TRAVERSE CITY -- Authorities in Grand Traverse County are investigating whether retail giant Meijer committed any crimes by funding last February's recall of Acme Township officials.
Concerns raised by Acme officials prompted Grand Traverse Prosecutor Alan Schneider to ask state police to investigate whether Meijer used corporate funds to influence a failed attempt to recall the Acme Township board.
"If there was corporate money used to influence the outcome of an election, it does have some criminal penalties," Schneider said.
Documents produced through a lawsuit show Grand Rapids public relations firm Seyferth Spaulding Tennyson Inc., billed Meijer more than $30,000 to secretly manage a recall effort against the township board over ongoing zoning disputes.
Seyferth crafted recall language, devised election strategy, wrote campaign literature and used local residents as figureheads, according to the records. The contributions weren't reported to the state.
Meijer spokeswoman Stacie Behler said Schneider's office has not contacted the company, but pledged the Grand Rapids-based chain will "fully cooperate."
State law prohibits corporations from contributing to political campaigns; it's a felony violation with a maximum fine of $10,000, but prosecutions are rare.
Kelly Chesney, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, said no one has filed a campaign finance complaint against Meijer, and Land's office has no intention of initiating its own probe.
"The department is going to work with Meijer and wait to see what they provide to us," Chesney said.
Record-Eagle stories on Dec. 23 revealed Meijer's involvement in the recall; the Grand Rapids-based retailer then contacted Land by telephone and letter and advised her "that we have recently become aware of information regarding certain financial contributions made by Meijer to a local taxpayers' group in Acme Township."
William S. Noakes, Jr., Meijer Executive Vice President and General Counsel, told Land by letter the company is completing a review "and will quickly meet any reporting requirements that emerge."
Acme Supervisor Wayne Kladder and trustees Paul Scott, Erick Takayama and Frank Zarafonitis asked township attorney Chris Bzdok to file a criminal complaint with Schneider.
Bzdok said he provided investigators copies of Seyferth's billings and other lawsuit documents, as well as copies of video depositions of Acme Recall Committee Treasurer Lewis Griffith, Meijer attorney Timothy Stoepker, and Ron Reinhold, a member of citizens group Acme Taxpayers for Responsible Government.
Bzdok said that Griffith and Stoepker, while under oath during depositions, denied knowledge of Meijer's involvement in the recall. Stoepker, in fact, signed the contract with Seyferth, Spaulding, Tennyson Inc., which billing documents show did extensive work for the recall committee.
Schneider said Bzdok did not file a perjury complaint or ask him to investigate the failure to report the recall expenditures, but said investigators won't ignore any potential violations.
"The investigation will take its own course," Schneider said. "Wherever the case leads, the investigator will follow those facts."
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