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Topic: What happened to Flint Grand Juries?

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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

3 Wayne County officials indicted over stalled jail project


John Wisely and Marlon A. Walker 2:12 p.m. EDT September 15, 2014


A grand jury indicted three people in the investigation into the Wayne County Jail fiasco.

Indicted are former chief financial officer Carla Sledge; Steven Collins, a top Wayne County lawyer; and former construction manager Anthony Parlovecchio.

Sledge and Collins are both charged with misconduct in office, a 5-year felony and willful neglect of duty, a one-year misdemeanor. Parlovecchio is charged with willful neglect of duty.

The three were at the center of the construction of a new $300-million jail that was halted amid cost overruns of nearly $100 million and a grand jury probe.

■ Related:Firm shaves $40M off price in pitch to finish Wayne County jail

■ Related:New plans, new life for stalled Wayne County jail project

The indictments charge that Sledge and Collins lied to the Wayne County Commission and the Wayne County Building Authority about the costs of the jail project.

“This has been a long and arduous undertaking,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a news release announcing the indictments. “The one man grand jury was necessary to ensure that the process was impartial, fair, and free from politics.”

Worthy said that grand jury secrecy prevents her from discussing the case further but added: “The details will come out in court.”

An internal audit done on the project last summer by Auditor General Willie Mayo’s office was sent to Worthy before it was sent to county officials, which is protocol when fraud allegations surface in the process.

In September 2013, Worthy convinced Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny to establish a one-person grand jury to look into any misconduct by public officials in the planning and construction process. He also ordered the audit from Mayo’s office kept secret.

Ben Gonek, an attorney for Parlovecchio, said news of the indictment was a surprise. Parlovecchio was hired as the county’s representative in February 2011 but was out by December of that year. The Wayne County Building Authority terminated Parlovecchio’s contract in December 2011 at Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano’s request. Ficano argued that because Parlovecchio’s contract wasn’t put out for bid, he should be removed and have the deal rebid.

“When Mr. Parlovecchio was the owner’s representative for the jail project, he maintained everything under budget and had the project ahead of schedule,” Gonek said late Monday morning. “When he was fired by Bob Ficano is when the project went to hell.”

Sledge’s lawyer, Harold Gurewitz, said he was very disappointed in the charge and was looking forward to fighting it vigorously. He called Sleged “an honorable former employee” and said he’s concerned that officials are seeking a scapegoat.

“Why is this even a crimnal act at all?” Gurewitz said. “Every construction failure doesn’t become a criminal act.”

Collins didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.

Both Sledge and Collins offered testimony “which contained materially false and/or misleading information,” when they met with county commissioners and members of the Building Authority, according to the indictment.

Deputy Wayne County Executive Jeffrey Collins said Monday that it was premature for him to respond fully to the charges as county officials have not received the formal charges or indictments.

“We take the allegations seriously,” Jeffrey Collins said. “Once we’re able to eyeball the charging documents, we’ll be in a better place to respond.” Jeffrey Collins and Steven Collins are not related.

Jim Saros, a member of the Wayne County Building Authority, said he was surprised by the charges. He, too, declined to comment further on the matter before seeing the indictments.

Wayne County Commissioner Raymond Basham, D-Taylor, said he hopes the action by the grand jury means progress to the point that the audit report detailing the missteps in the jail project will surface.

“I applaud the judge and his grand jury investigation, and I hope it means we’re in the process of moving the county forward,” he said. “But I still want to see that audit report.”

The indictments are the latest criminal charges involving the administration of Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano.

Four former Ficano appointees and a vendor already have pleaded guilty or been convicted of various corruption-related crimes in a scandal that began in September 2012 when Ficano acknowledged paying a $200,000 severance to former chief development officer Turkia Awada Mullin, when she left her county job to become CEO of Metro Airport.

The scandal touched off a federal grand jury investigation to look at corruption charges and later a one-man grand jury convened in Wayne County Circuit Court to investigate the troubled jail project.

The grand jury reviewed more than 140,000 pages of documents and 150 evidence exhibits as well as interviewing 26 witnesses.

The jail indictments come as the county is trying to decide what to do with the project, which sits idle on Gratiot and St. Antoine. The company in charge of the project, AECOM, has offered to shave $40 million off the final price tag to complete the project at that site.

Downtown Development magnate Dan Gilbert blasted the idea as bad for a downtown that is just now rebounding from decades of decline.

Come back to freep.com for updates to this developing story.
Post Tue Sep 16, 2014 7:26 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy really kicks butt when it comes to corruption. Despite having a smaller staff, she still forges ahead.

The rumor mill in Flint talks about grand juries and yet the corruption continues. A prime example is the Smith Village and Charles Young debacle. How about the loss of the DOE grant because of corrupt council? There is so much more and it continues to go on.

Time to elect honest politicians and strong enforcement of the laws. What role is Snyder and his cronies plying in the non-prosecution?
Post Tue Sep 16, 2014 7:33 am 
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