By Brandon Hall
(Email him at WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com)
---UPDATED---4/18/24---1:49 PM---
In an emailed statement to West Michigan Politics, Judge Victoria Shackelford produced a letter dated April 12th from the Assistant US Attorneys in the Eastern District, Frances Lee Carlson, and Robert Moran.
"Dear Judge Shackelford:
Please be advised that you are not presently, nor have you previously been, the target of an investigation conducted in this district relating to, in general terms, public officials in the City of Taylor corruptly receiving benefits from Shady Awad and others."
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Blockbuster court documents obtained exclusively by West Michigan Politics show Judge Victoria Shackelford, who was appointed to the bench by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2021, bought a $180,000 house for just $130,000---then demanded $15,000 in free home improvements.
Judge Shackelford even wrote a check for a lot adjacent to the property, but had the check returned back to her---uncashed.
Shackelford, a former Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor, is the Chief Judge of the 23rd District Court.
After extensive rumination, though it is *technically* public information and very much news worthy, West Michigan Politics won't identify the address---nor publish photos of Judge Shackelford's home---because of (obvious) safety precautions, as the Judge is married with 3 children.
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| Judge Victoria Shackelford |
Shackelford needed to live in the City of Taylor in order to get the appointment from Governor Whitmer ahead of the retirement of Judge Geno Salamone.
A source tells West Michigan Politics that Judge Shackelford is now under FBI investigation over the sketchy real estate deals. However, a letter from federal prosecutors to her says that Shackelford has "not presently, nor have you previously been, the target of an investigation conducted in this district relating to, in general terms, public officials in the City of Taylor corruptly receiving benefits from Shady Awad and others."
(West Michigan Politics has a history of breaking stories involving federal investigations, including Rick Johnson, and Mike Mitchell.)
The bombshell revelations about Judge Shackelford come from hundreds of pages of Shady Awad's testimony in the court case involving former Taylor Mayor Rick Sollars.
Yes, his real name is Shady, which is just fantastic---and ironically, his testimony is extremely credible. His sentencing depends on it! After personally reviewing hundreds of pages of it, this guy is no "jailhouse snitch," he is the real deal.
The plan was for Shady to profit while the City Of Taylor would make money off increased property taxes the buyers would then be paying.
Shackelford wasn't the only beneficiary: Sollars asked Shady that one of the houses be given to Taylor baseball star Steve Avery, and others.
Shady testified that he gave Shackelford the discounted house and did other favors for Sollars to keep from being harassed by City officials...
That included a humidor and Cubans for his Mayoral office, thousands in cash bribes--- including one Sollars picked up at a dispensary that "smelled like weed"---and Vegas trips featuring uncollected gambling "loans," and free hookers for Sollars.
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| Vegas hookers, and Rick Sollars |
This is a breaking story with more details coming soon---stay tuned to West Michigan Politics for more details!
>>>Media outlets seeking the hundreds of pages of official court documents, or any other information, please email WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com
Brandon Hall is a lifelong political nerd from Grand Haven, and is the Managing Editor of West Michigan Politics.
>>>Email him at WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com
