Pubdate: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 Source: Kalamazoo Gazette (MI) Copyright: 2000 Kalamazoo Gazette Contact: 401 S. Burdick St., Kalamazoo, MI. 49007 Fax: (616) 388-8447 Feedback: http://kz.mlive.com/about/kz/toeditor.html Website: http://kz.mlive.com/ Forum: http://kz.mlive.com/ Author: Chris Knape WARSHAWSKY - DRUG MONEY BEHIND ALLEGATIONS Former Van Buren Judge Wants To Return To Visiting Post In Oakland County Embattled former Van Buren County Judge Meyer Warshawsky said drug money is behind allegations of wrongdoing in Oakland County that resulted in his removal from the bench this week. The retired Van Buren County District Court judge was placed on leave from his post as an Oakland County visiting judge after allegations surfaced that he eavesdropped on juries and gave favorable treatment to prosecutors in drug cases. Warshawsky, who handles most of Oakland County's drug-related cases, denied the allegations and said he's looking forward to returning to the job once the investigation is completed. "Maybe the good that will come out of this is that people will know that we need people of courage to stand up to these things and hopefully do something about the drug menace in our country," Warshawsky said Friday. A court clerk told Oakland County authorities Warshawsky conspired with the Oakland County prosecuting attorney's office to ensure drug convictions. The clerk also alleged the judge listened to juror deliberations and asked female jurors out for drinks, according to The Associated Press. The Michigan Attorney General's office, the Michigan State Police and the FBI are looking into the claims. Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca has said his office will fully cooperate with the investigation. "In my humble opinion I do good work and maybe the drug dealers don't like having me there," said Warshawsky, who still lives in South Haven. "That's all I do five days a week is drug cases." Warshawsky alleges that Elbert Hatchett, the attorney representing the court clerk who raised the allegations with Oakland County Chief Judge Barry Howard, was criminally involved with drug money and had spent time in prison because of such charges. Hatchett was charged with tax evasion in 1988 and was sentenced in 1989 to three years in prison. He served 18 months of that sentence. Hatchett said the tax-evasion charges had nothing to do with drug money and that he's never been accused of, charged with or convicted of any drug-related charges. Warshawsky has been a visiting judge in Oakland County since he was forced to retire from his elected post as a Van Buren County Circuit Court judge in 1996. Michigan law prohibits a person over age 70 from running for a judicial post, but it allows appointment of visiting judges regardless of age. "I was downsized because I couldn't run again," Warshawsky said. "I was unemployed for two days, and I went to Oakland County for two months and have been there for four years. "They didn't keep me there because of my good looks. They kept me there because of the quality of my work, and the sincerity and my love of the law." Hatchett said he has no personal vendetta against Warshawsky and that he just wants a fair trial for those who come into the courtroom. "In my opinion, he was basically a prosecutor masked as a judge, and I told the presiding judge of that," Hatchett said. Hatchett said he hasn't tried a case in front of Warshawsky since he filed a complaint in 1998 that, among other things, alleged bias toward the prosecution and racism. "He made a racist comment to me," said Hatchett, who is black. "He called me a boy. The behavior toward me was outrageous." In a 1998 letter to then-Chief Judge Edward Sosnick, Hatchett said Warshawsky was either senile or bent on helping the prosecution get a conviction. "He was never an unbiased, neutral judge," Hatchett said Friday. The Oakland Press of Pontiac reported Friday that dozens of felony convictions could be at risk of being thrown out if the allegations against Warshawsky and unnamed members of the prosecutor's office prove true. The paper quoted one federal lawman and an attorney who expressed concern about what the allegations could mean for Oakland County cases. In Van Buren County, Prosecutor Juris Kaps said the courthouse has been abuzz about the allegations, but he was not worried about the probe into Warshawsky's alleged misconduct reaching back to the Paw Paw courthouse. While Van Buren prosecutors and Warshawsky often had major differences in opinion about cases, Kaps said he knows of no instance of any criminal wrongdoing or judicial misconduct by the judge. - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk