Attorney calls Macomb deputy clerk ‘cuckoo’ after lynching threat on voice mail

They're supposed to be allies of embattled Macomb County Clerk/Register of Deeds Karen Spranger.

But Spranger's personal attorney and her hand-selected, appointed deputy register of deeds are at odds with each other after the lawyer says the deputy left him an angry voice mail in December saying he would be lynched if he walked into the county offices again.

"Anyone who'd leave a message threatening to lynch someone for daring to show their face in a county office seeking services is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs," Spranger's attorney, Frank Cusumano, said Wednesday after the county ethics board discussed an ethics complaint he filed against Deputy Register of Deeds Jacqueline Ryan.

He said Ryan left the message after a court hearing on a complaint filed by county officials, in part over a backlog of thousands of cases that needed to be filed in the clerk's office.

Ryan claimed that what Cusumano quoted "was not what was said on the tape."

But in a copy of the voice mail provided to the Free Press, a woman, who identifies herself as Jackie, gets increasingly angry, demanding Cusumano call her because "my staff is irate, mad about what just happened in court. They all heard it. And they wanted to be witnesses to that. None were on our side of the witnesses. That's all complete lies and we're all irate.

"You can't walk into this office. We're going to lynch you. For what you didn't stand up for Karen and our office the right truth of what's happening. We are mad at you beyond mad."

Ryan said Cusumano filed the complaint in retaliation for him not being removed as Spranger's attorney in a different lawsuit, one of several in which the county clerk is involved. He asked to be removed from that case in January because Spranger hadn't paid him.

In that case, Spranger sued Macomb County, claiming the county was hindering her from running her offices, and Macomb officials counter-sued, alleging that Spranger lied about her residency when she filed to run for office in April 2016 and isn't legally the clerk. That case is being heard in St. Clair County Circuit Court.

The judge denied Cusumano's request to withdraw as Spranger's attorney.

Cusumano filed his ethics complaint Jan. 30, stating that about 11:34 a.m. on Dec. 11, Ryan left a message on his voice mail in which she "expressed her dissatisfaction of the presentation by Cusumano" at a court hearing earlier that day.

"Ryan threatened Cusumano that, 'if you ever show your face in here again, we are going to lynch you,' " according to his ethics complaint.

Cusumano stated that he is the president of a subdivision association and must routinely file liens and discharges as part of this duties to the association at the register of deeds and "is fed up with the antics by Jacqueline Ryan."

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After discussing the complaint Wednesday, the ethics board is giving Ryan 21 days to respond in writing, if she chooses to do so, under the board's rules of procedure, Chairman Donald Amboyer said.

He said Ryan's response would be reviewed at the board's next meeting in March, and the board would decide if a full hearing on the matter is needed.

Ryan said she will be responding.

Neither Ryan nor Cusumano spoke at the ethics board meeting, Amboyer said. Spranger attended the meeting. Cusumano said there is no evidence that Spranger knew about the message Ryan left.

Ryan told the Free Press that Cusumano filed the ethics complaint in retaliation against her because he wanted her position or to become the deputy clerk, a position Spranger has not been able to fill since taking office last year.

Cusumano denied that, saying "I have no interest, zero interest, in being an employee of this county under any circumstances." He is being paid by the county to represent Spranger in one of the cases being heard in St. Clair County Circuit Court.

Cusumano said the voice mail speaks for itself. He said he believes it "exhibits an extraordinary lack of judgment" and violates statute and the county's ethics ordinance.

But Ryan said the things Cusumano is presenting to the ethics board are "inaccurate. They were definitely false statements." She said so much has been "misconstrued" and that she plans to file a grievance against Cusumano.

Ryan said it's "inappropriate what he did" and wondered why he delayed in making the ethics complaint. She said she has had many conversations with him, texts and e-mails that were pleasant and without issue since this occurred.

"It's sad that he went to this extent to wreck someone else's character," Ryan said.

Spranger, a Republican, has been battling other county officials and employee unions since taking office on Jan. 1, 2017, after winning a surprise victory on the coattails of President Donald Trump.

In November, she was ordered before the county board to explain the backlogs of thousands of documents that had gone unfiled in her offices, including about 4,400 entries into the Law Enforcement Information System (LEIN).

County Corporation Counsel John Schapka on Wednesday said the backlog has since been greatly reduced, thanks to hires and other improvements resulting from the Dec. 11 court order.

Contact Christina Hall: chall99@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.