GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten today announced that John Dawood Dalaly, 71, of West Bloomfield, Michigan, was sentenced to serve 28 months in federal prison and fined $25,000 for paying bribes to Rick Vernon Johnson, the former Chairperson of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Licensing Board. Following his release from prison, Dalaly will serve two years on supervised release. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Jane Beckering.
“John Dalaly bribed a public official. He corrupted a process designed to give people a fair shot at entering this promising new market,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten “Now, he’ll serve time in a federal prison. Public corruption is a poison to our democracy, and we will hold offenders accountable whenever and wherever we find them.”
Rick Johnson was a member and the Chairperson of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Licensing Board (MMLB) between May 2017 and April 2019. Prior to his appointment to that Board, Johnson worked as a lobbyist in Lansing, Michigan, and served as Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives.
John Dalaly operated two companies that were formed with the purpose of obtaining various operating licenses from the MMLB or exploring the licensing of a digital currency platform for medical marijuana financial transactions. Dalaly admitted paying at least $68,200 in cash and other benefits (including private charter flights) to Johnson while he served as the Chair of the MMLB. In return, Johnson voted in favor of approving the prequalification status for one of Dalaly’s companies and voted in favor of granting medical marijuana licenses to that company. Johnson also provided valuable non-public information about the anticipated rules and operation of the MMLB and assistance with license application matters to Dalaly and others who paid him money.
“The corrupt activities uncovered in this case were facilitated by men whose desire for favorable treatment outweighed notions of integrity and fair play,” said Devin J. Kowalski, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “Public corruption is the FBI’s top criminal investigative priority and anyone who seeks to influence public officials through bribery will be thoroughly investigated.”
Rick Johnson’s sentencing for accepting bribes is scheduled for Thursday, September 28, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. in Grand Rapids before U.S. District Judge Jane Beckering. U.S. Attorney Mark Totten is scheduled to attend Johnson’s sentencing hearing and provide comments outside immediately following.
On Wednesday, October 18, 2023, sentencing hearings have been scheduled for Brian Pierce at 11 a.m. and Vince Brown at 1:30 p.m. in Grand Rapids before U.S. District Judge Jane Beckering.
Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher O’Connor and Clay Stiffler are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
More Posts
Search of vehicle after drug odor ruled illegal
A judge's ruling that a vehicle search prompted by an odor of marijuana was illegal. An Pennsylvania judge has ruled that state police who said they smelled marijuana in a vehicle weren't allowed to search the vehicle once they were shown the driver's medical...
DID OHIO LAWMAKERS ACCIDENTALLY LEGALIZE MARIJUANA?
10TV WBNS was the first to break the news Wednesday that the City of Columbus will no longer prosecute misdemeanor marijuana cases. City Attorney Zach Klein says the decision is based on complications after the state legalized hemp. On July 30, Ohio Governor Mike...
Marijuana Policy Reform Legislation Review 2019
From the Marijuana Policy Project who was founded in January 1995 and medical marijuana was illegal in every state. Favorable legislation had not been introduced in Congress in a decade. Since then, Congress has approved budget riders to protect state-legal...
Michigan Civil Forfeiture Asset Update 2019
Michigan Civil Forfeiture Asset 2019 Update from a 2017 ICLE interview on asset frofeiture with Michael Komorn and Jeff Frazier. US Supreme Court decided Tyson Timbs v. Indiana, 586 U.S. _____ (2019) on February 20, 2019. Tyson Timbs was convicted of drug charges...
Nevada to introduce first banking system for the cannabis industry.
Nevada officials to introduce the nation’s first banking system for the cannabis industry.
Social Equity (Adult-Use Marijuana)
The Social Equity Program is available as a provision under MRTMA to promote and encourage participation in the marijuana industry by people from communities that have been disproportionately impacted by marijuana prohibition and enforcement and to positively impact...
Federal data unmasks the epidemic of 76 billion opioid pills
There's a database maintained by the Drug Enforcement Administration that tracks the path of every single pain pill sold in the United States — from manufacturers and distributors to pharmacies in every town and city. The data provides an unprecedented look at...
Proposed bill would expunge records of many marijuana offenses
It was Nov 6th 2018... a date many will never forget...a date many never perceived marijuana would become legal in their lifetime... So many friends disappeared into the legal system, so many lives and families ruined...and so much potential suppressed. The legal...
Employers Can Refuse to Hire and Terminate Medical Marijuana Users
An employer can refuse to hire an applicant and terminate an employee who tests positive for marijuana.
Court Policies Still Punish the Poor with Fines-Jail-Probation-Debt
Court policies continue despite a 1983 U.S. Supreme Court decision that found it unconstitutional to incarcerate defendants too poor to pay fines.
