July 13, 2010

Dear Readers:

I am writing this to clarify a few points made by Ms. Eva Webb, a councilwoman in the City of Romulus, pertaining to my statements made in the The Little Paper dated July 2, 2010.

Point #1) Ms. Webb claims that she had nothing to do with the fact that charges were unjustly brought against me.

It is my understanding that several people, including the Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor, indicated that Ms. Webb, through her contacts in Wayne County, was trying to apply significant pressure on the Prosecutor’s Office to prosecute this case to the fullest extent. Fortunately, for the people of Romulus, the assistant prosecutor had enough common sense to see the false claims for what they were, utterly lacking of any evidence or support; and instead of wasting the taxpayers money conducting a frivolous trial, the Assistant Prosecutor offered a plea arrangement. In fact the assistant prosecutor even acknowledged that the case against me appeared to be more politically motivated than anything else. For Ms. Webb to claim otherwise is simply untrue. The only reason I settled this case was due to the risk of protracted trial time, with which would have come with insurmountable attorney fees.

Point #2) Ms. Webb, claims that she was not required to sign a sworn statement for the Romulus police department.

Of course Ms. Webb was not required to sign a sworn statement, and she is right there were police reports and other sworn statements given by myself and the only eyewitness. However, according to the police report dated 10/5/09, Case No. #09-5398, Ms. Webb was contacted by the investigating officer, made a statement claiming to have “heard Williams make a sound as if she was just struck in the chest.” Webb further told the investigating officer that “Williams was on the cell phone with her before Williams walked in the headquarters.” However, when the officer asked Ms. Williams to give a sworn statement testifying to the above facts, she refused. Which begs the question, why? If what she was telling the investigator was true, why not sign a sworn statement? The only reason that I know of for a person to refuse to sign a sworn statement for a police investigation is because that person’s statement is false, and it is a crime to sign a false statement for the police. Obviously I don’t know for sure as to what Ms. Webb’s rationale was for refusing to sign the sworn statement, only she can speak to that. However, if anyone has any questions regarding the police report, and Ms. Webb’s refusal to sign the sworn statement, it is public record and I have no problem sharing it with anyone upon request. I have nothing to hide. And for the record, Ms. Williams was not on the phone at any time during her presence at the headquarters.

Point #3) Ms. Webb wants me to, “live with the consequence,” of my choice.

My family and I are living with the “consequences” of my decision, quite proudly I might add. I did nothing wrong and was unjustly accused by Ms. Williams and Ms. Webb of a crime I didn’t commit. And Ms. Webb is correct, I did choose to accept the Prosecutor’s offer of the Plea, as I was fully aware of the undue and unethical political pressure being perpetrated through the Wayne County Prosecutors’ Office, and simply could not afford the financial burden of further prolonging this. However, the truth always prevails at some point, and I will not cover up someone’s attempt to corrupt the legal process in the manner I have described. If Ms. Webb feels the facts are different then what I have said, I challenge her to come forward with evidence to the contrary.
Disingenuous would be the best word I could use to describe Ms. Webb’s feeble attempt at diverting attention from her involvement in this matter. It was she that took Ms. Williams to the Wayne County Prosecutors’ Office to demand charges, after the Romulus Police Department investigation clearly showed a complete and utter lack of evidence to the alleged incident. It is my opinion that Ms. Webb and Ms. Williams fabricated this incident in an attempt to accomplish one of two objectives. The first, if I were convicted of a felony, which is what Ms. Webb was allegedly pressuring the county to charge, I would have been forced to vacate my seat on the board of education – a clear political motive. The second objective, had I accepted and/or received anything other than “no contest” plea, they would have had the opportunity to further harass me with a civil lawsuit. Make no mistake, this entire string of events was calculated and intentional from the start.
I will be happy to continue defending myself in this matter, and stand ready and make sure that the entire true story is out if necessary. One would think that I am not naive enough to print an allegation that I cannot back up with proof. Perhaps, Ms. Webb, we can move forward and work in our respective arenas to serve the residents of our City, instead of wasting time on your petty squabbles. In closing I will note that it appears Ms. Webb had the courage to sign her name to her recent statement as opposed to the false statements she gave to the police and for that I commend her.

Sincerely,
Robert W. McLachlan