Jan. 12—TRAVERSE CITY — It took 45 minutes for a jury to acquit former state Rep. Larry Inman, R-Williamsburg, of the public corruption charges he’d fought for five years.

Inman, 69, previously had served as a Grand Traverse County commissioner for 22 years — from 1992 to 2014. On Thursday, he was exonerated of federal charges of attempted extortion and soliciting a bribe while serving in the state House of Representatives.

The verdict in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids concluded a five-year legal battle stretching back to 2019 — a saga that left Inman financially broke and subject to public vilification.

A banker by profession, Inman was first tried on similar charges in 2019, but the jury in that case could not reach a verdict on two of the three charges. Federal prosecutors refiled the case late last year in another attempt to convict him; that effort failed this week.

“I’m very disappointed that the government pursued this case again based on nothing but concoctions,” said Chris Cooke, a Traverse City attorney who represented Inman in the 2019 case. “But, today, I’m ecstatic that the jury saw the truth in this case.”

James Fisher of Grand Rapids, Inman’s public defender in Thursday’s jury trial, said his client feels “vindicated.”

“I think he’s very glad to have this behind him,” Fisher told the Detroit Free Press. “This has been a very long struggle for him. And he’s never said anything other than that he is not guilty of these charges — and I think the jury believed that.”

Speaking for the prosecution, Western District of Michigan U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said Friday: “While I respectfully disagree with this outcome, today’s verdict does not deter my commitment to fight public corruption with impartiality and safeguard the public’s trust in our democracy.”

The federal case against Inman alleged that he had solicited campaign contributions from union officials in return for changing his vote on repealing the Michigan prevailing wage law in June 2018. If he had been convicted of the vote-selling charges, Inman could have faced up 20 years in prison.

Soon after the indictments were filed by federal prosecutors in May 2019, the Republican leadership in the state House stripped Inman of all his committee assignments. He also was voted out of the House Republican caucus and banned from using his legislative office or staff.

In June 2019, Inman disclosed that he has been battling a severe opioid addiction after taking prescription painkillers for years following various surgeries.

That public admission came just two days after then-House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, and then-House Minority Leader Christine Greig, D-Farmington Hills, introduced a resolution urging Inman to resign from office or face the prospect of expulsion. They withdrew that resolution after learning that Inman would enter treatment for his addiction.

Citizens in Grand Traverse County launched a recall campaign against Inman in 2019. However, the effort to put a recall on the ballot failed after the state Bureau of Elections ruled that the group was 208 signatures short of the required number because of petition residence errors.

Ultimately, money was at the root of the vote-selling allegations against Inman — both campaign contributions and the state-mandated pay rate for union laborers on public construction projects.

From 1965 to 2018, the so-called “prevailing wage” law required state and local agencies to pay union hourly rates and benefits on those projects. Opponents argued that law drove up costs for government projects and discriminated against independent, non-union contractors.

Union organizations throughout Michigan campaigned against the repeal of the prevailing wage law in 2018 because it would allow state and local agencies to pay less than the official union rate on construction projects. The two union organizations involved in Inman’s case were the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights based in Warren, Mich., and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), based in Lansing.

The Record-Eagle attempted to contact Inman and representatives of both union organizations on Friday but calls were not returned by deadline.

During both the 2019 trial and the recent retrial, text messages exchanged between Inman and union officials provided key evidence in the case. Federal charges filed against him included allegations of “extortion by using his authority as an elected representative, soliciting a campaign contribution and knowingly making a false statement to the FBI.”

According to the original indictment, one of Inman’s text messages to a union official read as follows:

“Hi [Person A], I hear the prevailing wage vote may be on Wednesday. In my opinion, We all need some more help! Carpenters have been good to me, where are the rest of the trades on checks? We only have 12, people to block it. You said all 12 will get $30,000 each to help there campaigns. That did not happen, we will get a ton of pressure on this vote.”

Inman’s attorneys countered that, saying that asking for campaign contributions isn’t illegal and the text messages sent by Inman could be interpreted as a routine solicitation for campaign funds.

They also argued that Inman’s opioid addiction made it difficult for him to communicate clearly.

Running for election or re-election to the state Legislature can be expensive, according to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, a nonprofit that monitors campaign donations and expenditures. Costs range from a few hundred thousand dollars to more than $3 million.

Unions, business organizations and non-profit advocacy groups have long donated money to candidates they consider friendly to their own particular interests. Typically, unions have supported Democratic candidates. In the Inman case, the vote on the repeal of the prevailing wage law was expected to be close.

In the end, Inman voted with his Republican colleagues in the Legislature to repeal the prevailing wage law in 2019. That repeal remained in place until March 2023 when Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a law re-instituting the prevailing wage law, effective March 2024.

Rob Hentschel, chairman of the Grand Traverse County Commission, knows Inman and mentioned his friendly, outgoing personality that attracted high-value clients to his bank, including a national video rental firm.

“At one point, he wanted to be a state policeman,” Hentschel added. “He also has a fascination with Amelia Earhart [the pioneering female aviator who disappeared during an around-the-world flight attempt]. He even visited some of the islands where she might have crashed in 1937.”

Hentschel, who declined to comment on the criminal case, ran against Inman for a seat on the county commission in 2014 and won by 120 votes.

Inman was forced to sell his house in Acme Township to pay his legal fees, Hentschel said.

“Larry has paid a tremendous price for standing up to clear his name,” attorney Chris Cooke said. “I commend him for his courage — despite the tremendous cost.”