Its unclear how Shink, who is running for the Michigan State Senate, came to this conclusion. The groups proposal states that Supreme Felons, Inc. leaders will recruit volunteers from among newly-released felons to work with school-age children in Ypsilanti and WISD public schools. Billy Cole gets $1.2 million from the County Commissioners, a job as a Temporary Law Enforcement Officer from the Sheriff, and a second chance? No law enforcement agency or school district in Washtenaw County has any service agreement with Supreme Felons, Inc. Jansen invited the murderer on parole and other felons into Lincoln High School without the knowledge of the Districts parents, and without a public vote of the Lincoln Consolidated Schools Board of Education, according to public records. On the Supreme Felons, Inc. website, Foley is identified as the groups creator. He has also publicly identified himself as the non-profits Managing Director. Foley refused to answer questions about the non-profit and fabrications in the proposal submitted for the grant because, he said, the story was already written. Foley went on to threaten that the newspaper would be hearing from our lawyer. When asked the name of the lawyer, Foley refused to identify the name of the groups legal representative. She did not respond. For returns required to be filed in 2021, for an organization that has gross receipts of over $1,084,000 for the year, the penalty is $105 a day up to a maximum of $54,000. Instead of responding in a manner reflecting transparency and accountability to the public they were elected to serve, board members deflected the issue, accusing anyone questioning the grant as motivated by politics and racism.. In Jan. 2023, Washtenaw County Administrator Greg Dill admitted to the Detroit News that he and all of the County Commissioners seated in July 2022 (when the award was made) knew the felons application contained fabrications. Sue Shink is a lawyer and Chair of the County Commissioners. Public Records Suggest County Commissioners Defrauded the Federal Government By Awarding $1.2M Grant to Supreme Felons, Inc. County Administrator Implicates Himself and Commissioners in Misappropriation of Federal Funds, Ann Arbor Non-Profit Hospice of Michigan Hit With False Claims Act Suit Alleging Widespread Medicaid Fraud, Residents Refused Mental Health Services While CMH Spends Millage Money on Consultants, PR and Paid News Coverage, Ricky Dewayne McCain Didnt Act Alone in the Murder of Jude WaltonHe Had Help, Men Like Us Club Founder Asked County for $70K Grant to Deter Youth Violence; His Ypsi Twp. Sources within the Ypsilanti Police Dept. Absolutely nothing, said one of the individuals. In what could be a lesson in leadership for Jansen and Czachorski, former Monroe County Public Schools superintendent Barry Martin doesnt shy away from talking about his mistake of neglecting to order background checks for all volunteers. Cole executed Mark Simpson because, it came out during Coles trial, that Cole and his accomplice were concerned that Simpson would have been able to identify them to police. The Ann Arbor Independent submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for all incident reports from basketball games at Lincoln High School in order to ascertain if there was, actually, any reason to fear there would not be a safe atmosphere. The request was refused as a violation of FERPA and HIPPA. In 2022, after the A2Indy revealed that Coles non-profit asked for public money for felons to mentor felons, for felons to mentor school kids and offer programming in Ypsilanti parks, Cole told WEMU that hed had no idea that Fuqua was a sex offender when Supreme Felons, Inc. had been incorporated. Supreme Felons, Inc. is controlled by Sheriff's Dept. He has served on the County Commission for a little over five years. If that is the case, the principal contacts the district superintendent who then approaches the respective board of education. State incorporation documents show that Supreme Felons, Inc. was registered as a Michigan non-profit corporation in April 2020 by Alan Fuqua and Billy Cole. For comparison, a digital subscription to the Ann Arbor News is priced at $29 per month ($348/year). Winters, who knew Mark Simpson, says he was smart, intellectual and very motivated.. employee, Billy Cole, and Alan K. Fuqua. Anyone can report fraud to the OIG, according to federal officials. There was no debate, and the vote was unanimous. Marshals, Time is Running Out to Address Michigans Population, Prosperity Decline, New Driving Equality Ordinance Passed by City Council, GEO Settles Unfair Labor Charges and U-M Agrees to Drop Suit for Damages, appeal unreasonably high fees for public records, According to a version of the proposal provided to the Ypsilanti DDA in August 2022one month after the Commissioners voted to give Supreme Felons the grantSupreme Felons was created by Alan Fuqua (President) and Billy Cole (Vice President) in 2019 as a 5013 Non-Profit Organization.. Also not included are federal records, tribal records, traffic records, juvenile records, local misdemeanors and criminal history from other states. The commissioners did not respond. The Washtenaw County Community Mental Health Dept., using Mental Health Millage money, recently paid for a billboard on I-94 on the border of Washtenaw and Wayne counties. The Ann Arbor Independent - A locally owned newspaper in Ann Arbor. Should the relevant board of education members vote to allow the felon into the particular school, then the school district is legally obligated to alert the Michigan Dept. Nonetheless, a photo of Fuqua appears in the 2022 proposal submitted to the County for the ARPA grant funding. Subscribing is easy and one year of award-winning, independent local journalism costs $7.00 per month ($84.00/year). In his grant proposal, Cole claimed that the County Sheriffs Office had evidence of Supreme Felons, Inc. work. handed over to a Washtenaw County non-profit called Supreme Felons, Inc. multiple county employees were going on taxpayers-funded trips to Las Vegas, Ann Arbor Restauranteur Sava LelcajFarah Attacked by Knife-Wielding Man in Downtown Ann Arbor, County Commissioners Handed Registered Sex Offender, and County Employee on Parole $1.2M ARPA Grant. Public Records Suggest County Commissioners Defrauded the Federal Government By Awarding $1.2M Grant to Supreme Felons, Inc. Ann Arbor Restauranteur Sava LelcajFarah Attacked by Knife-Wielding Man in Downtown Ann Arbor, County Commissioners Handed Registered Sex Offender, and County Employee on Parole $1.2M ARPA Grant, County Administrator Implicates Himself and Commissioners in Misappropriation of Federal Funds, Ann Arbor Non-Profit Hospice of Michigan Hit With False Claims Act Suit Alleging Widespread Medicaid Fraud, Residents Refused Mental Health Services While CMH Spends Millage Money on Consultants, PR and Paid News Coverage, Ricky Dewayne McCain Didnt Act Alone in the Murder of Jude WaltonHe Had Help, Men Like Us Club Founder Asked County for $70K Grant to Deter Youth Violence; His Ypsi Twp. In his grant proposal to the County, Supreme Felons, Inc. president Billy Cole lied and claimed that felons in the group had worked in local public schools and would expand that work. 2023 - The Ann Arbor Independent. Between Dec. 2019 and Jan. 2023, records show that non-profit Supreme Felons, Inc. filed no 990 or 990-N federal tax returns, as required by law. This means that the Washtenaw County Administrator Greg Dill recommended in July 2022 that County Commissioners vote to award $1.2 million in federal ARPA funding to a non-profit that was responsible for thousands in fines to the IRS, and whose 501(c)3 status was in jeopardy of being revoked. In that version of the Supreme Felons, Inc. proposal, provided by Supreme Felonss creator (groups website) Brian Foley, who is also an Ypsi DDA Board member, Alan Fuqua founded Supreme Felons in 2019 as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Inc. grant proposal was, allegedly, vetted in a four-step process: On Oct. 17, The Ann Arbor Independent published an article that revealed the $1.2 million ARPA grant had been awarded to Supreme Felons, Inc., and that Michigan public records revealed the non-profit had been incorporated in 2020 by a Sheriffs Dept. of SafeHouse, Barbara Niess-May, was forced to resign. The Ann Arbor Summer Festival (A2SF) champions performing arts, outdoor entertainment, and community spirit. Cole is a murderer on parole from a life + 60 year sentence, and Fuqua is a registered sex offender. The Ann Arbor Independent - A locally owned newspaper in Ann Arbor. The Ann Arbor Independent recently filed a Freedom of Information Act request to determine if any of the $1.2 million in federal funds has been handed over by Washtenaw County to the non-profit. All felonies and serious misdemeanors that are punishable by over 93 days are required to be reported to the state repository by law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and courts in all 83 Michigan counties. In August 2022, one month after the Commissioners allocated the $1.2 million grant, Foley provided the following information to the members of the Ypsilanti DDA about Supreme Felons, Inc.: According to the most recent public records from the Michigan Corporations Division, Supreme Felons, Inc. was registered as Michigan non-profit in May 2020 by Alan Fuqua. Special thank you to the Supreme Felons, Parkridge Community Center, AFC Ann Arbor and our young brothers from # Formula734 who came out and volunteered. Yet, felons using their own journey to guide peers, is a significant part of the Supreme Felons, Inc. proposed programming. Morgan accused the newspaper of spreading misinformation in its reporting of the Commissioners unanimous vote to award the grant; he criticized as inaccurate the newspapers use of public records to determine that the grant had been awarded to a felon on parole, and a registered sex offender. In the 70s, Cole was given a life sentence for murder, and 60 years for armed robbery by a Washtenaw County judge. Club the Site of Assaults, Shootings, Attempted Murder, A2Politico: County Law Enforcement Leaders Kiss Up To Perps While Crime Rates Skyrocket, Ann Arbor Summer Festival Should Cancel the Drag Queen Storytime Event Scheduled for June 17, Contrary to His Own Rhetoric, County Prosecutor Charges Sixteen-Year-Old Accused of Murder as an Adult, Rep. Dingell Holds Panel Discussion About 1,4 Dioxane Contamination of Drinking Water and Wells, Time is Running Out to Address Michigans Population, Prosperity Decline, New Driving Equality Ordinance Passed by City Council, GEO Settles Unfair Labor Charges and U-M Agrees to Drop Suit for Damages. According to the proposal submitted by the group for the grant, Supreme Felons was created by Billy Cole in 2019 as a 5013 Non-Profit Organization. Alan Fuquas involvement was hidden. Ann Arbor Independent Wins Investigative Reporting Award for "Supreme Felons, Inc." The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team May 18, 2023 On May 15, 2023 the Society of Professional Journalists announced that The Ann Arbor Independent had won an excellence in reporting award for its investigative series about a $1.2 million grant handed . An Ypsilanti Housing Commission employee and former Ypsilanti Public School Board trustee is a convicted felon who was jailed for 10 days in 2009 while he was still apparently an employee of the YHC. of Education. Historical Record for Ann Arbor Independents Last Updated: Dec 23, 2006 11:34:56 Year: 1911 Ann Arbor (MI) Independents State Ranking: 2 Su N05 A Jackson (MI) Independents 0- 0 T Su N26 Jackson (MI) Independents 12- 0 W Th N30 A Detroit Heralds 0- 10 L Record for Year: 1-1-1 .500 Points: 12-10 Year: 1912 Ann Arbor (MI) Independents State Ranking: 1 Su N03 A Toledo Overlands 13- 0 W Su N10 A . Read the Supreme Felons, Inc. proposal below: 7th Annual Ypsi-GLOW Scheduled for October 28, Assaulted Part 2: The Prosecutor and the District Court Making the Motions, Sheriff and Ypsi PD Partially Responsible For Recent Double Homicide, Critics Claim, Ann Arbor Employees Who Ran Afoul of Citys COVID-19 Policies File Civil Rights, Rep. Dingell Holds Panel Discussion About 1,4 Dioxane Contamination of Drinking Water, Ypsilanti Shooting Leaves 16-Year-Old and 20-Year-Old Dead and Two Hospitalized. While in prison, Cole was also prosecuted for felonious assault. Subscribing is easy and one year of award-winning, independent local journalism costs $7.00 per month ($84.00/year). According to a spokesman from the Michigan Dept. Double Homicide Arrested by U.S. Unlike in the LCS, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Washtenaw Intermediate School Districts, in the Wayne Westland District a felony is an automatic out. But this past spring, they ran a background check on a parent who was volunteering in a classroom pretty regularly and they found out hewas a registered sex offender.. Id see him at the EMU library when I was home from law school at Wayne State, said Doug Winters. When was Supreme Felons, Inc. granted non-profit status? They wont explain why they allowed felons without background checks into a high school basketball game to provide security, or why such security was necessary. Asberry Paine went on to say that, We received 136 applications. Fuqua was in prison until July 2020. Crystal Campbell placed the entire responsibility for the grant to Supreme Felons, Inc. on the County Commissioners. employees, and scored $1.2 million in ARPA funds, because the Sheriff pushed for the allocation of the funds. Dr. Mabel Ping-Hua Lee (1897-1966) Perhaps one of the most well-known AAPI suffragists in the movement, Dr. Mabel Ping-Hua Lee immigrated to the United States on a scholarship when she was only nine years old. Billy Cole claims in this WEMU story he found out about Alan Fuquas past in March 2022. Pierce answered then, when asked if Supreme Felons, Inc. was renting space from him said, Thank you, and hung up. The Supreme Felons, Inc. three-year grant proposal includes using the federal funds to mentor school children inside and outside school, mentor newly-release felons, and to register voters. All Rights Reserved. The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team May 18, 2023. The Society of Professional Journalists has previously recognized The Ann Arbor Independent for excellence in investigative reporting for articles that revealed multiple county employees were going on taxpayers-funded trips to Las Vegas. . He never showed remorse after Marks murder. The registered agent for the organization is listed as Billy Cole.. District 4 County Commissioner Caroline Sanders, is running opposed for re-election. According to a spokesman from the U.S. Dept. and the Washtenaw County Sheriffs Office who spoke on condition of anonymity, scoffed when asked what Supreme Felons, Inc. has accomplished while doing outreach work. In the early morning hours of June 27, Simpson was bound, gagged and executed. Long-time Detroit News crime reporter George Hunter picked up the Ann Arbor Independent's reporting on the fraudulent grant application submitted to Washtenaw County by local non-profit Supreme Felons, Inc. for $1.2 million in federal American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds. On July 6, 2022, the Washtenaw County Commissioners, with no debate, voted unanimously to fund unvetted, unsupervised access by felons, including undetected and/or unsupervised sex offenders, to other peoples children both inside and outside of Ypsilanti and WISD public schools, as well as in Ypsilanti parks. James Van Bramer works at John Jay College. Almost a decade later, at the Washtenaw County Lincoln Consolidated Schools, the Districts elected leaders still have their heads in the sand, and are risking the safety of the 3,500 students enrolled, said a Lincoln Community Schools parent volunteer who asked not to be identified because of fear of being banned from volunteering. In the WEMU interview, Cole claims that the group does not associate with anyone who has a record of sexual crime.. Supreme Felons, Inc., a local non-profit that was awarded $1.2 million in federal funding by the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners in July 2022, has never filed state or federal tax returns, public records show. At that meeting, Ann Arbor County Commissioner Jason Morgan, who is running opposed for the Michigan House of Representatives, not only defended his vote to award the federal money to Supreme Felons, Inc., but attacked The Ann Arbor Independent. On July 6, 2022, Cole and Fuqua were awarded a $1.2 million grant, along with the public support of all nine Washtenaw County Commissioners. The grant applicant, a long-time Ypsilanti resident and activist added, The Supreme Felons proposal is a fairytale.. If a volunteer was going to be in a classroom with a teacher at all times, they didnt get a background check. Gundy, the Sheriffs Dept. Zachery-Ross said that her district adheres to the legally required vetting of felons (background checks) who wish to volunteer in the YPS. The Ann Arbor Independent submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the Ypsilanti Public Schools to determine if the district had ever permitted anyone associated with Supreme Felons into YPS schools as a volunteer. Before her forced resignation, Niess-May made multiple public statements in which she said the newspapers reporting was all false. She is now being sued for defamation, along with the members of the SafeHouse Center Board of Directors. Rep. Dingell Secures $2.5 Million Federal Investment in Ann Arbors Carbon Neutrality Transition. Furthermore, the budget includes no money to pay federal and state withholding taxes required by law. Ypsilanti resident Tyrone Bridges produces a local politics podcast titled, I Thought You Knew. He called the Commissioners actions shameful. Bridges, in his public comments at the Oct. 19 meeting, said that the elected officials were obligated to answer questions about their votes, including from media and constituents. Derrick Jackson, who emails and text messages show participated in the formation and control of Supreme Felons, Inc., has been public in his criticism of The Ann Arbor Independent's reporting on the group's activities. Their first filing with the Michigan Secretary of State is dated May 2020 and lists both Billy Cole and Alan Fuqua as incorporators.. Who is Billy Cole to pass judgement on another felon, on anyone else? Lesko Correction: YCS School Board member Dr. Celeste Hawkins was inadvertently identified as the YCS spokesman who contacted The Ann Arbor Independent on March 14 by phone and spoke on the record. Subscriber Exclusive Washtenaw County leaders say $1.65M will interrupt gun violence, save lives Updated: Jul. Credit card information is processed securely . Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open. On May 15, 2023 the Society of Professional Journalists announced that The Ann Arbor Independent had won an excellence in reporting award for its investigative series about a $1.2 million grant handed . MDOC records show Billy Coles parole began in August of 2019 and doesnt end until August 6, 2023. The Ypsilanti Public Schools Superintendent Alena Zachery-Ross said in a statement that she knew of Supreme Felons, but that the group had no existing programming in her districts schools. Credit card information is processed securely . Billy . Critics have also questioned the fact that a Wayne County non-profit and a Wayne County resident (Cole) landed a $1.2 million ARPA grant from Washtenaw County. Depending on the type of felony, the principals determine whether to allow the individual into the school building. Supreme Felons, Inc. Board members were asked to comment via email about whether the organization intends to file its 2020, 2021 and 2022 federal 990 income tax forms. The non-profit does not do background or criminal records checks on members, as evidenced by Fuquas long association with the group. Likewise, Jennifer Czachorski, President of the LCS Board of Education, has repeatedly refused to answer questions about the incident and about the districts student safety measures. Almost a decade ago in Monroe County, Barry Martin tightened up his districts background check policy. Mr. Dill was asked to provide any proof that Alan Fuqua had been removed as a director of the non-profit and was, indeed, no longer connected to Supreme Felons. Marshals. Its grotesque. The Ann Arbor Independent - A locally owned newspaper in Ann Arbor. The groups claims related to partnerships with the WISD and public schools, including Ypsilanti public schools, were fabricated. According to state incorporation documents, Supreme Felons, Inc. was incorporated in April 2019 by Alan Fuqua and Billy Cole. Thus, the $750,000 in salaries projected to be paid over three years (in a budget vetted by four senior County staffers, the County Administrator and all nine members of the County Commission) has no line item to account for $108,000 in withholding taxes the non-profit will be required to pay. In addition to a nearly four-week festival each June that attracts a diverse audience of over 80,000 people and offers over 200 concerts, art exhibitions, kids activities, spectacle, and film screenings, A2SF presents the best in dance . The first round of grants given out by the Board of Commissioners was aimed at community violence intervention. Follow the money, says Ken Magee. Its his opinion that the Supreme Felonss grant is connected to the upcoming battle for who will succeed Clayton to run the Sheriffs Dept. In allocating $1.2 million in ARPA money to fund a proposal that contains fraudulent information and claims, the Washtenaw County Commissioners and Supreme Felons, Inc. officials may have, according to federal officials, defrauded the federal government. The Ann Arbor Independent has repeatedly asked the felon members of Supreme Felons, Inc. to speak on the record about the groups efforts to push into schools without the permission of elected members of the Boards of Education, but thus far the only response has been silence. employees controlled the set-up of Supreme Felons, Inc. and dictated the non-profit's leadership structure. The proposal further claims the group will use the $1.2 million to expand its felon-child/felon-adult mentoring programs currently in place, including in schools. In 2018, the Ann Arbor Independent went completely digital. In the WISD? In Juvie (juvenile detention)? Fuqua is a registered sex offender who served a 17-year sentence for multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct with a child under 13. by P.D. 2023 - The Ann Arbor Independent. Instead, at an Oct. 19 meeting, the County . The Ann Arbor Independent competed in the Society of Professional Journalists' "Digital" investigative news category and the "Supreme Felons, Inc." series beat out the investigative reporting of several major news outlets, including The Detroit News, The Detroit Free Press and The Oakland Press, among others.