Lansing: Ex-Senator faces child sex case

LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- A former state senator and Michigan Liquor Commission chairman was charged Tuesday with multiple sex crimes, some involving middle-school-age children. Philip Arthurhultz, 63, of Lansing was charged with conspiracy to entice a minor girl for immoral purposes, gross indecency between males, tampering with a witness and accosting children, Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said in a news release. Arthurhultz was jailed on a $150,000 bond. The charges grew out of investigations by Lansing police and the state police Internet crimes unit, Dunnings said. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Arthurhultz, a Republican, served in the Senate from 1979-94. He was majority floor leader. After Arthurhultz decided not to run for re-election in 1994, then-Gov. John Engler named him head of the Liquor Control Commission and charged him with the task of privatizing the state's liquor distribution system. He served on the Liquor Control Commission in 1995-98, resigning after an audit questioned his use of state cars and telephones. Arthurhultz repaid $12,000 to the state. Then-state Attorney General Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat who went on to serve two terms as governor, investigated but declined to press charges. Published: Thu, Apr 14, 2011