File:Nicholas Morgan-Derosier charges.jpg

Nicholas Morgan-Derosier’s case has been the subject of additional scrutiny after it was revealed last April that he was communicating by text from prison with Ray Holmberg, who was North Dakota’s longest-serving state Senator – and one of its most powerful – at the time. The alleged connection with Derosier led to Holmberg’s resignation from office. Holmberg’s home in Grand Forks was also searched by federal agents last year, but it was unclear if the search was related to Derosier’s case.

Former Grand Forks Police Detective David Buzzo was the key witness for the government at the hearing. It was Buzzo’s August 2020 investigation into construction fraud by Team Lawn, Derosier’s landscaping company, which led to the discovery of thousands of images and videos of child pornography on Derosier’s electronic devices. Buzzo filed for a search warrant on Derosier’s home, out of which he operated his business, after discovering that Derosier was still operating despite a court injunction. One of the active landscaping projects was at Holmberg’s house.

Buzzo testified Derosier’s former business partner and housemate Robert Coons had been killed in a work-site accident in January 2019 when Coons slipped under a Bobcat that Derosier was operating. The incident happened when the two were clearing snow at Holmberg’s residence. Months later, Coons’ signature appeared on a check written after his death. After that and other complaints, the N.D. Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Protection and Antitrust issued the order of injunction to prohibit Team Lawn from doing business on October 15, 2019.

When Grand Forks police arrived to serve the construction fraud warrant on September 15, 2020, Derosier’s roommates told them that he had a thumb drive in a safe with “photos of boys” and that he’d raped a child. Investigators seized several electronic devices during the search, including the thumb drive from the safe, which was later confirmed to contain sexually explicit material involving children.

In a recorded interview during the search, Derosier can be heard on the phone scheduling a meeting with the AG’s office, requesting that it be timed in coordination with Holmberg’s legislative schedule so he could ride with the Senator to Bismarck.

• Man accused of distributing child porn wants case evidence thrown out @ KFGO

• Post @ Twitter (31 October 2023)