Five government bureaucrats who faced criminal charges in the 2014-2015 Flint water crisis will be able to return to work after prosecutors dropped charges against them, according to The Detroit News.
Nancy Peeler and Robert Scott from the state department of health were reportedly suspended with pay after being charged with conspiracy and misconduct by former Attorney General Bill Schuette. The two were accused of covering up 2015 data concerning blood lead levels in Flint children.
Lynn Sutfin, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, says that Peeler and Scott have already been notified about the option to return to work and that if they accept, they'd return to their same positions, Michigan Radio reports.
“They can choose whether or not to return to work," Sutfin said. "If they choose not to return, it would be treated like a resignation."
The Detroit News reports how "efforts are underway to coordinate dates" for the return of three other bureaucrats who were suspended with pay: Stephen Busch, Michael Prysby and Patrick Cook. The environmental regulators at the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy have been on paid leave for nearly three years.
Cook is a community drinking water specialist who was accused of misconduct in office, conspiracy and misleading the federal Environmental Protection Agency about corrosion controls.
According to The New York Post, in December 2018, Prysby and Busch pleaded no contest to misdemeanors in exchange for more serious charges being dropped. They also agreed to testify against defendants in other cases.
Busch reportedly didn't address concerns during a January 2015 meeting where Flint residents complained about the city’s "discolored and smelly" water after the city's water source was changed from Lake Huron and the Detroit River to Flint River in April 2014. While Prysby, a water engineer, reportedly misled EPA officials and approved Flint's water before it was properly tested.
Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud dropped charges against the defendants but reserves the right to refile the charges.
“Legitimate criminal prosecutions require complete investigations. Upon assuming responsibility of this case, our team of career prosecutors and investigators had immediate and grave concerns about the investigative approach and legal theories embraced by the OSC (Office of Special Counsel), particularly regarding the pursuit of evidence,” Hammoud said in a written statement, suggesting that the previous special prosecutor didn't pursue all available evidence. “After a complete evaluation, our concerns were validated. Contrary to accepted standards of criminal investigation and prosecution, all available evidence was not pursued.”
