Schuette initially told The Detroit News he had “no idea” what Calley was talking about, but his campaign later said the property was inherited by Schuette and his sisters, was not part of the blind trust and does not represent a conflict.
Documents obtained Friday by The Detroit News show longtime Schuette aide Rusty Hills and executive assistant Lori Gay served as witnesses on separate $1.8 million deed transfers Schuette signed on Feb 20, 2013. Both transfers were notarized by Nancy O’Shea, who at one time worked as head secretary in the attorney general’s alcohol and gambling enforcement division before retiring in August 2015.
Schuette’s Midland-based Vircom LLC sold 2.41-acre and 2.06-acre parcels to Pelican Reef LLC and Kestral Perch LLC, both set up in the Virgin Islands with mailing addresses in New York, according to the records.
Attorney general staffers Barb Teszlewicz and Dulce Cardenas signed as witnesses for Schuette on a quit deed claim in 2017, while Cardenas and Schuette spokeswoman Andrea Bitely signed a grant easement document in 2016. Both were notarized by Gay, the executive assistant.
Bitely said she signed as a witness after waiting to talk to Schuette while Gay notarized the document.
“If my memory serves, it was less than two minutes of our day,” she said.
Bitely confirmed Schuette was in his Lansing state offices on the day he and staffers signed the private real estate document.
Asked about the other documents signed by staffers, Bitely said the attorney general’s office has people on staff who are notaries and have provided notarization services for their co-workers and colleagues on documents.
“As anyone who has a busy schedule knows, it can be a challenge to find a notary that is available when you are available and you have witnesses available,” she said. “Nancy (O’Shea) provided a 30-second or less service on a document that required a notary to sign.”
‘Abusing taxpayer resources’
Schuette’s gubernatorial campaign did not immediately respond to a voicemail seeking comment.
Calley campaign spokesman Mike Schrimpf said Schuette has a “disturbing pattern of abusing taxpayer-funded resources for his personal and political gain.”
“Despite millions of dollars of offshore transactions benefiting himself, Bill Schuette is treating taxpayers like his own personal piggy bank.” [Detroit News]
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