Download and read the Sheriff’s Dec. 2023 secret investigation Case Report prepared for Judge Tracy Van den Bergh.

by P.D. Lesko

1/28/25 Correction: Matthew Harshberger is Sheriff Dyer’s Undersheriff not Jail Commander Shiappacasse.

In Nov. 2024, the Ann Arbor Independent filed suit in the Washtenaw County Circuit Court to ask the Court to compel Supreme Felons, Incorporation to turn over public records requested in two Freedom of Information Act requests made in Sept. 2024. The judge originally assigned to the case was the Hon. Timothy P. Connors. In Jan. 2025, Judge Connors retired and the case was reassigned to the Hon. Tracy E. Van den Bergh. On Jan. 23, 2025, the newspaper filed a Motion to Disqualify Judge Van den Bergh.

In Jan. 2025, the newspaper received a copy of a Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Case Report dated Dec. 18, 2023. The Case Report shows Judge Van den Bergh, using her title and elected office, contacted the County Sheriff to investigate a litigant appearing before her. Former Sheriff Jerry L. Clayton secretly investigated the social media posts of the litigant, David Scott Mathieu. Photocopies of the man’s social media posts to Nextdoor included in the Case Report, for example, show him asking for “prayers” and “help” in the face of what he claims were biased rulings on the part of Judge Van den Bergh.

In his social media posts, Mathieu also posted a link to an article published on Nov. 5. 2023 by the A2Indy, “Local Trial Court Judge Subject of Complaints to State Judicial Tenure Commission and AG Nessel.” JTC complaints are not made public unless the Commission recommends action. A copy of the JTC complaint had been provided to the newspaper.

In that article, the newspaper also used court records and reported on Judge Van den Bergh’s rulings in Mathieu’s divorce from a Washtenaw County Asst. Prosecutor, Marieh Tanha.

During subsequent public court hearings, Judge Van den Bergh rebuked the newspaper for its Nov. 5, 2023 article, as she is entitled to do as per Michigan Judicial Canons.

During a public Zoom hearing involving Mathieu and Tanha, Judge Van den Bergh took the litigants’ lawyers and a Guardian ad Litem into a private breakout Zoom meeting. In that meeting, a video of which was provided to the newspaper, the Judge again rebuked the newspaper for it’s Nov. 5, 2023 article, and characterized the reporting about her as untruthful. The Judge bragged the Michigan AG would never investigate her. She also bragged and that in her time in office (2021-2023) she had had many JTC complaints filed against her, primarily by domestic abusers.

The JTC complaint sent to the newspaper and reported on in the Nov. 5, 2023 article had not been filed by a domestic abuser; it had been filed by David Mathieu’s lawyer who said he quit in the face of Judge Van den Bergh’s obvious bias.

It was about a month after the publication of that Nov. 5, 2023 article that Judge Van den Bergh asked the County Sheriff to conduct a secret investigation into Mathieu’s “behavior,” a man whose child custody Judge Van den Bergh was deciding, and whose lawyer had filed the JTC complaint against her alleging judicial bias.

In his social media posts, David Mathieu linked to the Ann Arbor Independent’s Nov. 5, 2023 article. As a result, the Sheriff’s Case Report includes a copy of the newspaper’s Nov. 5, 2023 article.

The Sheriff’s investigator “investigated” the contents of the Nov. 5, 2023 Ann Arbor Independent article and concluded that the reporting was factual.

The Nov. 5, 2023 article reported Judge Van den Bergh had ordered Mathieu to complete a class meant for domestic abusers. The social worker in charge of the class said because Mathieu had not been the subject of any domestic violence complaints, charges or convictions, the class contents were inappropriate.

Mathieu also shared a copy of his court-ordered psychological evaluation. He was diagnosed with anxiety disorder.

Court records show that Tanha has successfully petitioned Judge Van den Bergh to issue multiple ex parte PPOs against Mathieu. The Case Report shows Tanha participated in the Sheriff’s secret investigation of her ex-husband, as did Tanha’s divorce lawyer, Nik Lulgjuraj.

The newspaper also reported that Judge Van den Bergh had ordered Mathieu, a disabled veteran, to pay hundreds of dollars for each 3-hour weekly supervised visit with his two small children.

Tanha’s lawyer Nik Lulgjuraj told the investigating detective in Dec. 2023 that Tanha had told him Mathieu would show up at his office or home and try to intimidate him. Lulgjuraj also told the investigating detective that Mathieu had shown up twice at Lulgjuraj’s office to pay court ordered attorney’s fees, and was “attempting to intimidate” the lawyer.

Mathieu provided a text from his then lawyer who advised handing off the court ordered legal fees to Lulgjuraj at his office.

Mathieu also provided a video in which it shows him politely handing off money “for Nik,” to a woman who appears to be Lulgjuraj’s receptionist. Mathieu then provided a text message to his then attorney in which he says he dropped off money for legal fees to Lulgjuraj and wished the lawyer a good day.

Nik Lulgjuraj, when asked to comment on the discrepancy between his statement to the investigating detective for the Case Report and the video, did not reply.

Campaign finance records show that Lulgjuraj donated several hundred dollars to then candidate Tracy Van den Bergh’s judicial campaign.

According to the Case Report, in requesting the Sheriff investigate Mathieu, Judge Van den Bergh did not allege wrongdoing or criminal conduct on Mathieu’s part. Judge Van den Bergh purported David Mathieu’s behavior, and his social media posts (which included links to the A2Indy article about the JTC and AG complaints filed against her) made her fear for her safety.

In the Dec. 2023 Case Report, the Sheriff’s investigator concluded Mathieu had not made any threats against Judge Van den Bergh or anyone else interviewed.

The Case Report investigation contents suggest Mathieu was targeted by Judge Van den Bergh, his ex-wife and her lawyer for posting pleas on on social media for “help” and “prayers” along with a link to the newspaper’s Nov. 5, 2023 article which included reporting on both Judge Van den Bergh and Marieh Tanha.

Chief Judge Patrick J. Conlin, Jr., who has administrative responsibility for the Washtenaw County 22nd Circuit Court, as well as the power to investigate unethical conduct on the part of the other Trial Court judges, was asked to comment. He has not yet responded.

The Case Report states, “I [the investigator] coordinated with Judge Van Den Bergh, Marieh Tanha, and WCSO Jail Commander Schiappacasse (who’d been in contact with Van Den Bergh) to gather additional information relating to this case.”

The newspaper’s 2024 reporting on the workings of the local Trial Court was nominated for awards by the Society of Professional Journalists.