Former Milwaukee City Attorney Tearman Spencer's trial postponed

MILWAUKEE - The real estate fraud trial of former Milwaukee City Attorney Tearman Spencer is on hold.

One man, three cases

In court:

Waukesha County Judge Ralph Ramirez, who was assigned to hear the case filed in Milwaukee County, postponed the trial, so prosecutors can work to consolidate three separate cases against Spencer into one.

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Spencer, 69, was in court Friday for both a jury status hearing in that case and an initial appearance in a felony bail jumping case filed against him earlier this month. In a third case, court records show Spencer is still scheduled to go to trial in July for felony misconduct in office and misdemeanor obstructing an officer.

William Sulton, Spencer's defense attorney, denies all charges and claims Spencer did not break his bond conditions.

Tearman Spencer

Misconduct case

The backstory:

According to a criminal complaint, the district attorney's office found Spencer used discretionary power when he was the city attorney to prevent the city's client, the Department of Neighborhood Services, from performing inspections and assessments on a property where he stored cars.

Specifically, Spencer is accused of directing city attorney's office staff and resources to the property to avoid fees and repairs on required Department of Neighborhood Services inspections that totaled thousands of dollars. 

Prosecutors said Spencer also "misled" investigators about the use of resources for his personal benefit while also admitting that he directed city attorney resources for his personal benefit – and contrary to the office's client, the Department of Neighborhood Services. The city attorney's office would be tasked with representing DNS in court.

Real estate fraud

The backstory:

A little more than a year after charging Spencer with misconduct, the district attorney's office accused him of crimes that happened outside his work as the city attorney.

Prosecutors said Spencer and a co-defendant illegally bought a Milwaukee home for $8,000, then listed it for $245,000. They two "allegedly misrepresented the value of the property to [the seller], convincing him that it was worth only $8,000. In reality, the property was valued significantly higher."

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The district attorney's office also accuses Spencer of money laundering and receiving stolen property from the home, because the person who sold the home did not have the right to do that – it was one of the children of the deceased owner.

Spencer's co-defendant in the case, Kennard Wragg, pleaded not guilty to three felony charges and was bound over for trial in April. He's due back in court in June.

Bail jumping

The backstory:

The bail jumping charge was filed on May 19. Prosecutors accuse Spencer of violating a no-contact order when he left a voicemail for an attorney who was a key witness in the real estate fraud case.

Court filings said the district attorney's office interpreted the voicemail as a "veiled bribe" trying to buy the witness' silence with a lucrative business deal.

The court had a strict order in place: Spencer was to have zero contact with an attorney who was a key witness for the state. Spencer's attorney said he planned to file a motion to dismiss the charge, arguing it was improperly filed.