Ilitch Assault & Battery arrest tied to latest lawsuit alleging Ilitch Conspiracy

from the archives of the

8.12.04

ILITCH SON PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO ABUSE

Frank Witsil
Free Press Staff Writer

Ron Ilitch, one of Detroit Red Wings and Tigers owner Mike Ilitch's sons, was arraigned Wednesday and charged with two counts of domestic violence for allegedly twice beating his former girlfriend, Lisa Wood, at his Troy home.

Wood of West Bloomfield told police Ron Ilitch also assaulted her in Aurora, Colo., on July 10.

Police said the Michigan incidents occurred on June 24 and Aug. 1. Ron Ilitch was released Wednesday on bond of $10,000 after pleading not guilty in 52-4 District Court in Troy. Bond conditions included counseling for substance abuse and no contact with Wood.

"There is a lot I don't know yet," said Ilitch's attorney Harold Fried.

However, he said, in domestic violence allegations, there often is more than one version of events.

Each charge is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 93 days in jail, police said.

According to the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office, Ilitch and Wood argued at Ilitch's Troy home on Caitlin Court on June 24. He allegedly hit her, causing bruising and a swollen eye and hand. She initially did not report the incident, said Charles Claus, warrants division chief with the prosecutor's office.

Later, they went on vacation to Colorado, Claus said. On the way, they stopped at Valley Community Hospital in Peru, Ill., where Wood was treated for her injuries, Claus said.

On July 10, Wood reported she was assaulted again, Aurora Police Detective Larry Martinez said.

On Aug. 1, after the couple returned, Wood told police she was assaulted a third time.

She said Ilitch hit her in both arms. She ran from the house to a neighbor's home, called Troy police and went to a local hospital for treatment, Claus said.

Wood could not be reached for comment. Ilitch is due back in court Sept. 16.

Mike Ilitch founded Little Caesars pizza restaurant in suburban Detroit in 1959. The family's business holdings now include the Detroit Red Wings, the Tigers, the Fox Theatre and Hockeytown Cafe.

NOTE: Ron Ilitch would ultimately plea "No Contest" to these charges.

Documents imply Ilitch may have gotten special treatment in Domestic Assault case

Following an 8.02.04 Domestic Violence call, Troy Police Department records indicate Harold Fried, an attorney for Ronald Ilitch, cut a deal with officers who allowed him to produce his client the following morning at the Police Department rather than endure questioning -- and a possible arrest -- at the crime scene.

The afternoon following the call to Police, a local NBC affiliate was reporting:

"The son of Detroit business icon Mike Ilitch is wanted by Troy police for questioning, according to Local 4 reports.

"Police said they want to speak with Ron Ilitch about a fight he apparently had with his girlfriend.

"Authorities reportedly have been unable to locate Ilitch."

Lisa Wood, Ron Ilitch's girlfriend, had been living with him at the time. According to various news accounts, on several occassions during the Summer of 2004, Ilitch beat Wood such that she had to seek medical attention. Following the last beating the incident apparently spilled out onto the driveway of the Ilitch home, and on 8.02.04 Troy police were called to the scene.

When police arrived, they were told Ron Ilitch was nowhere to be found. However, a subsequent Troy PD Report documents that Captain Dane Slater had agreed to allow Ilitch attorney Harold Fried to bring his client to PD offices for questioning the next day rather than face any possibly embarassing circumstances at the crime scene. Police never entered the Ilitch home, where the beating had taken place, to look for Ilitch.

So Fried it appears, as promised, produced Ilitch at 10:00 a.m. the next morning. But when Fried and Ilitch arrived at the Police Department, Fried sought a private audience with three of the officers. He explained that Ilitch was "not in any physical condition that would allow him to relay facts of the incident accurately." Instead, Fried informed the officers he would produce a written statement from Ilitch by 11:00 a.m. the next day.

Ilitch would eventually be arraigned on 8.11.04 and then later plea "No Contest" to two counts of Assault related Domestic Violence. (Troy Police Dept. Press Release: Ilitch Warrants Issued)

An 8.04.04 Oakland Press story on the incident also noted:

"Ronald Ilitch has a checkered criminal history that includes drunken driving and drug charges. He was arrested in Wyandotte in 2002 after a fight, and his
1992 Cadillac was impounded as a drug forfeiture. Police at the time said Ilitch had three drunken driving convictions and two bouts with a suspended license on his record."

And Detroit's NBC affiliate reported at the time:

"Local 4 learned that a domestic violence claim was filed against Ilitch last month in Aurora, Colo., where he apparently owns property."

In December 2008, Lisa Wood filed a contracts related lawsuit in Wayne County Court (MI), involving allegations of Conspiracy subsequent to the August 2004 beating and visit by police to the Ilitch home.

Wood says executed contract agreements between herself and Ilitch affiliates were among her personal belongings in the Ilitch home. Wood's complaint alleges that Ilitch and/or Ilitch agents refused to allow authorities to enter the home during the three days following the beating during which time they worked to destroy crime scene evidence and destroy any evidence, to the point of deniability, that her executed contract agreements ever existed. (Lisa Wood v. Little Caesar, Ilitch et al).

In an amended version of the complaint, Wood alleges that Jimmy Shemami, son of confessed Iraqi spy Najib Shemami, was part of the Ilitch family's personal security detail at the time and alleges that Shemami may have been involved in the conspiracy to cover up the crime scene and dispose of Wood's personal papers.

Did Ron Ilitch receive special treatment in this matter? Were Ilitch and/or Ilitch agents allowed to clean up the crime scene and destroy evidence? What role did Shemami's son play?

Why did officers leave the Ilitch home without questioning or locating Ilitch -- especially given his track record?

Why did officers agree to let Fried bring Iitch into the Police Deparment the following day rather than interview and examine Ilitch when they were called to his home?

Was Ilitch sober/clean when he arrived at the Police Department the following day?

When the local NBC affiliate reported domestic violence charges had also been filed against Ilitch the previous month in Colorado, why didn't Police and Prosecutors take appropriate action?

Do you think Harold Fried got special treatment for Ron Ilitch?

Candidate with ties to Aronoff considering campaign for Governor of Michigan

1.08.09

Patterson says, 'I know I can do better' as governor, plans on testing waters

BY TAMMY STABLES BATTAGLIA
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Oakland County executive L. Brooks Patterson said he’ll formally announce Saturday he’s “testing the waters” on a run for Michigan governor in 2010.

“I know I can do better,” he said this morning. “I think I’ve proven that, if you look at how well Oakland County‘s managed and the things we’re doing here. I think we take the programs that are successful here and replicate that at the state level.”

Patterson said whether his bid becomes official depends on the response after his annual birthday bash Saturday night. At this point, he doesn’t have a war chest to finance a run, but he’s already had verbal pledges of support from around the state, he said.

"I don’t even have an exploratory committee,” he said today. “I’m going to send up a trial balloon. Right now, I’m just putting my name in the rumor mill.”

The Free Press reported Wednesday that supporters recently launched a Facebook group called “Draft Brooks Patterson for Michigan Governor.”

NOTE: A slush fund for Patterson's benefit was set up by lobbyists at Dykema Gossett and filled with money from affiliates of Daniel Aronoff (Landon Companies, Action Strategies, Inc.) and Harold Fried (Fried Saperstein Abbatt PC). Patterson used the fund to foot his travel bills and commission an artist's portrait of himself.

Amended complaint links Detroit's Ilitch family to that of confessed Iraqi spy Najib Shemami

An amended court complaint filed in Wayne County 3rd Judicial Circuit Court by Lisa Wood, a former girlfriend of Ron Ilitch, now names Jimmy Shemami as a defendant along with Michael Ilitch, Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc., Ilitch Holdings, Inc., and Richard Fenton, vice president of security for Ilitch.

Among the five counts outlined in Wood's amended complaint are charges the Defendants were involved in breach of contract, negiligence and conspiracy.

Jimmy Shemami is the son of confessed Iraqi spy Najib Shemami. Wood has alleged that Jimmy Shemami was part of the team that provided personal security services to members of the Ilitch family -- namely Ronald Ilitch, the oldest son of Mike & Marian Ilitch -- at the time she was the victim of an attack by Ron Ilitch in August 2004.

Following the August 2004 assault by Ron Ilitch, Troy Police were called to the Ilitch home where Wood had been living as Ilitch's girlfriend. Once police arrived, Wood was taken by ambulance to a local hosptial for medical care and subsequently refused re-entry to the Ilitch home. When officers arrived on the scene they were told Ilitch was not home but never entered the residence.

Ron Ilitch plead "no contest" to two counts of Domestic Violence related Assault & Battery but Wood alleges in this newly amended lawsuit that the Defendants and/or those working at their direction cleaned up crime scene evidence and went through her personal effects at the Ilitch home, secreting and destroying executed contracts and supporting documents that were her personal property.

Jimmy Shemami was reportedly present following the August 2004 assault by Ron Ilitch and in subsquent court proceedings on that matter, the court singled out Shemami and ordered him to avoid having any future contact or communication with Wood.

Najib Shemami was among several Detroit-area men arrested in April 2007 and indicted on charges that he was a spy for the former government of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. He's been in custody since and on January 16th, U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Murphy announced Shemami had admitted to spying for Saddam Hussein's government. According to the Detroit News, the elder Shemami is expected to be sentenced in U.S. District Court in Detroit on May 11th.

A search of various FaceBook.com profiles suggests that Shemami and Ilitch family members are further acquainted. It has been reported to TVT that from time-to-time Shemami family members have been hosted as guests in the owner's suites at Comerica Park and Joe Louis Arena which reportedly makes Mrs. Marian Ilitch very uneasy.

Attorneys Irwin Alterman (Kemp Klein Law Firm) and Harold Fried (Fried Saperstein Abbatt PC) are representing the Defendants in this matter. Fried also represented Ron Ilitch in the 2004 Assault & Battery incident.

Slush fund bankrolled by Aronoff paid for fancy portrait of County Executive

A 527 Political Committee appears to have been a backdoor expense account for Oakland County (MI) Executive L. Brooks Patterson -- who has announced he's exploring a run for Governor of Michigan.

Among other things, that PAC known as “County Executive Administrative Account” paid $5,000 to The Portraits of Robert Maniscalco, Inc. located in Grosse Pointe, MI.

The Maniscalco Gallery’s Web site brags that the artist has “created portraits for a number of prominent individuals.” Among Michigan’s public officials, Maniscalco brags he has painted portraits of Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson.

Maniscalco was commissioned to paint the portraits of Mike and Marian Ilitch, Detroit billionaires, which hang on opposite walls in the couple's dining room. They own the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings, MotorCity Casino and founded Little Caesars Pizza.

Disclosures note that “County Executive Administrative Account” (527 Committee) was organized by attorneys/lobbyists at Dykema Gossett PLLC. That firm has been Oakland County’s exclusive D.C. lobbying firm since 2003.

The 527 Committee was funded primarily by Action Strategies, Inc., an affiliate of the Landon Companies (Daniel Aronoff’s company), and Fried Saperstein Abbatt PC. Attorney Harold Fried has represented Aronoff’s interests.

Aronoff and Fried, who have development interests in Michigan and Florida, are at the center of a scandal and investigation involving a $10 million earmark for a Florida interchange advanced by Alaska’s Congressman Don Young -- among other pork, he advanced the "Bridge-to-Nowhere."

Detroit Free Press: Patterson says, 'I know I can do better' as governor, plans on testing waters

Dykema Lobbyists set up expense account for Oakland County Exec Brooks Patterson

Oakland County (MI) Executive L. Brooks Patterson stood for re-election in 2004. (Wikipedia: L. Brooks Patterson)

A 527 Committee (a PAC) formed in 2004 by attorneys/lobbyists at Dykema Gossett PLLC was used to fund travel and other expenses for Patterson under the radar. That PAC was known as “County Executive Administrative Account.”

Among other things the committee covered travel expenses of $8,157 so Patterson and Arab American business leaders could attend a Dykema marketing event in Washington, D.C.

In September 2004, Dykema Gossett PLLC launched a Mideast Practice Initiative.

Richard McLellan, then a Dykema Gossett partner, was to be leader of the firm’s new Mideast Practice Initiative. He was also head of Dykema’s Government Policy Practice Group. (Note: McLellan, one of former Michigan Governor John Engler’s closest pals, has ties to various Indian gaming proposals being bankrolled by Michael J. Malik, Sr. and Marian Ilitch. McClellan recruited Lance Boldrey, Engler’s former counsel for Indian matters, to Dykema Gossett in 2003. Together McLellan and Boldrey have advanced the Malik/Ilitch gambling agenda).

Since 2003, Oakland County’s D.C. lobbying needs have been handled exclusively by Dykema Gossett lobbyists working in that firm's Government Policy Practice Group.

In 2004 & 2005, Jennifer Shoha was a government relations professional with Dykema Gossett’s Government Policy Practice Group working in the firm’s Bloomfield Hills and Washington D.C. offices. The Dykema Web site notes she was responsible for the firm's relationships with the Arab American business community. Like Boldrey, Ms. Shoha joined McLellan at Dykema after working as the one-time Director of Governor Engler’s Southeast Michigan office.

During 2004 & 2005, Shoha was Chair of County Executive Administrative Account, the 527 Committee which was apparently a receptacle for corporate contributions used to cover various expenses for Patterson, Oakland County's Executive. It should be noted that during 2005, Shoha was also registered as a D.C. lobbyist for Oakland County.

Disclosures indicate that among other things, the 527 Committee funded $8,157 in travel expenses for Patterson to attend an inaugural event for Dykema’s Mideast Practice Initiative in June 2005; an event that clearly designed to benefit both McLellan and Shoha among others at Dykema.

The paperwork to set up the 527 Committee was handled by Dykema employee Wendy Seigel. At that time, she was an administrative assistant working under McLellan in Dykema's Government Policy Practice Group.

The Dykema team raised $34,050 for the 527 Committee from 2004-2005.

It's notable that more than 55% of the 527 Committee's money came from two related sources:

(1) Action Strategies, Inc., affiliated with Daniel Aronoff and the Landon Companies; and

(2) Fried Saperstein Abbatt PC, a law firm headed by Aronoff's outside counsel Harold Fried.

Before, during and after this period; affiliates of Aronoff and Landon Companies had ongoing legal and real estate development matters pending in Oakland County which among other things involved the Novi Promenade.

What's more, the Aronoff affiliate Action Strategies, Inc. contributed nearly three times more to the 527 Committee for Patterson than any other donor. Others who contributed included Dick and Elizabeth DeVos, Detroit Edison Company and Quicken Loans.

Aronoff and Fried, both of whom reportedly split time between Michigan and Florida, are at the center of a major political scandal and U.S. Justice Department investigation examining their fundraising and lobbying practices as tied to Alaska's Rep. Don Young and a $10 million transportation earmark for a Florida interchange (Coconut Rd.).

Attorneys tied to Aronoff and Ilitch helped them raise funds for Reps. Don Young, Candice Miller and others

Attorney Harold S. Fried, is president of the Michigan-based law firm Fried Saperstein Abbatt PC. Fried has represented Daniel J. Aronoff’s Landon Companies as confirmed in court documents filed 9.30.05 (Landon Development Corp. v. Target Corporation) and Minutes of the Novi Planning Commission. Fried and Aronoff are anchored in Michigan but both have residences and business interests in Florida. Aronoff’s Landon Development/Edison Farms and an office of Fried Saperstein are both located at 800 Seagate Dr, Naples, FL.

A Naples News article published 4.16.06, “Money a motivator in I-75 earmark?” indicates Fried helped Aronoff with a Florida fundraiser for Alaska’s Rep. Don Young that has now come into question as part of an alleged pay-to-play scandal involving a $10 million earmark for a Florida interchange.

According to the Michigan Bar Association member directory, Sarah Deson-Fried, Harold Fried’s wife, in 2003 she joined the Troy, MI law offices of Miller Canfield Paddock & Stone PLC as senior counselor in its real estate group; however, she’s no longer featured on the Miller Canfield Web site. Deson-Fried was a gubernatorial appointee to the Michigan Humanities Council Board of Directors and was elected its treasurer in 2005; however she resigned the post in 2007 with two years left on the term. She is also affiliated with HSL Investments, LLC.

The Michigan Humanities Council Web site lists the following as its largest donors for FY 2005:

Friends in FY 2005



Sage ($1,000 and over)
Daniel & Nancy Aranoff, Bloomfield Hills
Sarah Deson-Fried, Birmingham
Fried Sapersten Abbat PC
Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone
Marilyn Williamson, West Bloomfield

When it comes to defending high profile clients on criminal and personal matters, Harold Fried is frequently called upon by Michael Ilitch to represent his Red Wings players and several family members. And the Miller Canfield firm which employed Deson-Fried in its real estate group represented Ilitch/Detroit Tigers, Inc. in matters related to the development of Comerica Park; and handled business matters for Little Caesars Enterprises, Inc. and Ilitch Holdings.

A review of political contributions using OpenSecrets.org, suggests that when clients like Aronoff and Ilitch called upon Harold Fried to support political candidates they were trying to influence, Fried and his wife jumped on the bandwagon.

Between 1999 and 2005, the Frieds frequently made political contributions which mirrored contributions made by Daniel Aronoff and/or his wife Nancy. The beneficiaries of their political generosity included Reps. Don Young, Katherine Harris, Mario Diaz-Balart, and Thad McCotter among others.

Records available via CSPAN indicate Sarah Deson-Fried participated in a 3.11.03 fundraiser hosted by Detroit’s Ilitch family and attended by their friends, associates and a stable of their attorneys who raied money for Rep. Candice Miller. The fundraiser was held less than a month after Rep. Miller had introduced her first bill in Congress, H.R. 831, intended to pave the way for a Port Huron casino backed by Ilitch and friends. That bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Don Young.

Fried’s roster of high-profile clients who call when they’re in trouble includes:

*Sergei Fedorov, at the time one Mike Ilitch’s star skaters on the Detroit Red Wings, was arrested in 2001 after failing a field sobriety test and charged with driving while impaired. (Click-On Detroit)

*Bob Probert, another Red Wings player who was arrested in 1989 for smuggling cocaine and subsequently served three months in federal prison. (St. Petersburg Times)

*Nellie Varner, a former University of Michigan Regent who along with Herb Strather founded Atwater Entertainment Associates (MotorCity Casino), faced allegations of possible involvement in the 1998 murder of her daughter's ex-boyfriend. (Michigan Daily)

*Ronald Ilitch, the eldest son of Mike and Marian Ilitch, who was arrested on domestic violence charges in 2004 involving a girlfriend, Lisa Wood. Ilitch ultimately plead guilty to the charges. (Detroit Free Press)

*Fried also represented Ron Ilitch in a 1997 divorce proceeding. (Oakland Co. Courts)

*Michael Ilitch, Jr., another of Mike & Marian Ilitch's sons, has reportedly struggled with addictions during his life. Fried attempted to get Ilitch’s previously suspended Michigan drivers license re-instated during court proceedings in 2000. (Oakland Co. Courts)

Fried’s scruples have been questioned over the years:

In 1996, an Administrator representing Michigan’s Attorney Grievance Commission alleged that Fried and several colleagues participated in a scheme to counsel clients, who were dissatisfied with the judge assigned to their case, to retain an attorney related to that judge as co-counsel, solely for the purpose of removing the judge from their case. The Administrator alleged that Fried and the others received compensation based on their ability to get a client’s case transferred to another judge. (Grievance)

During a 2006 trial on wrongful discharge claims brought by a former Clerk of the 48th District Court (Bloomfield Township, MI), the Detroit Free Press reported that jurors heard testimony which alleged: “Harold Fried, an Oakland County defense attorney who has raised tens of thousands of dollars for myriad judicial candidates, routinely distributed tickets to prized sports events in an effort to curry favor with court employees.” (Detroit Free Press)

Lawsuit alleges Ilitch, agents committed Conspiracy following 2004 Assault & Battery incidents

Lisa Wood, a Harrison Township (MI) woman, has filed a five count lawsuit in Wayne County's 3rd Circuit Court against Little Caesar Enterprises Inc., Michael Ilitch, his son Ronald Ilitch and including allegations of Breach of Contract, Negligence and Conspiracy. (Lisa Wood v. Little Caesar Enterprises, Michael Ilitch, et al; Case No. 08-018537-CZ).

The conspiracy claims appear to be directly related to an 8.01.04 domestic violence incident in which Troy Police were called to the Caitlin Court home of Ron Ilitch. When police arrived on the scene that day they were unable to locate Ilitch. Newspaper accounts report he was later arrested and charged with two counts of assault and battery.

As reported on 8.12.04 in the Detroit Free Press that call to police was the culmination of a series of domestic violence incidents:

"According to the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office, Ilitch and Wood argued at Ilitch's Troy home on Caitlin Court on June 24. He allegedly hit her, causing bruising and a swollen eye and hand. She initially did not report the incident, said Charles Claus, warrants division chief with the prosecutor's office.

"Later, they went on vacation to Colorado, Claus said. On the way, they stopped at Valley Community Hospital in Peru, Ill., where Wood was treated for her injuries, Claus said.

"On July 10, Wood reported she was assaulted again, Aurora Police Detective Larry Martinez said.

"On Aug. 1, after the couple returned, Wood told police she was assaulted a third time.

"She said Ilitch hit her in both arms. She ran from the house to a neighbor's home, called Troy police and went to a local hospital for treatment, Claus said."

Ron Ilitch plead "No Contest" to the 2004 assault and battery case.

This new lawsuit brought by Wood against Little Caesars, Mike Ilitch, and others alleges that Wood had been working with the Ilitches and Ilitch affiliates and agents on a new concept for their pizza businesses and that agreements had been executed to compensate Wood for her efforts.

However, as the complaint expresses, after the series of domestic violence incidents and Wood’s call to Troy police, the Ilitches and their agents took part in a conspiracy to cover up crime scene evidence and also destroy any evidence of their existing contractual relationship.

Following the 8.01.04 beating incident, Wood apparently was not personally allowed to return to Ron Ilitch’s home to retrieve her personal belongings. She says her copies of the executed agreements were among her things in the Ilitch home.

The complaint suggests that in the days immediately following the third beating, even authorities were blocked entry to the home. Wood believes Ilitch family members and their agents were working to clean up and destroy crime scene evidence in order to conceal the full extent of the crimes committed by Ron Ilitch; and that the Ilitches and their agents rifled through her personal belongings to locate and destroy the contracts and other things.

Wood believes the Ilitch crew intended to sever the contractual relationships they had previously executed with her to the point of deniability. Wood says in doing so, the Ilitches and their agents took her rightful property and robbed her of evidence to pursue legal remedies.

Although some previous news accounts wrongly suggest Ron Ilitch is not affiliated with any of the Ilitch family enterprises; in fact, since 1999 Ronald Ilitch has been a Director and Vice President of the Ilitch family's Seven I's Inc. (See: Seven I's Coporate Records) And according to Wikipedia, Ronald Ilitch was included as a "minority owner" on the Stanley Cup's Champions Roster in 2002 & 2008.

According to an Appearance document filed in this latest case, attorneys Irwin Alterman (Kemp Klein Law Firm) and Harold S. Fried (Fried Saperstein Abbatt PC) are representing the defendants.

Harold Fried represented Ron Ilitch in the 2004 assault & battery case and other actions. Following Ron Ilitch's 2004 arrest & arraignment, Fried saw to it that the matter was conducted outside of a public forum.

Fried has repeatedly represented members of the Ilitch family and several of Ilitch’s Detroit Red Wings players in potentially high profile or criminal cases during the last two decades.

Archived News Coverage of the 2004 Assault and Battery Incident:

• Ilitch Son Arrested, Charged With Assaulting Ex
• Ilitch's Son Wanted For Questioning About Fight
• Police are investigating possible domestic assault
• Ilitch Son Arraigned
• Ilitch's eldest son charged with assault and battery
• Ilitch Son Pleads Not Guilty to Abuse