WDET g.m. pleads no contest to embezzlement charges

Michael Coleman, g.m. at WDET in Detroit, pled no contest to a reduced embezzlement charge Thursday and "faces up to 93 days in jail and $500 fine when he is sentenced June 22," according to the Ann Arbor News. The charge stemmed from Coleman's tenure as deputy director of Michigan Public Media, during which he and two colleagues kept Persian rugs, event tickets, a pool table and other donated goods and services for themselves, according to an internal audit by the University of Michigan, the station's license holder. Coleman has agreed to pay $3500 in restitution to his former employer. WDET will retain him as g.m. despite the plea, station officials say. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as a guilty conviction for sentencing purposes. Justin Ebright, former MPR development director, was sentenced to two years probation, 50 hours of community service and $10,000 restitution. Former account executive Jeremy Nordquist still awaits trial, according to the Associated Press (via Mlive.com).