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Fri, 25 Jul 2025 20:51:51 -0700 marlon from private IP, post #11288509 /all former CFO gets 6 months in jail damn. hard fall. https://www.freep.com/story/news/columnists/ml-elrick/2025/07/24/former-wayne-county-cfo-gets-six-months-in-jail/85346233007/ Wife-beating former Wayne County CFO gets 6 months in jail. His victim gets justice. Former high-flying Wayne County CFO Tony Saunders hoped to avoid jail after admitting he beat his wife. Twice. Instead, he got six months behind bars. Portrait of M.L. ElrickM.L. Elrick Detroit Free Press Former Wayne County Chief Financial Officer Tony Saunders II came to court looking sharp in a blue suit, but the jewelry he left with neither upgraded his outfit nor fulfilled his hope of avoiding jail time for beating his wife. Saunders didn't visibly register disappointment on Wednesday, July 23, after Oakland County Circuit Judge Nanci Grant issued her sentence. His air was more of resignation, as he put his hands behind his back as deputies approached to fit him with silver bracelets — more commonly known as handcuffs — and led him out of the courtroom to begin serving a six-month jail term. Former Wayne County CFO, Tony Saunders II, who was convicted of assault and domestic violence in June, was led out of the courtroom after he was sentenced to six months in jail and five years probation in the Oakland County Courtroom of Judge Nanci Grant on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. It was a muted ending to an 18-month saga that began when Saunders, the protege of Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, beat his wife, Tatiana Grant, in their east side home in January 2024. Grant left Saunders, only to be beaten again months later after lending him her car. The Free Press generally does not name victims of sexual or domestic violence, but Grant has chosen to turn her plight into a campaign to speak out on behalf of abused women. She told the judge — who, despite sharing a last name, is no relation — that she would demand justice for herself as well as women who can't. "I am not a scorned or vindictive ex-wife," she said in her victim's impact statement. "I am someone who survived." Grant said Saunders beat her about two dozen times during their brief marriage. She said he also beat previous partners. And while she has urged judges to order him to seek treatment, she told the judge: "I have zero doubts that there will be more after me." Grant acknowledged that her now ex-husband is troubled. More: Former Wayne County CFO convicted of assault and domestic violence Tatiana Grant walks away from the podium in the Oakland County courtroom of Judge Nanci Grant after reading a victim impact statement as her former abuser, Wayne County CFO, Tony Saunders II, who was convicted of assault and domestic violence in June, was sentenced to six months in jail and five years probation on Wednesday, July 23, 2025 . It is the one thing they agree on. Gerry Gleeson II, Saunders' attorney, hoped to persuade the judge not to sentence his client to jail by listing trauma, including an abusive mother who abandoned him by the time he was 11, a father who "had difficulty managing his anger and took out his ire on his son," and a cousin and an in-law who sexually abused him when he was 8 years old. Grant told the judge Saunders' problems "run deep ... but his manipulations run much deeper." Among the friends and family who wrote letters to the judge seeking leniency for Saunders was Deputy Wayne County Executive Assade Turfe. Turfe did not make his appeal on official county stationery, though he did mention — twice — that he is deputy county executive. Turfe declined to comment when I asked him whether he was concerned about what people would say when they found out that he went to bat for a wife-beater. Instead, he sent me this statement: “I want to be clear: I condemn domestic violence in all its forms. I also believe in accountability, rehabilitation, and the power of second chances. I’ve known Tony Saunders for nearly a decade and have witnessed the sincere work he’s done to take responsibility and change. My letter was written in my personal capacity, not to excuse his actions, but to support someone who is actively trying to be better because I believe it’s the right thing to do.” Wayne County communications director Doda Lulgjuraj said Evans was aware Turfe was going to send his letter to the judge, but declined to comment beyond noting that Turfe acted as an individual and not a public official. Saunders could have been sentenced to up to 11 months in jail, but Grant left court relieved that he got at least six months. Former Wayne County CFO, Tony Saunders II, left speaks to his attorney Gerry Gleeson in the Oakland County courtroom of Nanci Grant on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. Saunders was convicted of assault and domestic violence in June and was sentenced to six months in jail and five years probation. "He's had multiple chances," she told the judge in a clear, steady voice. "Each time, he uses his charm, his privilege, and his legal team to skirt real consequences. "Tony has shown who he really is — over and over again. It's time the system does the same, and sentences accordingly. I am faithful that the justice system doesn't continue to prioritize the comfort of abusers over the safety of survivors. I still believe in justice. That's why I'm here." M.L. Elrick is a Pulitzer Prize- and Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter, director of student investigative reporting program Eye On Michigan, and host of the ML's Soul of Detroit podcast. Contact him at mlelrick@freepress.com or follow him on X at @elrick, Facebook at ML Elrick and Instagram at ml_elrick. Fri, 25 Jul 2025 21:12:24 -0700 marlon from private IP Reply #12879054 was so jealous of this guy, how the hell do u get to be CFO of a big municipality in ur early 30s? nobody would give me the time of day, like i were some kind of criminal. guess it's who u blow that mattersReplies require login.