Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder pardoned a politically connected lawyer with a drunk driving conviction. Alan Gocha Jr. “never contributed to my campaign,” Snyder said, “[or] had any financial connection at all. I didn’t meet with him about this issue.” Snyder has approved only 11 out of 750 requests since he took office in 2011. Snyder was looking for “potential pardons where the conviction was inhibiting them from advancing economically,” he said. Gocha applied for the pardon because it was interfering with business deals on Wall Street and inhibiting his travel abroad. The state’s parole board encouraged him to apply.
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