Federal Charges against Barcia dismissed

[mrsdragoness]

Thursday, July 7, 2005By Crystal Harmon
TIMES WRITER
A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed criminal charges against state Sen. James Barcia.

Barcia, a Bay City Democrat who served 10 years in the U.S. House, was accused of being complicitous in the filing of another candidate's false statement and being a conduit for an improper campaign contribution.

U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts in Detroit dismissed the charges at the request of federal prosecutors.

"It is certainly a relief to know that the judge has signed that order," Barcia said this morning. "Throughout this whole ordeal, I have maintained my total innocence. I'm grateful to my colleagues and constituents both in the district and in Lansing."

Barcia could have faced up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

Barcia said the most frustrating aspect of the pending charges were what he classified as a misinterpretation of the accusations by the media, which he says wrongfully linked his charges with those against Ralph Roberts, a Warren real-estate agent, and Carl Marlinga, the former Macomb county prosecutor who made a failed bid for Congress.

"I never met Roberts and I barely know Marlinga," Barcia said.

"The allegations that were made were so complex and confusing, almost all of what was reported was inaccurate speculation," he said. "They tied me into defendants and prosecutorial conspiracies ... but I couldn't explain it because a defendant can't defend themselves through the media. They could be accused of trying to taint the jury pool."

The charges, one felony and one misdemeanor, were brought against Barcia in April 2004 by a federal grand jury as part of a case involving Roberts and Marlinga.

Prosecutors had accused Barcia of serving as a conduit for $4,000 in campaign contributions, then filing false campaign finance reports. They said the money allegedly was funneled through a Barcia campaign committee to allow an attorney to avoid contribution caps in donating to Marlinga's failed bid for Congress in 2002.

Barcia said to be a "conduit," he'd have had to conceal the identity of a donor through trickery - which he denies.

"I feel I was caught up in a political feud ...," he said. "I'm disillusioned by the process - but I'm grateful to whomever it was that determined these charges against me should not go forward."

The Times was unable to reach Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Tukel for comment this morning.

Charges against Roberts were dismissed last month.

Prosecutors are expected to go forward with the case against Marlinga, who was the top law-enforcement officer in Michigan's third-largest county from 1985 to 2004. He's accused of accepting contributions from Roberts in exchange for favorable treatment of a rape suspect.

Barcia said he has had no contact with the federal government since March 2004, and hasn't been contacted by either side of the case regarding testimony at Marlinga's trial.

"Since I played no role and have no knowledge of what occurred, I wouldn't be of any use to either Marlinga or the Department of Justice, and neither side has approached us about testifying," he said.

Upon motion of the government, Roberts dismissed the counts against Barcia "without prejudice," meaning that they possibly could be refiled.


- Crystal Harmon covers Bay County courts for The Times. She may be reached at 894-9643.


© 2005 Bay City Times. Used with permission


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