Peter Lucido's conduct described as 'rude,' 'unprofessional,' 'brutal' in investigation

An independent workplace investigation into Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido concluded that he made inappropriate statements containing sexual comments and/or sexual innuendo and that he used county personnel and other resources for personal and some campaign-type activities.

A nine-page memorandum, produced after a months-long investigation by Butzel Long law firm of workplace complaints, indicated 16 current and former employees of the prosecutor's office were interviewed.

The investigator tried to interview Lucido, but through his legal counsel, he "refused to appear for an investigatory interview," according to the memorandum dated Friday.

"This so called 'report' is nothing more than a collection of unchallenged complaints," said Cameron Evans, Lucido's attorney. "These sorts of complaints have always, and should have, followed the grievance process under union contracts. That would have complied with essential due process, including the opportunity of the accused to confront his accusor."

Evans said County Executive Mark Hackel, with whom Lucido has been in a long-simmering rift about his budget, commissioned the law firm to "seek out complaints and draw conclusions and recommendations against an elected official he clearly dislikes." He said the executive doesn't have the authority to hire an outside law firm to investigate another countywide elected official.

Lucido told the Free Press "this is retaliatory."

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The memorandum comes two years after an internal investigation found that Lucido, then a state senator, engaged in inappropriate workplace behavior. After that investigation, he said he never sexually harassed anyone.

It was dated the same day Lucido said members of his staff were "devastated" in their belief that the fatal shooting of a Detroit police officer might have been averted if his office had more staff to help with a current case that might have put the suspect behind bars earlier.

And just a week earlier, ex-Macomb County prosecutor Eric Smith reported to federal prison to serve a sentence on a kickback scheme involving his campaign fund while he awaits trial for allegedly embezzling money from his former office's drug and forfeiture funds.

The memorandum about Lucido includes complaints, findings and recommendations that Lucido be provided training concerning the Elliott-Larson Civil Rights Act and applicable county policies. If he doesn't agree to undergo training and modify his behavior, the investigator recommended the county "engage legal counsel for possible legal action to force Prosecutor Lucido to comply" with applicable law and county employment policies.

It recommends that the county refer the campaign-type allegations to the Michigan Secretary of State pursuant to the state's campaign finance act and to the county's ethics board for the use of county personnel and resources for personal purposes.

Deputy County Executive Andrew McKinnon, who was the county's human resources director before he was promoted, said they are reviewing the investigation and determining what the next steps will be, including the recommendations from Butzel Long.

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McKinnon said if this was an department director, the person would have mandated training and "significant discipline." County Corporation Counsel John Schapka said "if this investigation scrutinized my workplace conduct and reached these findings of fact, I would have been fired by now."

Lucido is a countywide elected official.

"What we would like is for him to address his behavior, that's our intent," McKinnon said, adding that they would like Lucido to work in a way that respects everyone in his office "and that's not what we saw in these reports."

"This falls far below our expectations with treating staff with dignity and respect," he said. "That's something we're not OK with."

According to the memorandum, nine people reported Lucido treating female administrative staff in an offensive manner and less favorably than male staff. His conduct toward female staff was described as "rude," "curt," "unprofessional" and "brutal," it stated.

Two people reported that on Valentine's Day Lucido said "that he would 'like some kisses from his ladies,'” according to the memorandum. It stated another person reported that after a newspaper article was published about a photo of him at a fundraiser touching a woman on her backsideLucido said: "Where was I supposed to put my hand, she has a big ass."

It said two people reported that he once referred to a female employee as "Double-D." One person reported being offended by his statement because the person thought he was referencing the female employee's breasts. However, that female employee said she was not offended and did not think he was referencing her breasts.

Another person said that Lucido once told a former female employee that he liked her shoes and she was "kicking up some smoke" and that he asked her to wear the shoes again before her last day of work, according to the memorandum.

Two people said that when an assistant prosecutor volunteered to a district court role, Lucido asked if she could still fit into her court clothes, according to the memorandum.

It stated that a female said she was hugged without consent by Lucido's chief assistant when she was called into a meeting with him and Lucido in March. Lucido reportedly came very close to her and "asked how close someone had to be in order to get a reaction," the memo stated. Lucido said he was talking about a specific case and "he was demonstrating his point by getting uncomfortably close to her."

Lucido reportedly kept using the phrase "agent provacateur" and was told by his chief assistant to stop and that when he typed the phrase into an internet search engine, it returned results for a lingerie website. Lucido then reportedly said the person "would probably have her husband go to the website and have things boxed up for her," according to the memorandum.

Four people also reported Lucido used or was suspected of using county personnel and resources to conduct campaign-related and other personal activities. They reported the following, per the memorandum:

• Using county employees to reveiw local newspapers and clip articles to identify potential recipients of campaign-style notes referred to as "Happy Notes" and "Tributes"

• Using county employees to draft these notes and to prepare certificates congratulating local high school seniors on their graduations

• Using county resources, including postage, to mail the notes and certificates

• Using county personnel and resources to work on campaign issues, such as water bottles and press releases and printing off campaign invoices

• Using county personnel and resources to work on non-prosecutor office business, such as trustee documents and/or obtaining access for Lucido as trustee to a trust.

• A former chief of staff sent an email to certain county employees in the prosecutor's office requesting their personal email addresses so communications were not available on county email servers

The report states Lucido also used race as a factor to determine which assistant prosecutor he would assign to the warrant division and that he made inappropriate comments regarding a candidate for assistant prosecutor after interviewing him.

It also states Lucido subjected several assistant prosecutors to increased scrutiny and may have targeted one, although his motive for doing so is unknown because Lucido was not interviewed.

Contact Christina Hall: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Investigation: Macomb prosecutor made sexual statements, used staff