Follow-up to a post by Mark Suwyn, Escanaba - Friday, November 20, 2009 at 10:10 a.m.

Mark. You can try to win arguments and prove points by just telling people to use "common sense".

If people just used common sense we would still believe the sun revolved around the earth and that the earth was flat. It took people who went against common sense to prove those two theories. I've read old statements that tried to justify slavery due to "common sense".

Posted by Mark Suwyn, Escanaba - Friday, November 20, 2009 at 10:10 a.m.

"Innocence cannot be proven"...

You live in a sad world Mary Nichols. You ever heard of common sense? Its a good thing, I suggest you look it up.

I am very informed of the internal dealings of this case and there are no contractors involved in this for any reason other than to stand as witnesses. I see how the charges could have led someone to believe that there were in fact independent contractors involved in the scandal, but the fact of the matter is that when the charges refer to contractor fraud and illegal use of contractor funds it means Gokey & Westrom as they were their own general contractors and only hired companies to do the work as sub contractors. Sorry to be the one to let you down but,nothing more exciting will come of this other than more charges against Gokey & Westrom.

I am proud to call you cousin. You have always stood for what is good and right! Wish there were many more like you!!!

The prosecutor and the police owe these guys a public apology! It is quite clear that the cops did not do their work and the prosecutor jumped the gun not knowing what was going on.
Can't wait to watch this thing unfold and see who the crooked builders and other contractors are. I hope these guys can get some of their money back and put the screws to Gokey and Westrom.

I'm responding to the person who wrote about knowing who you partner with. Brian did know Mike Gokey, very well, for 10 years, they were friends. What really happened is that for many reasons that don't excuse his behavior, Mike became desperate in his life and chose to make very bad decisions, decisions that hurt his friends and other people. So how long must one know someone before they can trust them? As soon as Brian figured out what was really going on, he called the police. Please stop making up possible scenarios about things you know nothing about. That is exactly what hurts the innocent. If you know nothing, say nothing. If you know something, call the prosecutor.

The most interesting thing I found in this story is this statement...

"What's most upsetting to us is the fact that while this project was collapsing, Mr. Gokey and Mr. Westrom AND OTHERS have been taking, funneling money out of this project while they knew we were suffering," said LaVallie. (CAPS added).

Who are the OTHERS that have been "taking," and "funneling" money out of the project? It's obvious that Mr. LaVallie knows who these other people are. I am hoping that the "others" referenced will be charged as well!

But don't you think when you go into buisness together with someone, everyone should pay attention to the bank statements / records of everything that's being done / hold meetings for all involved to go over EVERYTHING pretaining to - course some people are good at hiding important documents: hiding it under the rug.

Innocence was not proven in this case; the charges were dropped. Which could mean a few different options:

A. They are innocent and were completely unaware of any misdoings.

B. The prosecution did not have enough evidence to hold up in court. (Which may or may not prove their innocence.)

C. The prosecution determined that these 3 partners did not have a big hand in this and in return for their testimony against the remaining two, the prosecution did not pursue charges on them.

I am fine assuming the first option, as it is in my mind the most probable in this case. I feel bad for these gentlemen; it will very much hurt their names.

Although guilt by association is not something I believe in, I think association does sometimes bite you when a crime like this is committed. As investors, they should have investigated this guy better before entrusting money to him. Still even if they did, there is always the risk of something like this happening. I hope it is a lesson to would-be investors to only invest with proven and trustworthy individuals and go with your gut if something does smell right.

You just did. :)

I am just waiting for someone to say that these 3 had charges dropped as part of a Republican Conspiracy!

"Innocence cannot be proven"...

You live in a sad world Mary Nichols. You ever heard of common sense? Its a good thing, I suggest you look it up.

You are correct, but must be blind. It's obvious the Prosecuter dropped the ball here. These three should not have been charged in the first place. Do you have any clue as to how unusual this is? Charges being dropped after a few short weeks? They did not do their homework or the police who did the investigation on the 3 INNOCENT GUYS are morons. Let the system work, but these two CRIMINALS Gokey and Westrom are bad players.

these guys were business partners. ignorance is no excuse.

"Charges were dropped" against 3 men; they were NOT proven innocent, as claimed by another commenter here.

Innocence cannot be proven!

The two remaining defendants will face charges through a prosecution procedure.

At this time, no one is guilty.

Like the judge, let's all reserve our decisions until the facts are known.

For all you people throwing these three under a bus during this... shame on you. Three good people who have gone through hell in the last month publically with their names and a lot of people posting on these stories here were part of it. Guilty until proven innocent. Well they are proven innocent now so give these guys a break. They deserve it.