Ex-prosecutor accused of soliciting lawyer's murder, jailed in lieu of $5M bond
A 59-year-old former prosecutor is being held in Grand Traverse County jail in lieu of $5 million bond, charged with soliciting the murder of a fellow Michigan attorney.
Clarence Gomery is accused of offering a handyman $20,000 to kill attorney Christopher Cooke, who represented Gomery’s former business partner in a contentious civil case, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reports.
“We would guess that may be the basis,” said Grand Traverse County Sheriff Tom Bensley of the civil suit, when asked about a possible motive. The suit resulted in a jury verdict against Gomery for fraud and malpractice, as well as a $315,000 sanctions award, the newspaper reports.
An investigation was launched when the handyman went to authorities.
“I was trying to be a morally sound person and do the right thing, to do what any law-abiding citizen would do,” Dale Fisher told the Record-Eagle.
