John Dalaly, an Oakland County businessman who pleaded guilty to bribing the chairman of Michigan's medical marijuana licensing board, has written a book titled "The Dalaly Way: Conquering Crisis" while serving his prison sentence.
The 194-page book, available on Amazon, aims to share Dalaly's "strategy of self-directed learning with others." It includes photos of Dalaly with current Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and former Gov. Rick Snyder, and primarily offers life advice and guidance on handling a prison term.
Dalaly briefly addresses the crime that led to his incarceration. He describes himself as an "industrialist" who entered the cannabis industry to "improve the lives of patients while creating jobs and supporting my family." He found obtaining a marijuana license to be difficult, leading him to seek assistance.
"I reached out to people I knew in the state to explore strategies for working with the licensing board," Dalaly wrote. "I thought I found my edge in a consultant connected to the government and leaped at the chance. In providing them compensation without doing my due diligence, my eagerness overcame my good sense. To my eternal shame, the compensation I provided this consultant was against the law."
Dalaly admitted to giving at least $68,200 in cash payments and other benefits to Rick Johnson, a former lobbyist and then-chairman of the licensing board, believing these expenditures would influence or reward Johnson, according to his plea agreement.
In September, a Michigan judge sentenced Dalaly to 28 months in prison. That same month, Johnson, a former Michigan House speaker, was sentenced to 55 months.
Dalaly, then 71, surrendered to a correctional facility in West Virginia on November 30.
His book states that federal prison policies permit inmates to prepare manuscripts for "private use or publication while in custody without staff approval."
"By documenting my journey through prison, I memorialize the various ways that a person can work to build mental health with a deliberate, intentional plan to prepare," Dalaly's book says.
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