Ex-Highland Park manager enters plea in money case

HIGHLAND PARK (AP) -- The former emergency manager for Highland Park has pleaded no contest to mishandling public money for receiving unauthorized payments from the impoverished Detroit enclave. The Wayne County prosecutor's office says Arthur Blackwell II entered his plea Tuesday in Wayne County Circuit Court. The charge is a misdemeanor. A no contest plea isn't an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes. Blackwell was appointed by then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm in 2005 to oversee Highland Park's finances. He was dismissed in 2009. The prosecutor's office said he wrote $264,000 in checks from city funding. Blackwell's sentencing is scheduled for April 16. Published: Thu, Mar 14, 2013