GRAND RAPIDS, MI – An Oakland County businessman was sentenced to prison for bribing former state House Speaker Rick Johnson while Johnson led a board that granted medical-marijuana licenses.
John Dalaly, 71, was sentenced Thursday, Sept. 14, to two years, four months in prison by U.S. District Judge Jane Beckering in Grand Rapids.
Beckering said bribing public officials erodes confidence in government and institutions.
“It must be made known to the public that bribing a pubic official is unacceptable in the United States of America,” Beckering told Dalaly.
She noted that Dalaly was considered a respected family man, married 45 years with three daughters, and had not been in trouble with the law before. She said he acted out of greed in an effort to obtain highly sought-after licenses for medical-marijuana facilities.
Dalaly paid Johnson $68,200 in cash and gifts in 2018. That included private chartered flights to Canada via companies Dalaly operated. One was a dispensary, while the other was to be a “digital currency platform for marijuana transactions,” the plea agreement said.
Related: Businessman pleads guilty in marijuana bribery case involving former Michigan House speaker
Johnson was chairperson of the now-defunct medical-marijuana licensing board. He was Speaker of the House from 2001 to 2004.
Johnson and two lobbyists, Tyler Brown and Brian Pierce, have also pleaded guilty to charges in the case. Johnson is set to be sentenced on Sept. 28, while Brown and Pierce will be sentenced Oct. 18.
Dalaly said that Johnson recommended he use his wife, Jan, as a consultant and paid her $4,000 a month to help navigate the then-new industry.
As part of Johnson’s plea deal, his wife was not charged. Outside of the courtroom, Dalaly’s attorney, Raymond Cassar, said that Johnson’s wife should have been charged, too.
He had asked that his client be confined to his home, rather than incarceration, given his age and health. He said it was apparent that the judge wanted to deter others from getting involved in bribery schemes.
Cassar said earlier that Dalaly acted as “facilitator” to a Canadian marijuana investment company, PharmaCo, but did not own or work for the businesses. Last year, Red, White & Bloom reportedly acquired its Michigan operations with 21 medical and recreational licenses.
Cassar said his client was the first to come forward and admit guilt. His cooperation will get him labeled as a “snitch,” or “cooperator,” in prison as well as the community.
Cassar also emphasized that his client had no role in allegedly paying a sex worker for Johnson.
Federal prosecutors on Thursday, in detailing bribe payments to Johnson, wrote: “Additionally, at Johnson’s request, Pierce paid a total of $2,000 to the woman who had commercial sex with Johnson. Those amounts do not include other miscellaneous benefits provided to Johnson by Pierce and Brown, including tickets to sporting events.”
Related: Ex-Michigan House speaker, 3 others to plead guilty in marijuana bribery probe
Dalaly, in an emotional statement to the court, said: “I am ashamed, hurt … sorry for what I did to my wife of 45 years, my three daughters … . I’m beyond remorseful for my actions.”
He said he cannot sleep and thinks about the bribery case every day.
“The hurt, the pain and the shame I’ve brought to my family. … My family has been punished.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay Stiffler said Dalaly made 25 bribes over the course of 14 months. He discounted the notion that Dalaly did not understand how the medical-marijuana business worked and was just seeking help.
“They knew these were bribes from the get-go,” he told the judge. He said that Dalaly initially lied to investigators about his involvement before he decided to cooperate.
He said that Dalaly “corrupted the process” of the industry that brought in $2.3 billion last year in Michigan.
“This is not a mistake. It’s not a bad decision. It’s an ongoing course of conduct,” he said.
Federal prosecutors, however, asked that his cooperation with investigators be considered at sentencing.
The judge allowed Dalaly to self-surrender to prison after the direction of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. He was fined $25,000. Once his prison sentence ends, he will spend two years on supervised release.
Read more:
Pilot dead, missing plane found crashed in Southwest Michigan
Lead testing requirement for kids nears approval by Michigan officials
Where Michigan road construction could affect weekend traffic
A Michigan police chief broke a finger defending a no-hats rule in 2006. The rule may change.
Recent Comments