A township trustee is facing criminal charges after a grand jury indicted him last week. The results of the grand jury investigation released Tuesday say that Olive Township Trustee John Michalski is charged with two counts of Theft and one count of Official Misconduct.
The investigation began in 2012 after the State Board of Accounts released a report showing withdrawals from several casinos on the Township Trustee's card. Michalski is accused of spending township funds for personal use between December of 2009 and November of 2011.
Olive Township is in St. Joseph County. The chair of the county's Democratic Party is calling for Michalski to step down.
"While I certainly respect Mr. Michalski's right to profess his innocence
and contest the criminal charges, I find the allegations so troubling that I am calling
upon Mr. Michalski to resign his position of Olive Township Trustee immediately.
The mere allegation that Mr. Michalski used Olive Township tax dollars for personal
gain is so serious a breach of the public trust that I can see no way that he can carry on
his duties as Olive Township Trustee," said Broden in a written statement.
There is no word yet on a possible trial date.
