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https://www.vote.org/?source=post_page—–ba1e4b54c5fc——————————–
If you are one of those people who think voting is a waste of time, or that your day-to-day life doesn’t depend on who you vote for at every level, think again. If you think I exaggerate about voting like your life depends on it, if you voted for L. Brooks Patterson for prosecutor for his term covering the years 1976 and 1977, think about how that vote impacted my brother Tim’s life and the course of a 43-year-old, still unsolved investigation into the serial murder of four Oakland County children. I believe this was due not only to Patterson’s direct actions in January 1977 (going along with voodoo doctor/MSP polygrapher Ralph Cabot in clearing Chris Busch and Greg Greene despite a mountain of evidence that should have required further investigation, then publicly stating both men had been cleared in the OCCK case in the weeks before my brother’s body was found in Wayne County after Busch got pass after pass from prosecutors and judges and was roaming the streets) and in 1978 after Busch was found dead, but also because of the kind of person he was. Concerned only about himself, his image and his political advancement and power. Sound like someone you know of today?
This article from the Ann Arbor Sun, dated November 5, 1975, was referenced by a reader:
Here is a nauseating 2011 interview of Patterson, sent by another reader:
Again I cite to the most cogent comment I have ever read on the subject of Patterson’s involvement in the OCCK case by a reader of my blog. The comment is in the center of the body of the post. I reread this comment from time to time after someone gaslights me in this case. It reassures me that I am not crazy:
https://catherinebroad.blog/2020/05/17
Yes, the corruption was already baked in. While Chris Busch was getting pass after pass–special treatment reserved for those with big money and a parent with big influence–from Birmingham PD, Bloomfield PD, the Oakland County prosecutor, Oakland County judges and judges and prosecutors from other counties around Michigan, and the BIG PASS from the Michigan State Police, the ticking time bomb was on the streets waiting to make someone like my 11-year-old brother another statistic.
Still think your vote for prosecutor, sheriff or a judge doesn’t matter? That it’s not worth a little consideration beyond “incumbent” or the designation R or D?
The hold on power in OC and specifically in the OCCK case leaves us relegated to waiting for a whistleblower. Not for someone to come forward with a tip about one of the many dead pedophiles from that area, but a literal whistleblower from the Oakland County prosecutor’s office or the Michigan State Police. Someone knows how and why this case got sidetracked the way it did and where all of the hundreds of thousands of dollars allegedly designated for the OCCK investigation went. I’d love to see your database in this case, MSP. Computerized yet? How about even a document detailing the status of every piece of evidence in this case, what has been tested, retested, extinguished in testing, where and how the physical is now being stored, what tests are pending?
Oakland County has always had an interesting way of doing business. See, for example, https://catherinebroad.blog/2019/08/10/delete-delete-delete-now/. You better keep your eye on the people preparing the “home cooking” in Oakland County. Not much appears to have changed over four decades. It doesn’t affect you, you might say. Until it does and then you are screwed. Need a whistleblower? It’s not happening on Planet Oakland County.
Someone asked me if I had any recommendations about the judicial races in Oakland County. I don’t. I’ve warned before about the recommendations provided by state bar associations governing attorneys. And give some thought to why criminal defense attorney groups or prosecutors or law enforcement groups would support certain judges. It’s all bullshit. I think the better course is to do your own research online and if you don’t know the judge personally and can’t find any reassuring information in your online search, leave the choice blank. Just because someone’s name is on the ballot does not mean they deserve the job, even if they are running unopposed. You might end up reaffirming a judge like this, https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2020/10/03/judge-truman-morrison-sexual-assault-allegation/?arc404=true. Or keep a judge on the bench like the one in Flint who reduced Busch’s bond down from $75,000 to $1,000 after his January 1977 arrest for numerous CSCs with minors. You know, a “special treatment” judge.
As always, Oakland County has additional other little twists. A few years ago I received an email from someone in Michigan who described the following about Michigan judges, specifically in Oakland County. It’s worth considering.
As a rule no non-incumbent ever runs for Oakland County Circuit Judge unless it’s an election where there is an open seat meaning the candidate is not challenging an incumbent seeking re-election. Reason: if a lawyer runs against an incumbent and loses the entire Oakland Circuit bench will punish that lawyer for having challenged a member of their club and the lawyer’s practice can be ruined. A racket, and what a cesspool , indeed!
So when you vote, think about who that person has the power to oversee, the power to appoint, the power to crush; who they may owe favors to, what their biases are, and if they are one of the all-too-common types who will succumb to undue influence. From the guy on planning and zoning who throws all the decisions in favor of his developer/builder buddies; to a city council member who is afraid to take on a rogue police chief; to a judge too lazy to do the real work but knows how to avoid being reversed on appeal; to a sheriff who is a “make no waves/do no real good,” highly compensated good old boy; to a prosecutor who violates his or her oath on the regular. The ramifications can be serious indeed. And that’s just at the local level. This time shit’s gotten really real at every level.
Make sure you are registered to vote, vote early and follow every single instruction very carefully so your voice is heard. If you are lucky enough to live in a state providing vote tracking for mail-in or drop-off ballots, be sure to sign up for texts and emails so you will know about your ballot status.