FLINT, Mich. (AP) – Two former Michigan health officials were charged Thursday with involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of nine people who got Legionnaires’ disease during the Flint water crisis, as prosecutors revisiting how the city’s water system was contaminated with lead and bacteria also hammered a key adviser to ex-Gov. Rick Snyder with extortion and perjury crimes.
Snyder joined a parade of former state and local officials pleading not guilty in Genesee County courts. He’s facing misdemeanor charges of willful neglect of duty in Flint in a case that was filed Wednesday night, the first governor or former governor in Michigan’s 184-year history to face charges related to time in that office.
All charges stemmed from evidence presented to Judge David Newblatt, who served as a secret one-person grand jury. Special prosecutor Fadwa Hammoud of the attorney general’s office declined to offer details during a news conference but said Snyder had “failed to protect the health and safety” of Flint’s nearly 100,000 residents.
“There are no velvet ropes in our criminal justice system,” Hammoud said. “Nobody – no matter how powerful or well-connected – is above accountability when they commit a crime.”
Wearing a mask, Snyder, 62, said little during his brief hearing, which was conducted by video. He replied, “Yes, your honor,” when asked if he was living in Michigan. A conviction carries up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine upon conviction.