LANSING – Rep. Robert Dean’s chief of staff has resigned after a newspaper exposed Noah Seifullah gloating about making a profit off the state through a film credit deal for a studio near Grand Rapids.
The Grand Rapids Press reported on Seifullah’s comments, which were made at a conference in Chicago, in which he said a building he was buying that would be converted into a film studio would net him millions of dollars. While he didn’t specifically say so, the building appeared to be the proposed Hangar42 project.
“I’m not a movie producer, I’m a real estate guy. I’m buying a building from one of my partners for $50 million. To get the building costs $4 million. The 20 percent (infrastructure) tax credit will provide us with $12.5 million. We made a profit off the state. Now we can go on and do whatever else we want to do,” Seifullah said in the speech.
At a Thursday press conference, Dean (D-Grand Rapids) said while he was still sorting out the facts surrounding the studio deal and Seifullah’s involvement, “the perception of possible wrongdoing or unethical actions by my staff casts a shadow of uncertainty on my office and has created a distraction to my duties as a lawmaker.”
The controversy threatens to derail Dean’s bid for the 29th Senate District. He faces a tough primary against former Grand Rapids City Commissioner David LaGrand, and the winner of that race will be featured in one of the key races in the fall against the Republicans for Senate control. LaGrand did not return a message seeking comment and has declined comment in the past on the controversy.
Meanwhile, the Mackinac Center, which has sharply criticized the film credit – and uncovered emails showing that a top state official had regretted the Hangar42 situation – called for the Legislature, Attorney General Mike Cox and U.S. Attorney’s Office to investigate the matter.
“While there is no clear indication that a crime has been committed, there are enough questions surrounding this deal that the Legislature, the Michigan Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office should carefully scrutinize it and take appropriate action,” said Patrick Wright of the Mackinac Center.
Seifullah later told the Grand Rapids paper he was “being braggadocio” in his speech, but that he doesn’t own or have an investment stake in Hangar42. But the newspaper has previously reported Seifullah has been involved in business with the man who owns the property where the studio is trying to locate, Jack Buchanan Jr.
In his capacity as Dean’s legislative aide, Seifullah was asked to look into why the state was taking so long approving the film credit. Dean said he was told Seifullah didn’t have business dealings with Buchanan, so he believed nothing to be improper about the aide following up on the issue. The state eventually rejected the studio’s tax credit.
Dean said he accepted Seifullah’s resignation and hopes it allows him and his other staff to get back to the business of helping Michigan families.
“We are at a critical point in completing the state budget, and I am working on the issues of my constituents,” Dean said in a statement.
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