Mich. councilman jailed over forged divorce papers for London mistress

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — A village councilman in northern Michigan is behind bars after authorities accused him of forging signatures of court officials on fake divorce documents and sending photos of them to his mistress in London.

Charles Rogers, 36, sits on the village council in Northport, about 30 miles north of Traverse City. Village Council President Phil Mikesell told the Traverse City, Michigan Record-Eagle that Rogers approached him in late February, prior to the start of his 90-day sentence in the Leelanau County Jail, and asked to be excused from the council’s meetings in March, April and May. At the time, Mikesell said, he was unaware of Rogers’ legal proceedings and approved the request.

“At the time, it hadn’t been in the paper, it wasn’t public knowledge and I didn’t press him on it,” Mikesell said.

Leelanau County prosecutors charged Rogers after a county sheriff’s department investigation determined he created bogus divorce paperwork by cutting and pasting from previous court documents, according to police reports.

Rogers apparently forged the signatures of Probate Judge Larry Nelson and other officials and sent photographs of the documents to a woman from London in an effort to continue their ongoing affair, court records state. The pair had met during trips to London, Canada and Chicago.

Rogers destroyed the documents after sending the photographs, reports state. The woman he sent the photographs to contacted Rogers’ wife, who contacted police.

Prosecutors dropped an original charge of impersonating a public officer or employee, allowing Rogers to plead to a lesser charge.

Officials spoke with village attorney William Davison after learning about Rogers’ case. Davison told them the misdemeanor charge “did not rise to the level that would permit further action from the council,” Mikesell said.

Davison did not return calls requesting comment.

Rogers’ sentence should conclude before June’s board meeting and Mikesell expects him to return to his seat.

Johnson writes for the Traverse City, Michigan Record-Eagle.