Republican Kent County Prosecutor Bill Forsyth said today he halted the investigation into Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger (R-Monroe) and Rep. Roy Schmidt (R-Grand Rapids) because he wanted the information about Bolger and Schmidt's scheme to be made public prior to the election.
If he continued with his investigation, the Detroit News reports, Forsyth said it could have continued beyond November.
Prosecutor Bill Forsyth said Monday he did not pursue cellphone records for House Speaker Jase Bolger and cellphone and email records for Rep. Roy Schmidt because he wanted voters in the 76th District to know about Schmidt and Bolger's scheme to deprive voters of a legitimate Democratic candidate.
Forsyth released a scathing report on Bolger and Schmidt on July 17, 2012.
The report detailed how Schmidt conspired with Speaker Bolger to switch parties and run as a Republican, while at the same time setting up a "patsy" Democrat to run against Schmidt.
Schmidt’s son offered to pay his friend, 22-year-old Matthew Mojzak, to be the decoy.
Forsyth said the request for more records would have delayed the investigation further.
"I didn't think I could sit on this until September or October without this coming out," Forsyth told The Detroit News. "By not putting it out there, I would be influencing the election as well."
At the time he released his report, Forsyth said he didn't think criminal activity took place.
This morning, the Detroit Free Press reported that a Michigan State Police detective believed Bolger and Schmidt "may have conspired to commit perjury when they recruited a fake Democratic candidate to run for a Grand Rapids House seat..."
