Rick Johnson’s Pay to Play Marijuana Licenses.

**ABetterDetroit** · September-26-23, 06:27 PM

This was how the winners were picked in a brand new 3 Billion dollar industry in Michigan? Startling how little people seem to care about the complete corruption at the highest level of state government when the legalization came through. No swamp was getting drained here, more like they couldn’t fill their pockets fast enough.

Mayor Duggan made a smart play by pumping the brakes on licenses in Detroit. Willing to bet he heard what was going on and wanted to make sure the city was left out of the corruption the rest of the metro couldn’t get a piece of fast enough. Doubt he will get an ounce of credit for that though…

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne...h/70784435007/

**Gistok** · September-26-23, 07:59 PM

Paywall......

**ABetterDetroit** · September-26-23, 09:19 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

Paywall......

https://www.freep.com/story/news/pol...s/70856489007/

**Richard** · September-26-23, 10:26 PM

"thousands of dollars worth of commercial sex" with a sex worker

I must be getting old,we used to just call em hookers.

Now they are commercial sex workers ,makes it sound legit and kinda cold at the same time.

Is commercial sex with a sex worker any different then sex with a hooker ? Asking for a friend.

**slick** · September-27-23, 04:38 PM

[QUOTE=Richard;637375]"

Is commercial sex with a sex worker any different?

Maybe in Amsterdam, need a health card.

**Richard** · September-28-23, 08:42 AM

[QUOTE=slick;637391]

Originally Posted by Richard

"

Is commercial sex with a sex worker any different?

Maybe in Amsterdam, need a health card.

Arizona also,the Amsterdam of the past is no more,real estate prices and image change moved the vices to a red light district outside of Amsterdam.

So no more window shopping and a much more subdued version of smoke shops.

In this case I doubt they sent him a crack hoe and a $3000 - $5000 a night ummm Commercial sex worker not being clean is detrimental to their income so regulated or not as a rule they maintain regular check ups.

In spite of everything else at least this guy probably does not have to worry about dying from related diseases in jail.

But it all goes back to where they get the estimated 3 billion industry when it is a all cash business.

**Henry Whalley** · September-28-23, 03:59 PM

'I am a corrupt politician'

After Rick Johnson writes that on the board 100 times, my guess is that he'll be transferred from Club Fed to a half-way whore house.

'My name is Batman, and I'm a Bagman'

After he writes that 100 times, he'll be vice-presidential material.

**Lowell** · September-28-23, 04:42 PM

I notice that he was sentenced to 55 months in prison today.

**Richard** · September-28-23, 05:50 PM

70 years old and just had a catheter put in,doubt it will be in a regular fed prison,they do not say out of all of them arrested who rolled over but most of the others got 2 years.

Odd way of ending a career in politics that spanned decades over a couple of million,he probably could have made more in the private sector consulting.

There has been a lot of cases lately of corruption,most of it is over stupid amounts of money,it’s different talking a risk for $50 million but to take that risk for a couple of thousand or even $2 mil it’s not worth it.

$2 mil is a chunck of change but not worth looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life.

**Lowell** · September-29-23, 08:23 AM

Originally Posted by Richard

There has been a lot of cases lately of corruption,most of it is over stupid amounts of money,it’s different talking a risk for $50 million but to take that risk for a couple of thousand or even $2 mil it’s not worth it.

$2 mil is a chunck of change but not worth looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life.

Or as Rodney Dangerfield famously said, "My old man was so stupid he got fired from the bank for stealing pencils".

And still they do it.

**ABetterDetroit** · September-29-23, 05:13 PM

Just an assumption but I don’t believe that suddenly at the end of his career that he decided to be on the take. Someone who is corrupt most likely was always dirty. Morals are not something that you just wake up one day and are gone from your life. Most criminals just get more brazen until caught. Just because this case involved a high level politician why should we think any different than a street criminal?

**Richard** · September-30-23, 12:17 AM

That was my first thought but on the other hand we have a tendency to try to think the best in people.

But he was using burner phones to cover his tracks,not something the average person thinks of ,supposed to destroy them after each conversation,while keeping the conversation under that time frame,and use a new one,with the technology today they can track and intercept a burner just as fast as any other.

Can say it a million times but it continues to be peoples downfall,Do not talk in the phone - period.

They just busted a bunch of Miami politicians also,but it is just another day.

I kinda think public corruption will always be there,but personally I judge it on benefit to the public,like if somebody bribed a CEO to being a factory to a city that provides jobs or a CEO bribed a public official to do the same thing.

A necessary evil for the public benefit,but when it is corruption designed strictly for personal benefit at the cost of the public benefit it’s different.

At the end of the day these politicians do not go into office as a freshman with no net worth then 10 years later are worth $50 million without some shenanigans going on.

I knew a guy that was a general under the Shaw of Iran,they all had sectors and nobody did any transactions in that sector without giving him his cut,you could not even sell a chicken without the kickback.

It’s a way of life and how things get done in a lot of countries,we like to think in this country we hold a higher standard when it comes to public corruption,but we do not really,we are just as corrupt as any 3rd world country,we are just not so open about it.

This guy may have just been looking for that golden parachute,but the way he went about it kinda says it’s not the first rodeo and most likely they will start digging deeper.

Or not,sometimes for the public good they take the stance of letting sleeping dogs lay.

Could have been somebody else did not get their cut or not enough and crashed it down,the feds did not just wake up one day and decide to check it out.

Wait until they figure out the bridge thing,the terms of the deal was,any corruption and the contract gets terminated,but the cycle will continue as it always has done.

In the business world winners and losers are picked everyday it does not matter if it is with an envelope of cash or cloaked under the guise of incentives,at the end of the day it is the same thing,money traded for favors,the only difference is with incentives the public has a bit of chance that it will benefit the public,but we know that is not always the case.

All the feds really do is keep it in check so it does not become rampant,it was not that long ago when,judges,politicians,police departments were all for sale,everybody had their price,but not so much anymore,so they are doing some kind of advancement anyways.

It’s kinda strange like that 80s 90s was no different then the 1920s Chicago,you would have thought that we evolved as a country sense then but it always boils down to cash talks loyalty walks.

Thats why they got rid of the mob,the politicians did not like the competition and now the states picked up all of the vices that they profited from,made them legal and tax them.

So things are really only illegal until the gov figures out how to profit from it then they become conveniently legal.

This is an example of the really sick stuff

https://apnews.com/article/politics-...05da9441c5d8ea

**ABetterDetroit** · November-16-23, 05:13 PM

Looks like Mr. Johnson has a doctors note to get out of going to prison…

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne...n/71602477007/

**Richard** · November-17-23, 01:52 AM

I had a friend that spent time in that prison,it’s where you want to be if you are going to do time

FPC Duluth offers a gymnasium with basketball, volleyball, racquetball, indoor soccer, handball, and cardiovascular conditioning equipment. A theater screens movies, and an activity center houses pool tables, a ping pong table, a card room, and some casual literature. A hobby craft area offers ceramics, painting, drawing, and leathercraft. Many outside amenities are available, including a softball field, soccer field, bocce courts, hockey, horseshoes, handball, and a walking track. Inmates may listen to selected CDs using a personal radio through a system that broadcasts within the Activity Center, Gymnasium, and outdoor recreation areas.

Outside of the fact that you cannot leave,it’s nicer then where most people live,let alone spend prision time,it’s an old Air Force base.