Michigan State Representatives Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat were both married with children when they started to have an extramarital affair together. Then Courser started to receive anonymous texts from a burner phone, threatening to expose the affair unless Courser resigned from his job. Instead of resigning, Courser decided to plot a ill-conceived diversion by having one of his aides leak a false sex scandal — about Courser paying a male prostitute for sex. The aide, Ben Graham, with the support of fellow aide Keith Allard, reported Courser’s request. Both were fired.
[Todd Courser State Rep Caught In Affair Kept Loaded Gun In Office]
According to police reports, the burner phone was tracked by to a paper plant. Cindy Gamrat’s husband Joe allegedly had a friend send the texts to Courser. Joe Gamrat had a history of “planting surveillance devices in her bag and her car.” Joe Gamrat was not charged with extortion “because Gamrat’s motives were to end the affair Courser was having with his wife.” Cindy Gamrat will sit down with ABC 20/20 (as will Courser, Ben Graham and Keith Allard) on January 22, 10pm. Gamrat says she plans to divorce her husband and is starting an advocacy website “to help other women who have been put under surveillance by their spouses.” ABC 20/20 on January 22 at 10pm.
