Marlinga Case: Brief biographies of the indicted men
April 23, 2004
Carl Marlinga:
| Macomb County
prosecutor since 1985, Marlinga, 57, was first elected as a reformer
who promised to end favoritism.
Earlier, he worked for the Michigan Attorney General's Office in 1972, was an assistant Macomb County prosecutor in 1973 and went into private practice until 1980 when he became an assistant U.S. attorney in Detroit. In 1981 he returned to private practice until elected prosecutor. |
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Marlinga flirted with other offices, including the U.S. Senate and the Michigan Supreme Court. He ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002, but lost to Michigan Secretary of State Candice Miller. He has said he won't seek a fifth term as prosecutor.
He lives in Sterling Heights with his wife, Barbara. He has five grown children.
Ralph Roberts:
An eccentric, self-made entrepreneur and motivational speaker, Roberts may be best-known locally for buying the nail from the giant Uniroyal tire on I-94. His Warren real estate business is one of the top-selling firms in the country.
Roberts, 47, with clients like Eminem, has a larger-than-life personality. In January, he gave each employee $1,000 to make a list of goals.
He has written several books, including "Walk Like a Giant, Sell Like a Madman." In 1989, he told the Free Press that "when I play Monopoly, I buy everything."
A Clinton Township resident, he and his wife, Kathleen, have three children.
Jim Barcia:
He moved into politics in 1977, three years after he graduated from Saginaw Valley State University.
The Bay City Democrat served in the state House of Representatives from 1977 to 1982, and the state Senate from 1983 to 1992, when he was elected to the U.S. House. When his congressional seat was eliminated through redistricting after the 2000 census, Barcia, 52, returned to the state Senate in the 2002 elections.
He represents the 31st District, which includes Arenac, Bay, Huron, Sanilac and Tuscola counties.
He lives in Bay City with his wife, Vicki Bartlett, and has two stepchildren and four grandchildren.