On July 15 , the jury in the trial of Michael Good, former director of the Marshall County Waste Management District, deliberated for about three hours before returning a guilty verdict on the two D Felony counts against him.
Following Grand Jury indictments in December, 2014 , Good was charged with D Felony Theft and D Felony Official Misconduct.
The charges stemmed from the sale of scrap metal from January 1, 2012 through April 30, 2014. Prosecutors said there were 15 trips to Lewis Salvage in Warsaw during that period of time, but only 3 payments were accounted for in the records of the MC Solid Waste Management. The value of the unaccounted payments totaled $9,017.12.
Rebuttal testimony on the second day of the trial included that from former Marshall County Police Officer, Larry Snyder. Good had contended that the scrap materials in question were from his own recycling items that were stored in the garage, attic and basement of his home. Snyder recounted an occasion when he conducted a criminal investigation at the Good home in October, 2009. Snyder said that case was unrelated to the case before the court, but while he was investigating, he took pictures of the home with the garage door open showing no stockpile of recycled material.
Tim Eads who had testified on the first day of the trial was recalled. Eads had worked with Good for approximately eight years. Prosecutors asked if Good had ever mentioned he was collecting recyclables at home of the same materials that the Marshall County Depot collects.
Bev McDonald, former MC Solid Waste Management educator, also re-testified to address the same question. Both Eads and McDonald said they had no idea what Good was doing.
ISP Detective Aaron Rypma spoke of the time when he visited the recycling facility in August, 2014 . Rypma said, “I was asking specific questions of a subordinate and the director was within earshot and didn’t offer an explanation, only a tour.”
Rypma said during his interview with Good that he claimed he only visited Lewis Salvage 5-6 times during the 27 months. Good reportedly used the county owned vehicle to make the deliveries to the salvage yard. Rypma added that when asked about the county vehicle he said he used it occasionally. However when Rypma said he would produce photos, he admitted to using it on every trip.
Good’s attorney, Michael Tuszynsky of South Bend, did not have any rebuttal testimony. In his closing statements, he said that no one identified the items that were recycled as belonging to the Depot.
Marshall County Deputy Prosecutor, Lynn Berndt, reviewed many of the receipts from Lewis Salvage noting the time of day, days of the week, types of material and pounds and the amount paid in cash to Good.
She showed that 24,769 pounds was recycled in the 27 months with the Depot having 8,605 pounds and Good having 16,164 pounds.
The case was given to the jury by Superior Court Judge Robert Bowen about 11:00 A.M. They returned a few minutes after 2:00 P.M. with the guilty verdict on both counts.
Sentencing has been set for August 10 at 10:30 A.M.
Good was ordered to report to the Marshall County Probation Department before 4:00 P. M. on June 15.
Kathy Bottorff and Carol Anders provided this article
