Allegan County — This is a story so bizarre and so grotesque that Netflix would never make it into a movie because it is so unbelievable.
It is a story of neglect and abuse of a nursing home resident that reaches to the highest levels of power, politics, and the press.
Traci Kornak, the former treasurer of the Michigan Democratic Party, was hauled into probate court this week, suspected of embezzling from her ward, a brain-damaged elderly woman.
I caught Kornak feasting on the woman’s finances nearly four years ago and have written many stories about it since. I’ve made TV appearances. I even lost my newspaper job over it.
After my first story was published, Attorney General Dana Nessel, a close friend of Kornak, opened a superficial investigation that was no investigation at all.
Her detectives made a few cursory phone calls before Nessel prodded them into shutting down the criminal case. Just like that.
And Kornak, it is alleged, continued to suck the old woman dry.
At least that is what a special fiduciary attorney, Morgan Maul, believes.
Using phrases like “significant discrepancies” and “missing assets” and “concerns about charges,” Maul asked Jolene Clearwater, the chief probate judge of Allegan County, for a six-month extension of his investigation into Kornak’s decade-long conservatorship over the woman’s finances.
The old woman died last April, and now the judge wants to know what happened to her money. Her condominium? Her insurance settlement from the car accident? Her trust? Her estate plan? Who made debit card purchases on the day of her death?
Not only did Clearwater agree to Maul’s request, she also ruled that Kornak—a slip-and-fall attorney by trade—must pay for Maul’s time.
Kornak, for her part, said nothing in defense of herself.
What began as a story about a simple insurance scam perpetrated by Kornak in the name of the old woman has morphed into a scandal implicating Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and threatening the impeachment of Dana Nessel.
Kornak was a suspected embezzler, and Whitmer and Nessel knew about the allegations. Nevertheless, they allowed her to continue in her political position as treasurer of the state Democratic Party.
In fact, Whitmer was planning to appoint Kornak to a judgeship as soon as the criminal investigation went away.
But Kornak was never given a judicial robe, because I would not let the story die. After Nessel complained about a column I published in the Detroit News chronicling her unethical interference in the Kornak investigation, I replied to her on social media with the phrase “See You Next Tuesday”—a euphemism for female genitalia.
My pearl-clutching colleagues at the News feigned outrage, tarred me as a misogynist, and I was forced to resign. Professional jealousy is an ugly thing.
Not another word was written in the paper about the scandal, and I canceled my subscription. But I kept publishing. First online, and now with Michigan Enjoyer.
And so here we are. Tuesday has arrived.
The Kent County Sheriff’s Office has completed its own two-year investigation into Kornak’s stewardship of the old woman’s financial affairs. Among its recommendations are charges of felony embezzlement, which carries a 20-year prison term. That report now sits on the desk of Chris Becker, the Kent County prosecutor, who is considering charges.
Most nauseating about this whole affair—beyond the alleged abuse of an elder who could not fend for herself —is that those in power knew all along. I called them. I shouted questions at them. I mocked them online, in print, and on TV.
Who are THEY? THEY are those who were in a position to protect the old woman. The governor. The attorney general. The Democratic Party brass. The Attorney Grievance Commission. The Probate Court. The Media.
THEY only proved themselves to be what THEY accused me of being—misogynists, abusers of women.
Worse, THEY proved themselves to be cowards.
There is a light in this dark story. Enjoyer has learned that the FBI has begun making inquiries into the sordid affair.
If justice can prevail, then things might be better for the next old lady.
Charlie LeDuff is a reporter educated in public schools. Follow him on X @Charlieleduff.
