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No. 41
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
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October 16 – 22, 2014
w w w . a s s o c i a t e d n e w s p a p e r s . n e t
Last week, members of
theWayne City Council voted
unanimously to hire David
Murphy as the interim city
manager.
See page 4
Romulus will sponsor a
Veterans' Day Parade begin-
ning at 9 a.m. Nov. 11 and city
officials are looking for indi-
viduals, veterans, and organ-
izations to participate.
See page 2.
New details regarding the
Plymouth Township Park
pavilionwere revealed at the
township board of trustees
last week following the
award of the construction
contract.
See page 6
.
The annual Holiday
Home Tour presented by the
Northville Community
Foundation will take place
from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Nov.
14 and 15.
See page 5
Neighbors can expect to
see zombies, witches, a
Dracula or two and several
cartoon characters haunting
Horizon Park in downtown
Belleville on the morning of
Oct. 25.
See page 6.
Vol. 129, No. 41
Vol. 67, No. 41
Vol. 67, No. 41
Vol. 14, No. 41
Vol. 129, No. 41
Vol. 67, No. 41
Vol. 67, No. 41
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
The official dedication of
the new Westland City Hall
is planned for 5:30 p.m. Oct.
27 and the public is invited
to the community event.
See page 7.
Fellows Creek Golf
Course has achieved desig-
nation as a Certified
Audubon
Cooperative
Sanctuary through the
Audubon
Cooperative
Sanctuary Program for Golf
Courses.
See page 3.
Vol. 14, No. 41
The Leanna Hicks Public
Library of Inkster has sever-
al events and programs
planned for children and
teens thismonth.
See page 7.
Circuit Court Judge Michael
Hathaway will sentence three
former Romulus Police detec-
tives Oct. 29 as part of a plea bar-
gain in the corruption investiga-
tion which began more than
three years ago. Hathaway will
determine the amount of restitu-
tion the three will pay at sen-
tencing.
The three, Richard Balzer,
Richard Landry and Donald
Hopkins, entered no contest or
nolo contendere pleas to embez-
zlement charges and will lose
their certification to be
employed as police officers as
part of a plea arrangement
reached with prosecutors in the
case.
Balzer pleaded no contest to
one count of embezzlement by a
public official and misconduct
in office. Hopkins and Landry
pleaded no contest to one count
of embezzlement by a public
official. All remaining counts
against the men were dismissed
in return for the plea, prosecu-
tors said.
The three defendants were
among seven people charged in
the investigation of corruption
in the Romulus Police
Department. The former police
chief, his wife and five detec-
tives were charged with embez-
zling more than $100,000 in drug
forfeiture funds and running a
criminal enterprise from 2006-
2011. Prosecutors maintained
the police officers claimed to be
involved in anundercover inves-
tigation at the Landing StripBar
in Romulus and Subi's Place in
Southgate. The investigations
were a ruse, prosecutors said,
and allowed the men to hire
prostitutes from nearby strip
clubs and submit false expense
vouchers for which they were
reimbursed from the drug
funds. Prosecutors said that in
one year, the men spent more
than $40,000 on prostitutes, mar-
ijuana anddrugs.
Former Romulus Police
Chief Michael St. Andre will be
sentenced tomorrow before
Hathaway following his guilty
plea in May to one charge of
conducting a continuing crimi-
nal enterprise, a 20-year offense,
embezzlement by a public offi-
cial, a 10-year offense and mis-
conduct in office, punishable by
up to five years in prison. His
wife, Sandra Vlaz St. Andre, 52,
is currently serving a five to
seven year prison term follow-
ing her conviction by a jury last
January. She was found guilty of
operating a criminal enterprise;
conspiring to operate a criminal
enterprise; filing a fraudulent
tax return and receiving and
concealing stolenproperty.
Prosecutors said that more
than $75,000 of drug forfeiture
money was used by St. Andre to
buy aWestland tanning salon for
hiswife.
Two other officers, Larry
Droege and Jeremy Channels,
were found guilty on related
charges after a trial that ended
in March. Channels was sen-
tenced to three years of proba-
tion; Droege received 18 months
of probation.
Auxiliary Bishop Francis
Reiss confirmed last week that
theRev. Thomas Belczak, 60, has
been removed as the priest at St.
KennethParishCatholic Church
in Plymouth in response to a
criminal investigation into the
use of parish funds.
In a letter to parishioners,
Reiss wrote that Belczak, “has
been required to step aside as
pastor of St. Kenneth Parish,
effective October 9. This action
results from a law enforcement
investigation into the alleged
improper use of St. Kenneth
Parish funds.” Belczak is the
brother of the Rev. Edward
Belczak, 69, who was convicted,
along with his church adminis-
trator, of embezzling nearly
$700,000 from St. Thomas More
Church in Troy. Those crimes
took place, according to prose-
cutors in that case, during a
span of eight years. There was
no indication from the archdio-
cese or law enforcement offi-
cials that the St. Kenneth inves-
tigation is connected to the Troy
prosecution..
Thomas Belczak has served
at the 2,400-family Plymouth
parish for 10 years. St. Kenneth
is one of the largest Catholic
parishes inWayneCounty.
“I amwell aware, and deeply
regret, how difficult and painful
a situation this is for parish-
ioners of St. Kenneth, and espe-
cially for those close to Father
Belczak. It's an unfortunate real-
ity, but news like this can rever-
berate far beyond parish bor-
ders, impacting the priests and
people of the archdiocese in var-
ious ways. This is a situation
nobody wants to be in, though
we have been led here by our
obligation to do what is right,”
Reiss continued in the letter to
parishioners.
He added that Belczak will
not be permitted to be present at
St. Kenneth in any capacity and
will only be allowed to perform
any public ministerial duties
with the expressed consent of
theArchdiocese of Detroit.
The Rev. Robert Blondell, a
senior priest with the Detroit
Archdiocese, has been named
administrator of St. Kenneth,
effective immediately.
Reiss said that no one from
the archdiocese would offer any
additional comment on the
criminal investigation.
“Because of our cooperation
with law enforcement authori-
ties, we are unable to give
details or comments on the
investigation,” he said.
Thomas Belczak was
ordained in 1980 and served as
associate pastor in Our Lady of
the Lakes in Waterford from
1980-84, St. John Neumann
Parish in Canton Township from
1984-89 and at St. Valentine
Parish in Redford Township
from 1989 to 2004 when he was
transferred to St. Kenneth in
Plymouth.
Because of our cooperation with law enforcement
authorities, we are unable to give details
or comments on the investigation.
”
Plymouth priest target of embezzlement investigation
”
Former Romulus Police Chief Michael St. Andre
will be sentenced tomorrow before Hathaway
following his guilty plea in May to one charge of
conducting a continuing criminal enterprise...
Guilty pleas entered in police corruption case
Living large
$14.5 million asked
for Northville home
One of themost unique, and expensive,
homes in Southeast Michigan went on the
market last month as Dr. Tom Prose listed
his 6-acreNorthville estate for sale.
The elaborate home, once briefly deed-
ed to the Czech Republic by Prose, is
priced at $14.5 million which includes
about 6-acres of land near the center of
the city. Prose was named as an honorary
consul by the minister of foreign affairs of
the Czech Republic in July of 2004. A sub-
sequent request for a tax exemption for
the 16,000-square-foot home was denied
by city officials citing provisions of inter-
national law covering consular affairs set
by the Vienna Convention and other
agreements between the United States
and the Czech Republic. The home was
deeded back to Prose when he resigned
the consul position inOctober of 2005.
The home, located at 590 Dubuar, was
assessed for tax purposes in 2013 at
$2,292,380, which is based on half themar-
ket value. Taxes on the property in 2013
were $77,523, a reduction from the $89,738
tax bill in 2012.
The asking price is based on the value
of the 6-acres of land, according to Teri
Spiro, the real estate broker handling the
listing.
The home includes private iron gates
in a stone wall protecting the brick paver
driveway off Dubuar and sculptures of
lions and a rearing horse in the front yard.
A seven-car garage is attached to the
home which was originally built in 2000.
There is a three-tier fountain in the
imposing pillared front excavation of the
three-story home. Tall curved windows in
some rooms reach 25 feet in height. There
are also three curved staircases and
extensive woodwork throughout the
home. From the main staircase on the
third floor, three levels of elaborate stair-
ways are visible.
In addition to the professionally-deco-
rated interior with five bedrooms, there
are seven full baths and two half baths in
the home. A Roman-styled bath is a fea-
ture of the master suite with two distinct
vanity areas.
The home also features an additional
See
Home,
page 5