LANSING (WKZO AM/FM) — Attorney General Dana Nessel held her first news conference on Thursday and she generated a lot of headlines talking about the top three investigations she inherited from predecessor Bill Schuette and the way they have been handled.
The big three are Flint, the Larry Nassar Scandal, and pedophile priests in the Catholic Church.
She was critical of Michigan State University for their lack of cooperation.
She says she is looking into an allegation that former MSU Board Member George Perles agreed to resign before the end of Governor Rick Snyder’s term in exchange for the forgiveness of a $200,000 debt owed to the University.
She compared the probe into the Nassar Scandal at MSU to their examination of sex abuse in the Catholic Church, saying both institutions were more concerned about “protecting their brands” than getting to the truth.
She says she may prosecute priests no matter how old they are and she wants the church to set up a fund to help victims. She says there may be as many as 1,000 in Michigan.
And she disagreed with AG Bill Schuette’s decision to contract the investigation into the Flint water crisis out to a private law firm, calling it “bizarre”.
She says she is bringing it back in house, assigning a Solicitor General, and bringing in Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy to help review the 8 remaining criminal and 79 civil complaints to determine which will go forward.
(copy written by John McNeill)
