Criminal charges filed in Livingston County have been dropped against a Northfield Township police lieutenant and two of his relatives.

Court records show that just days before their trial was set to start on multiple charges of uttering and publishing, the cases against 48-year-old Lt. Timothy Greene, his brother 44-year-old John Greene of Wyandotte and his father, 76-year-old Robert Greene of Canton were dismissed. The charges were filed by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office last year in regards to allegations the trio had falsified documents while serving as certified salvage vehicle inspectors. Lt. Greene had been conducting inspections in Hamburg Township since 2012.

A spokesperson for Attorney General Dana Nessel said that the charges were filed after their office, which at the time was run by former Attorney General Bill Schuette, received incorrect information from the National Crime Insurance Bureau that the trio had not been properly conducting the inspections. Lt. Greene, his brother and his father, who all had law enforcement backgrounds, served worked under a state law that required “specially trained law enforcement officers” to inspect rebuilt vehicles before their title could be transferred to another owner.

The Greene’s and four other law enforcement officials were charged in March of 2018 after it was alleged they had not checked the proper databases to ensure stolen vehicles or vehicles rebuilt with stolen parts weren’t being retitled. But MLive.com reports that after a year of research by their attorneys, it was determined that they had made the proper inquiries, but the National Crime Insurance Bureau had incorrectly searched for their names in the system as having performed the checks.

Lt. Greene still faces five charges in Washtenaw County for unauthorized disclosure of information from a law enforcement database in 2016. He is expected to appear today in court there for a pretrial hearing. He remains on unpaid administrative leave in Northfield Township, where he’s been under investigation for failing to follow policies and procedures. (JK)