BEULAH -- A state attorney grievance board filed a complaint against Benzie County Prosecutor Anthony Cicchelli for ordering the dismissal of his stepson's speeding ticket.
The Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission served Cicchelli with a formal complaint Oct. 10, said commission attorney Cynthia Bullington. The complaint alleges Cicchelli committed "professional misconduct" by ordering a magistrate to dismiss a speeding ticket issued to his stepson, Larry Marshall Hoffman, 21.
Michigan State Police on March 18 ticketed Hoffman for driving 60 mph in a 55-mph zone on U.S. 31. About a week later, Cicchelli ordered Benzie Magistrate Hope Cicansky to throw out the ticket. In 2007, Hoffman received a warning letter from the Michigan Secretary of State office after he received three moving violations in less than two years.
The next step is for Cicchelli to file a formal response to the grievance commission's complaint, Bullington said. A Dec. 1 hearing is scheduled in front of an attorney panel. Punishment for such a violation likely would be "low-end type of discipline for conflict of interest," Bullington said.
Cicchelli wouldn't comment, his secretary said Monday.
Bullington, citing confidentiality rules, wouldn't discuss who contacted her office or when, but said the commission's complaint was filed after several months of investigation. Anyone can ask the grievance commission to investigate alleged wrongdoings.
She also wouldn't comment on whether the commission is looking into other allegations against Cicchelli.
"My office can only comment on matters that are filed publicly," she said. "This is the only public filing we have in regards to (Cicchelli)."
Cicchelli, first elected in 1996, has been in trouble with the grievance commission before. In 2005, he pleaded no contest to a complaint that he made "negligently inaccurate statements" to a magistrate and state police during the investigation of a 2002 incident where he dismissed a speeding ticket for a friend.
An attorney panel found Cicchelli committed professional misconduct. He was ordered to serve 40 hours of community service and attend a "professional enhancement workshop."
The Michigan attorney general's office investigated the accusations for criminal wrongdoing in 2003 before the case was referred to the grievance commission.
Cicchelli in July dropped his bid for re-election. Beulah attorney John B. Daugherty, a Republican, will face off against Lake Ann attorney Michael Lawrence Smith, a Democrat, in the Nov. 4 election.
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