I Gave Mayor's Text Messages to Paper, Lawyer Testifies in Discipline Case
A plaintiffs lawyer apparently ignited more of a controversy than he expected when, as he now admits, he provided copies to a local newspaper of steamy text messages between the then-mayor of Detroit and a top aide.
Testifying today as a defendant in an attorney discipline case brought against himself and other attorneys over their handling of settlement negotiations in which the mayor attempted to suppress the messages from publication, Mike Stefani said he gave a copy of the text messages to the Detroit Free Press for safekeeping in 2007, a few days after he received them, according to the Detroit Free Press.
As discussed in earlier ABAJournal.com posts, the $8.4 million settlement in a police whistle-blower case that resulted from the negotiations became controversial, eventually leading to then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s resignation from office and loss of his license to practice law, after he agreed to a plea bargain in a related criminal case.
Meanwhile, today’s testimony appears likely to create further trouble for Stefani: Members of the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board stopped the hearing after his testimony to discuss whether new legal ethics charges should be filed against him.
“His admission provides evidence that he provided false statements in two previous sets of testimony and may require investigation of perjury,” argued attorney Robert Edick, who is prosecuting the case for the state’s Attorney Grievance Commission, reports the Detroit News.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Did 5 Detroit Lawyers Craft $8.4M Pact to Conceal Ex-Mayor’s Perjury?”
Last updated Oct. 9 to add the word “million” to “$8.4 million settlement.”
