NORTHVILLE TOWNSHIP, MI – Johnny Lee Hamilton says he’s a victim of selective justice; due to his status as local “strip club king,” Hamilton claims, the county prosecutor and Northville Township Police aren’t handling his case with their usual zest and zeal.“It’s all because I’m John Hamilton,” Hamilton told The Detroit News. “You can’t even write about me without saying, ‘John Hamilton, strip club mogul.’”
Hamilton has been the victim of multiple crimes this year, including a home-invasion robbery this spring, during which masked intruders carrying firearms broke into his home, hogtied the 65 year-old former cop, and made off with $70,000 cash and other property.
In a separate incident, Hamilton’s mother-in-law was able to slam the door on another would-be armed intruder at one of Hamilton’s other properties in the area. Hamilton says he has also been followed and confronted at Northville Downs, where Hamilton often plays the horses, and contacted repeatedly by someone demanding $50,000 for tips in the case.
“If I told you I wasn’t scared, well, I sleep with a 12-gauge shotgun next to my bed,” said Hamilton. “I’ve been in danger before, but this has me worried.”
Hamilton claims that he has assisted in the investigation into the robbery and attempted extortion by wearing a wire, bugging his own phones, and having a suspect tailed by the security personnel employed at his clubs, many of whom are ex-cops like Hamilton.
Local police, however, see Hamilton’s participation as an obstacle rather than a contribution.
“If Mr. Hamilton would allow the police to investigate and not share information with everyone he sees, we all might be better off,” said Northville Township Police Chief John Werth.
Hamilton says that the man who demanded money in exchange for tips in the case had “inside information” regarding the break-in and knowledge of items other than cash that were stolen, including a rare handgun.
Working with the Western Wayne County Community Response team, a cooperative of investigators from multiple jurisdictions, Hamilton set up a “bag drop” sting to capture the alleged extortionist. The bag man in question dropped the bag full of money as police closed in, and successfully evaded the subsequent pursuit.
Chief Werth said that investigators have since learned that the suspect apparently got his “inside information” by simply eavesdropping on Hamilton at a local bar, where Hamilton himself shared information from the investigation with any patron that would listen.
“We are doing an investigation and he keeps telling everyone what’s going on,” Werth said. “Obviously, that can make it harder for us.”
Hamilton denies shooting off his mouth at the bar and said the lack of action stems from his legal battles with Wayne County prosecutors, and a racketeering case pending against him in District Court.
“Take this to any other prosecutor in the state and I think you get a warrant,” Hamilton said. “This is an attempted larceny by trick, if not extortion.”
Maria Miller, spokeswoman for Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, denied that Hamilton has been treated unfairly, and echoed Wertz’s assertion that Hamilton is his own worst enemy.
Although Miller told the Detroit News she wasn’t comfortable discussing a continuing investigation, she did say that prosecutors haven’t seen enough evidence to issue an arrest warrant for the alleged extortionist.
The fact that Hamilton offered a $25,000 reward for information, Miller said, casts doubt on whether his call for more money is blackmail, or simply a “negotiation.”
