order to frame the man in England to whom it was addressed. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said DNA evidence had played a "crucial part" in proving Betro's guilt and linked her to both the attempted attack in Birmingham and the ammunition DNA was found inside all three packages sent to frame the innocent Derby man, as well as on a black glove inside a Mercedes she had used as a getaway vehicle, following the attempted from both crime scenes were also compared and shown to be from the same person, the CPS confirmed. In separate proceedings to Betro, both Nazir, 31, and Aslam, 59, each from Derby, were jailed last year for conspiracy to faced trial this summer, ending up in a British court after a globetrotting international warrant for her arrest was issued by the UK in June 2024 and when law enforcement finally caught up with her, she had spent five years on the run. She was eventually tracked down in Armenia, where she was in hiding, and extradited to the week Betro was convicted of conspiracy to murder, possession of a firearm with intent and being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of Ali, on whom she had pulled the gun and tried to fire, was last year jailed for drugs and firearm offences unrelated to the incident in Birmingham. Det Ch Insp Alastair Orencas, from West Midlands Police, said an "incredible amount of work" had gone into building a picture of Betro's activities while she was in the explained how the Wisconsin native had posted pictures and videos of famous landmarks, in efforts to pass herself off as a tourist, when her real purpose was to commit murder."We worked really closely with partners such as the Armenian Government, NCA, FBI, Crown Prosecution Service and Derbyshire Constabulary to bring Betro back to the UK to face justice," he BBC has contacted the FBI for comment. John Sheehan, head of the CPS Extradition unit, said it was a "complex" investigation and extradition process which required bringing together multiple agencies."We worked together to make sure we had a watertight prima facie case in order to lawfully arrest Aimee Betro in a foreign country without her becoming aware and potentially fleeing again," he is due to be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on 21 August. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
