A judge denied a request Tuesday from Ethel Shelton, a former executive secretary for former Calumet Township Trustee Mary Elgin, to appeal her two felony convictions because of cost.
Shelton, 74, was convicted by a federal jury in April 2018 of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud. In November, Shelton was sentenced to one year of probation, along with a $2,000 fine and $15,000 restitution.
She recently filed an affidavit stating that she will have spent $5,000 for expenses or attorney fees in connection with her case, according to a court order. She listed her household’s monthly income, which all comes from retirement, being more than $1,000 more than her monthly expenses, according to the order.
In her appeal, Shelton wrote “(she) and her family have exhausted their resources in the District Court and seek continued representation in the Court of Appeals,” according to the order.
According to the Department of Health and Human Service’s 2020 poverty guidelines, Shelton’s household monthly income is approximately 450% of the guidelines amount for a household her size, according to a court order.
Because Shelton’s household has more than $1,000 in income each month “that is not directed toward any particular expense,” among other reasons, Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen ruled that Shelton is financially able to retain counsel.
Shelton was named in a multi-count indictment in December 2014 along with Elgin, Elgin’s son, Steven Hunter, and Alex Wheeler, alleging the four committed conspiracy to defraud; wire fraud; conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud; honest service wire fraud; and conspiracy to commit extortion.
The charges say the four used Calumet Township employees and offices to run political campaigns, according to court documents.
Elgin also faced additional charges of attempted extortion; false statement to an agency of the United States; and two counts of failure to file a tax return.
Shelton sought a mistrial during her 2018 case, saying that Stafford Garbutt, a former township employee and informant for the FBI, went into her office to gather documents for the FBI was an illegal search. The documents that Garbutt took were used for a search warrant at the Calumet Township office, according to court documents.
Van Bokkelen denied Shelton’s request for a mistrial in June, saying her argument that an FBI informant illegally gained access to documents in her office did not invalidate the charge.
U.S. Attorney Thomas Kirsch II wrote in Shelton’s sentencing memorandum that she and other employees “did private political campaign work for Elgin while being paid with public funds,” according to the sentencing memorandum.
Elgin, Shelton, and others also used the facilities and resources of the trustee’s office to plan Elgin’s three annual fundraising events and pressured employees to buy tickets to the fundraising events, according to the sentencing memorandum.
“Shelton has stated she was simply following orders,” Kirsch wrote. “But Shelton made a voluntary choice to participate in the scheme and to abuse her public position.”
In 2013 and 2014, Shelton started running her own campaign for a Calumet Township Board seat out of the trustee’s office, using public time and resources, according to the sentencing memorandum.
In 2017, Elgin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud; two counts of wire fraud; and willful failure to file a tax return, according to court documents, and Hunter pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of wire fraud.
Elgin was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison, according to court documents, and Hunter was given a year of probation. Now 74, Elgin was released June 28, according to the Bureau of Prisons website.
Wheeler was found not guilty by a jury in April 2018.
