Just after escaping headlines for a drunk driving arrest wherein he attempted to use Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s name to threaten police, state Rep. Jewell Jones (D-Inkster) is back in the news.
“A Michigan lawmaker reported spending $221 of his campaign money at a strip club in Dearborn for a March 8 ‘constituent meeting’ to discuss ‘potential economic projects,’ according to a disclosure filed Sunday,” The Detroit News reported.
The establishment where the meeting occurred, which Jones reportedly described as a “lounge” in a brief phone interview with that The Detroit News, is called Pantheion Club, which claims to be “the oldest and most established gentlemens [sic] club in Michigan.”
Jones, whose phone disconnected abruptly during the interview, texted “We have (to) meet people where they’re at some times … #HOLLA,” to reporters after the phone call.
The strip club was not the only questionable expenditure on Jones’ report.
“The spending also featured $696 at Ferraro’s Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar in Las Vegas on March 22. Jones described it as a ‘dinner meeting with other legislators,'” according to the report. “A week later, the campaign spent $514 at Jon’s Goodtime Bar & Grill in Inkster for a ‘meeting with community stakeholders on potential projects.'”
Jones was recently arrested by Michigan State Troopers on Interstate 96 after his SUV was observed and reported by multiple motorists swerving between lanes.
Dashcam footage of his arrest shows him trying to use his connections with Whitmer to intimidate the police.
It’s not going to be good for you. I’m telling you,” he yells at police during the struggle. “I run y’alls budget, bro. When I call Gretchen, I’ll need y’alls IDs and badge numbers, everything.”
He faces pending charges of resisting and obstructing a police officer, operating a motor vehicle with a high blood alcohol content, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, possession of a weapon while under the influence of alcohol, and reckless driving.
“Last week, he was fined $1,000 for a bond violation in which he failed to pay the fee to keep his alcohol monitor tethering on,” The Detroit News reported. “The violation was his second.”
The maximum penalty for those charges is two years in prison.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Michigan Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
