BANKRUPTCY: HANDS OFF DETROIT! CANCEL CITY’S BANK DEBT!
A No Struggle, No Development Production! By Kenny Snodgrass
VOD videographer Kenneth Snodgrass
On Aug. 2, 2013, we demonstrated at the Federal Bankruptcy Court. On July 22, Federal Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes, removed the order of Michigan Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, who earlier ruled the City of Detroit bankruptcy filing was unconstitutional insofar as it targeted city workers’ pensions, which are guaranteed under the state constitution, and stayed Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s approval of the bankruptcy filing on that basis. However, Judge Steven Rhodes has not yet issued a ruling on the constitutional issue itself.
A No Struggle, No Development Production! By Kenny Snodgrass, Activist, Photographer, Videographer, Author of 1} From Victimization To Empowerment… www.trafford.com/07-0913 eBook available at www.ebookstore.sony.com 2} The World As I’ve Seen It! My Greatest Experience! {Photo Book} 3}YouTube: I have over 447 Video’s, 276 Subscribers, over 200,000 hits, now averaging 10,000 monthly on my YouTube channel @ www.YouTube.com/KennySnod
Detroit retirees and supporters protest outside bankruptcy court hearing Aug. 2, 2013.
Judge Rhodes gives early approval to revised retiree committee
Sets breakneck schedule to determine eligibility
Mandates Detroit pay committee, fee examiner, noticing agent
In previous Ch9 case, Rhodes barred citizens from intervening in takeover of public hospital
By Diane Bukowski
Aug. 10, 2013
UPDATE: Regarding two lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of PA 436, pending in federal district court before Judge Steeh, the State through Attorney General Bill Schuette filed a “Notice of pending bankruptcy case” Aug. 7 in Steeh’s court and said it would not be participating in those suits as a defendant from that day on. Parties to the lawsuits are considering what action to take next, including asking Judge Steeh to rule against the state, at least in part. Story coming after Aug. 14, 2013.
DETROIT – During the second court hearing Aug. 2 on the petition for bankruptcy filed by Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr and his former law firm Jones Day, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes gave them virtually everything they wanted.
Rhodes granted Orr’s revised motion to form a retirees committee despite objections that it was untimely under bankruptcy law. He approved breakneck deadlines for proceedings prior to the eligibility hearing Oct. 23, and asked that parties submit secret “letters under seal” to him by Aug. 9 if they object to his appointment of Chief U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen as Mediator.
Rosen previously worked for Miller Canfield, a law firm which is assisting Orr in the bankruptcy proceedings. Rosen is also a member of the ultraconservative Federalist Society.
Rhodes has now set an expedited date, Aug. 21, 2012 at 10 a.m. for a crucial hearing on Orr’s motion for a “forbearance agreement,” related to the city’s $1.5 billion Pension Obligation Certificate (POC) debt at the request of city creditor Syncora, Inc. (See separate story.)
One weekly newspaper ran a misleading headline earlier, “The City of Detroit Did not File for Bankruptcy.” However, unfortunately Rhodes earlier ruled that Orr does represent the City of Detroit, despite the pendency of federal lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of Public Act 436, Michigan’s current “Emergency Manager” law.
The breakneck schedule Rhodes approved for initial proceedings appears to be competing with hearings on those lawsuits, the first of which is set for Sept. 13. Rhodes has set a date of Oct. 23 for an eligibility hearing, with the date of commencement of the bankruptcy case to be July 18 if he overrules eligibility objections. Jones Day attorney David Heiman, representing the city, said he wants to file a plan of debt adjustment by Dec. 31, 2013, two months earlier than Rhodes proposed.
Orr has said, “Everything is on the table,” in the bankruptcy proceedings. He is targeting city retirees’ pensions, as well as what Jones Day attorneys called “non-core” assets, including the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.
RETIREES COMMITTEE FORMED IN POSSIBLE VIOLATION OF LAW
The revised motion authorizing the U.S. Trustee to form the retirees’ committee says in part, “Nothing contained in the Motion or this Order shall be deemed an admission or a finding that the City has any obligation to provide any Retirement Benefits to any Retiree or other party.” (Click on DB Rhodes order on retirees committee for full motion.)
David Sole, a party in the bankruptcy case, is at left holding banner outside courthouse Aug. 2, 2013.
Attorney Jerome Goldberg, representing city retirees David and Joyce Sole, moved to dismiss the motion as untimely during the hearing. David Sole was previously president of UAW Local 2334, representing Detroit Water and Sewerage Dept. chemists, and his wife was a bus driver. (His full motion is at DB Sole motion re retirees committee.)
“The Bankruptcy Code Sec. 1102(a)(1) states the U.S. Trustee can appoint a committee after an order for relief, which comes only after the eligibility question is resolved,” Goldberg said. Rhodes has set a trial on whether the city is eligible to file for bankruptcy for Oct. 23, 2013.
Law firm says no Ch9 committee can be selected until after eligibility determination.
“This is a plain violation of the law,” Goldberg explained. “One of the critical issues in eligibility is the applicability of this state’s constitutional protection of public pensions. This case will have a national impact, because 24 other states have similar provisions. . . Our concern is that this will dampen the rights of all interested parties, including individual retirees, to be represented. Right now everybody is vying against each other for who will be on the committee.”
Goldberg’s arguments were echoed by several other retiree-side attorneys, but they passed over the issue as “a law-school” concept.
The July edition of the “Jaffe Update” published by the law firm of Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss PC before Orr filed for bankruptcy, answers a question about appointment of a creditors’ committee.
“Yes, the U.S. Trustee is charged with appointing a creditors’ committee, but no committee can be appointed until after the determination that the municipality is eligible to be a Chapter 9 debtor,” says their article, titled “Guide to Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Law.” Guide to Chapter 9 of the bankruptcy code
Attorney Jerome Goldberg speaks to opponents of EM law before Orr’s “public meeting” June 10.
Rhodes responded that the statute doesn’t say he can’t appoint a committee beforehand. His order cites only 1102(a)2 of the Bankruptcy Code, ignoring the section Goldberg cited. (See complete Section 1102 at US Bankruptcy Code Section 1102.)
Rhodes also ignored Goldberg’s key “point of correction” regarding Orr’s earlier claim that only the City of Detroit can alter pension benefits, not the pension boards or other parties.
In his motion, Goldberg said, “In fact, Section 47-4-4 of the Detroit Municipal Code expressly states that the City of Detroit is prohibited from making amendments to the Pension plan ‘which shall deprive any participant or beneficiary of any then vested benefit under the Plan.’” (Click on DB Sole motion city code for full document.)
PENSION PLANS, UNIONS, ASSOCIATIONS ASK TO BE ON COMMITTEE
AFSCME Council 25 attorney Sharon Levine speaks with media after first bankruptcy hearing July 24.
AFSCME Council 25, the UAW, the Detroit Retired City Employees Association, the Detroit Police and Fire Retirees Association, the Detroit public safety unions, and the city’s two pension systems all asked for representation on the committee during the hearing. Several associations claimed retirees’ interests were contrary to those of the unions, a point Judge Rhodes appeared to seize on.
Rhodes also appeared concerned about the size of the committee. While it is to be chosen by the U.S. Trustee, Rhodes has ultimate authority over the committee’s proceedings. His ultimate scheduling order ignored objections by the parties that it did not give enough time for constitution of the committee and its proceedings.
Michael Karwoski, a retired Law Department attorney, said each individual retiree should receive notice of proceedings in the bankruptcy case, in accordance with due process.
“The largest creditors, the bondholders and insurers, all the large dollar interests want less money allocated to the retirees,” he said. “There are about 24,000 retirees as compared to 100,o00 creditors. One of the issues is the alleged indebtedness of the retirement systems, $3.5 billion on pensions and $6 billion on health care costs. Retirees’ pensions average only $19,000 a year or less.”
ALL RETIREES LISTED IN STOCKTON FILING
Karwoski said that during the ongoing Stockton, CA bankruptcy filing, each of the 2,000 retirees is listed as creditors. He said mailings to them are done via the pension systems, which have their addresses, to avoid unnecessary public exposure.
Among other declarations, the notice describes the committee as follows:
Powers and Duties of Retiree Committee. Members of the Retiree Committee appointed under section 1102(a) of the Bankruptcy Code will be fiduciaries representing all Retirees without regard to any differences in the types of claims that individual Retirees or the members might hold against the City. Section 1103 of the Bankruptcy Code provides, among other things, that the Retiree Committee may consult with the City and participate in the formulation of a plan for the adjustment of the City’s debts.
VOD has a question in to the Trustee, who is Daniel J. McDermott, and his assistant Marion J. Mack, regarding how many retirees have been duly notified to submit this form. Clearly, not every one of the city’s 23,500 retirees is aware of the website posting and the details of the bankruptcy case. Many have moved to other cities or states. Many who are elderly may not even use computers. Additionally, giving “fiduciary” power to a committee that does not hold the assets of the Retirement Systems is open to question.
From U.S. Eastern District of Michigan bankruptcy court website.
Orr has challenged the funding levels of the retirement funds. PA 436 give him the power to remove the current pension boards of trustees if funding levels fall below 80 percent. Giving “fiduciary” power to the Retirees’ Committee may mean he intends to use it to replace the Boards. There will certainly be a legal battle if that happens.
VOD is also asking McDermott whether he will intervene regarding the legality of forming the Retirees Committee prior to an eligibility trial. According to an article on the Ohio Federal Bar website, “Generally, the U.S. Trustee becomes involved in cases where he perceives parties are engaging in practices that violate the Bankruptcy Code or Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. The U.S. Trustee seeks to consistently and fairly enforce the bankruptcy laws as drafted by Congress and prevent fraud and abuse whether committed by debtors, creditors, attorneys or bankruptcy petition preparers.”
McDermott represents Region 9, which includes Ohio and Michigan among other areas.
Rally outside courthouse Aug. 2, 2013
In his order, Rhodes said sufficient notice had already been given, and approved Orr’s revised motion in toto, with the addition that the city will provide funding for the retirees’ committee as well as a fee examiner.
DRECA website
Despite Rhodes’ funding order, the DRCEA has since sent out a letter asking its members to contribute funds to defray their costs, and to sign consent letters agreeing to appoint the officers of the association as their representatives.
In a separate order, Rhodes also appointed Kurtzman Carson as claims and noticing agent, usually the responsibility of federal court personnel. They are to provide notices on the city’s website. (See DB Rhodes order Kurtzman Carson.)
Orr/Jones Day revised the city’s original motion significantly after the unions, pension systems, and retiree associations objected that only the U.S. Trustee has the power to appoint committees under bankruptcy law, not the debtor city.
Orr originally set out a detailed process for appointment of members of the committee by the city, and contacted various retiree associations prior to the Aug. 2 hearing to ask them to recruit members. They were doing so as early as a July 20 DRCEA luncheon.
BREAKNECK SCHEDULING ORDER
Over the repeated objections of various unions and retiree associations that the schedule was too “aggressive,” Judge Rhodes approved a slightly altered schedule for further proceedings in the case, based on that submitted by Jones Day. His scheduling order says that if no objections to eligibility are filed, or if he overrules such objections at a hearing Oct. 23, 2013, the commencement date for the bankruptcy case will be moved back to July 18, the date of filing.
Rhodes said Rule 1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires a “just, speedy, and inexpensive determination” of the case. During her presentation, the UAW’s attorney emphasized the disposition must be JUST.
The attorneys above are the five Jones Day sent to Detroit to represent the city on “debt re-structuring” matters. Brogan is the managing parter (i.e. CEO) of the mammoth law firm. Heiman, Lennox and Bennett have appeared in bankruptcy court.
In addition to the deadlines below, Jones Day attorney David Heiman (on behalf of the city) told Judge Rhodes that he wants to submit a plan of debt adjustment by Dec. 31, 2013, two months before that earlier proposed by Rhodes.
Bankruptcy attorney Robert Gordon of Clark Hill represents Detroit’s two retirement systems.
“We want to move swiftly. Time is our enemy,” Heiman said. “The facts are not going to change no matter how long we wait.”
Attorney Robert Gordon of Clark Hill, representing the city’s two retirement systems, said repeated announcement that the city is broke are a “catchy sound bite.”
But he countered, “The city is meeting its payroll obligations. While everything needs to move with due speed — we understand that — it should not be used as an excuse to move faster than reasonable.”
RHODES’ PREVIOUS CH9—ADDISON COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
This is only the second Chapter 9 bankruptcy case Rhodes has handled. In 1994, he handled the bankruptcy case of “Addison Community Hospital Authority.” In that case, Rhodes barred the “Concerned Citizens for Addison Community Hospital” from intervening as a group. Addison is located just south of Jackson, Michigan.
Protesters at rally against EM law March 14, 2013 demand “Power to the People.”
In addition to specific creditors’ concerns, they cited fears that the bankruptcy could result in the transfer of the hospital to a “private profit-making entity.”
Rhodes ruled, “Congress has explicitly stated in the legislative history that the courts do not have jurisdiction to interfere with the political and policy choices a municipality makes in running its organization; rather, courts are limited to approving or disapproving proposed plans for debt adjustment.” (Full ruling at Rhodes previous CH 9.)
In barring the Concerned Citizens from intervening, he said, “This Court should not be so liberal in granting applications to be heard as to overburden the debt adjustment process.”
Slavemaster Gov. Rick Snyder goes after Black cities in Michigan under EM laws.
But in the current bankruptcy case, the State of Michigan has usurped the role of the City of Detroit, which is actually allowed under current Chapter 9 law, and made clear what decisions IT wants to make on behalf of Detroiters — to cut public pensions and sell-off or lease city assets.
In 1977, when the City of Detroit proposed the privatization of Detroit General Hospital, founded as a public hospital in 1917, the Concerned Citizens for Detroit General Hospital initiated a broad petition campaign to put the matter on the ballot. They cited similar concerns regarding the provision of health care for all without regard to profit, and collected hundreds of thousands of signatures which were certified by then City Clerk James Bradley.
A judge later ruled that the case for privatization involved financial concerns and therefore should not be subject to referendum. Detroit General became Detroit Receiving Hospital under the non-profit Detroit Medical Center, which is now a for-profit venture of Tenet, Inc.
The same argument was used again when Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and the state legislature included an appropriations clause in Public Act 436 to prevent the people from overturning that law after they repealed Public Act 4.
BEWARE, DETROIT RETIREES, WORKERS AND RESIDENTS: DANGER AHEAD! RE-CLAIM YOUR POWER!
For further info, contact the Stop the Theft of Our Pensions committee at 313-680-5508.
Orr threatened Detroit firefighters over their actuary’s claim that their system is 96.1 percent funded. Here they protest outside first bankruptcy hearing July 24, 2013.
Detroit’s Current Pension Assumptions Fall Within Standards: Morningstar
A new analysis from Morningstar weighs in on the debate over the size of Detroit’s pension liability, suggesting that current pension fund assumptions fall mostly within accepted industry standards.
Detroit EM Kevyn Orr announced July 19 at this press conference that he would propose “retirees committee” to subvert role of pension systems in bankruptcy filing. Photo: Diane Bukowski
The fate of the city’s pension benefits will be a key battle if Detroit enters into Chapter 9 bankruptcy. Pensions are protected under the Michigan constitution, but Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr and Gov. Rick Snyder have proposed dramatic cuts, and whether or not federal bankruptcy will trump state law could have reverberations beyond Detroit.
The debate over the size of the pension debt began a month before the July 18 bankruptcy filing, when Orr warned that a new analysis showed that the size of the unfunded liability totals $3.5 billion. That’s five times larger than previous estimates of $650 million.
Orr said he came up with his new number by using a different set of actuarial assumptions than the current ones, which he has said are overly optimistic.
Orr’s revised figures make the pension debt the city’s second-largest debt, behind a $5.7 billion retiree healthcare tab.
Rachel Barkley (l) of Morningstar.
Representatives from the city’s two retirement systems say Orr is exaggerating the size of the debt.
“The pension liability is highly contested and could have wide reaching implications,” Morningstar analyst Rachel Barkley said during a webcast the company held Thursday on the city. “How these benefits are treated in the bankruptcy may set a precedent for how pensions are treated going forward, especially by distressed municipalities.”
In a recent commentary, Municipal Market Advisors also noted that how the bankruptcy court ends up sizing the city’s pension liability could lend some clarity to the thorny issue of determining pension liabilities.
Detroit’s pensions funds have long been considered relatively well funded, at around 91%, largely because of a $1.5 billion pension certificate borrowing in 2005 and 2006.
Orr bases his contentions on Detroit’s pension funds on an unpublished report by Milliman. Inc. Here, their top officers meet with officials in Dubai, where they are setting up shop. They stayed in the world’s most expensive hotel there.
Orr has called into question the current funds’ assumption of an 8% annual return on investment, its seven-year smoothing period — the period over which a pension fund recognizes market returns — and its 30-year amortization rate.
Orr has not revealed his revised assumptions, though he has said that a 7% return on investments, down from 8%, is more realistic.
Morningstar said it considers the current pension assumptions to mostly fall within industry standards.
“We feel an 8% investment return may not be conservative but definitely would be defensible by the city,” Barkley said.
A 30-year amortization rate is also well within typical standards, Barkley said.
AFSCME Local 207 protests attack on pensions July 25, 2013 in downtown Detroit.
But the city’s current use of a seven-year smoothing period falls outside the norm, Barkley said. Five years is more typical.
Until Orr reveals his own set of assumptions, it is difficult to judge which liability is more accurate, Barkley said.
“The validity depends on his assumptions,” she said.
Morningstar also analyzed recent trading on Detroit bonds, saying yields show the market is differentiating between types of security and bond insurer.
Limited-tax general obligation bonds backed by a pledge of distributable state aid, which is accompanied by a statutory lien, is seeing lower yields than insured unlimited-tax or limited-tax GO bonds, said Jeff Westergaard, director of municipal analysis for Morningstar.
Detroit Wastewater Treatment Plant worker during strike Sept. 30, 2012.
The city’s water and sewer revenue bonds are also trading with lower yields than the insured GO debt.
“Clearly in our opinion the market is placing a credit risk benefit to the bonds that are secured by either the enterprise revenues or the DSA revenues, so that security pledge is definitely showing up in terms of what’s going on in market activity,” Westergaard said.
On the insurer side, buyers are favoring Detroit bonds that carry Berkshire Hathaway insurance over Assured Guaranty or MBIA Inc., according to the Morningstar analysis.
For more information on related topics, visit the following:
Baxter Jones (center) takes part in rally against EM takeover of Detroit June 6, 2013. Photo Diane Bukowski
By Will Forgrave MLive.com
August 9, 2013
JACKSON, MI – After fighting for three years to keep his home, disabled former teacher S. Baxter Jones now has until the end of the month to leave it.
Surrounded by more than 50 friends and supporters, Jones was evicted under court order and must vacate the Napoleon Township property by Aug. 31.
Jones appeared before Judge Michael Klaeren in 12th District Court on the morning of Thursday, Aug. 8. He has been in eviction proceedings since 2010, after falling behind on his house payments.
Baxter Jones and supporters outside courthouse Aug. 8, 2013. Photo Will Forgrave
Jones said he had few other options but to take his case to court after becoming severely disabled in a car accident in 2005 and losing his job in 2010. Jones is a former middle school physical education teacher and track coach at Fisher Magnet Middle School in Detroit.
He said his mortgage company – federal giant Fannie Mae –would not work with him after the accident. Fannie Mae owns the house in the 8000 block of Rexford Road.
“No loan modification, no forbearance,” he said. “I told them I was going to be on Social Security soon, but fell behind when they wouldn’t work with me.”
S. Baxter Jones and Dave Sole were among 22 who testified at a hearing on Fannie Mae evictions May 20, 2013.
Jones and attorney Jerry Goldberg requested a relief of judgment and a freeze on the eviction Thursday. Fannie Mae lawyer Josie Lewis requested the case be closed and Jones evicted.
“The eviction has been delayed at least one or two times already,” Klaeren said. “I don’t see that what we have here constitutes misconduct that mandates a relief of judgment. If I would rule in Jones’ favor, and this case would be used as a precedent, our justice system would come to a halt.”
Jones, 57, bought what he called his “dream home” in 2002. After he lost his job in January 2010, Jones said he was able to make payments until October 2010 before he ran out of money.
“My client requested forbearance on his payments in October 2010 when he was pursuing Social Security disability,” Goldberg said. “When he was awarded disability we would have asked for a modification, but was never given the chance in the first place.”
Jerry Goldberg of Moratorium Now Coalition speaks against banks at Detroit Financial Review Team meeting March2 26, 2012/ Photo by Diane Bukowski
Jones, who now resides in Detroit with friends, has been in a wheelchair since he was rear-ended on the freeway when returning from a trip to Kentucky. He suffered a severe closed head injury, can no longer keep his balance and his speech is slow and slurred.
Goldberg said the decision by Klaeren was “tragic.”
“Fannie Mae is not just a big corporation but the federal government,” he said. “They’re using our tax dollars to evict an individual that is disabled and who has worked within their rules to try and get his house back.”
According to court records, Jones filed for bankruptcy in February and was offered an exemption on his eviction until Friday, Aug. 9. During bankruptcy proceedings, the house was assessed to be worth $58,000.
“We have since put an offer in on the house for that amount with the help of nonprofits and donations,” Goldberg said. “(Jones) isn’t looking for a handout, he’s just asking that Fannie Mae allow him to buy his house back.”
Lewis said Jones’ argument was flawed during the proceedings Thursday.
Protest in downtown Detroit.
“(Jones) isn’t looking for a handout, he’s just asking that Fannie Mae allow him to buy his house back.”
“The defendant argues that he can get a judgment set aside due to unfairness with no need for legal precedent,” she said. “My client is not required to sell the property. They have ownership, and they can do with the property what they wish.”
Jones’ 50-some supporters took two buses from Detroit and rallied in front of the court beginning about 9 a.m. Thursday. The majority of his supporters are with Moratorium NOW!, a Detroit-based coalition that is fighting for a stop to foreclosures in the state.
“Since 2008 we’ve advocated for a two-year moratorium on foreclosures,” group member Erik Shelley said. “Everyone in foreclosure needs some time to straighten everything out.”
Shelley said Jones’ foreclosure case is just one example in a “statewide epidemic.”
Detroit resident and organization member Carol Kronberg agreed.
“Fannie Mae was bailed out and now they’re turning around and the people are getting put out,” she said. “It’s sickening.”
Contact Will Forgrave at wforgrav@mlive.com or 517-262-7554. Follow him on Twitter at @WillForgrave.
Detroit News reporter Oralander Brand-Williams takes photos of Davontae’s family and supporters after appeals court hearing Aug. 6, 2013.
Sanford was charged at 14 with four murders a hit man later confessed to
Appeals Judge Sawyer: “There is a chance that we have an innocent man in jail right now.”
By Diane Bukowski
August 9, 2013
Davontae Sanford at 14
DETROIT – The family of Davontae Sanford was hopeful Aug. 6 after a Michigan appeals court panel heard arguments that his guilty plea to four drug-house murders on Runyon Street in 2007, which took place when he was 14, should be withdrawn.
His attorney Kim McGinnis also argued that Vincent Smothers, the admitted hit man who later confessed to the murders and said the child was not involved, should be allowed to testify in the case. She additionally asked that experts on police interrogation methods and false confessions by juveniles be allowed to testify.
Sanford, now 20, is serving a sentence of 37-90 years in the killings.
Davontae’s mother Taminko Sanford-Tilmon, stepfather Jermaine Tilmon, and supporter Andrea West
“I feel good after this hearing,” Sanford’s mother Taminko Sanford-Tilmon said outside state offices in Cadillac Place on W. Grand Blvd. in Detroit. “God’s got this. The judges showed their emotions like they were concerned. We are supposed to hear the results in three to four weeks. I couldn’t sleep last night, but this is a blessing. Davontae knows there was a hearing, but in his last phone call home, he didn’t sound like he was doing well. I hope they send his case back so he’ll be at the County Jail, where we can at least get a chance to see him.”
Sanford’s mother and his long-time stepfather, Jermaine Tilmon, were just married in July.
“I believe in my spirit that Davontae’s chains will be broken, and that we’ll be seeing my son home in 2014,” Tilmon said.
Vincent Smothers
Sanford’s case has become known world-wide. Reporters from the Detroit News, TV Channel 20, and the Associated Press covered the hearing. Sanford’s trial, and Smothers’s confession to the Runyon Street killings, as well as his guilty pleas in ten other murders, including that of Rose Cobb, whose police officer husband commissioned the hit, have been extensively publicized as well.
Renowned appeals attorney David Moran of the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth, filed an amicus brief in the case.
Sanford, who is learning-disabled and blind in one eye, wandered outside on Sept. 14, 2007 to see the police cars at the scene of the killings near his home. Police eventually picked him up, took him back to police headquarters, and interrogated him for hours without the presence of a parent or a lawyer.
In what his lawyer Kim McGinnis calls a classic case of false confession, he signed statements saying he and two friends committed the murders. The two friends were never prosecuted.
Davontae’s stepfather Jermaine Tillmon and his sisters at rally with Aiyana Jones family April 23, 2012.
Smothers, remorseful after killing Rose Cobb, later came forward voluntarily to confess to numerous hits, including the Runyon Street killings. He absolved Sanford of any involvement in a written affidavit later. He at first refused to testify in Sanford’s case on the advice of his attorney. McGinnis said he later agreed to do so after Judge Sullivan would not allow other attorneys who had represented him to waive privilege and testify on Sanford’s behalf. Smothers has signed an affidavit to that effect.
In a jail-house interview with AP reporter Ed White, who was present at the Aug 6 hearing, Smothers said, “I understand what prison life is like; it’s miserable. To be here and be innocent – I don’t know what it’s like. He’s a kid, and I hate for him to do the kind of time they’re giving him.”
An appeals court panel consisting of Judges Mark T. Boonstra, David H. Sawyer and Christopher M. Murray heard oral arguments from McGinnis, of the State Appellate Defenders Office, and Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Thomas Chambers.
Taminko Sanford speaks at joint rally for justice with family of Aiyana Jones, 7, killed by Detroit police. Aiyana’s grandmother Mertilla Jones is next to her.
At the outset of the hearing, Judge Murray jumped in immediately to defend Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Brian Sullivan’s ruling upholding Sanford’s guilty plea and disallowing Smothers’ testimony. He and others said they didn’t see that Sullivan abused his dicretion. But as the hearing progressed, the panel became more conciliatory.
Rally for Davontae held at Frank Murphy Hall June 29, 2010.
“What about Smothers’ testimony?” Judge Sawyer asked. “Shouldn’t the judge hear it? There is a chance that we have an innocent man in jail right now. Was all the evidence put forward in front of Judge Sullivan? Wouldn’t that be important? This was a 14-year-old child sentenced as an adult to a very lengthy prison term.”
Judge Murray posited that the case could be sent back specifically to Judge Sullivan with Smothers’ testimony mandated. He asked if the defense would be happy with whatever decision Sullivan rendered.
Sullivan heard the case originally with a court-appointed public defender representing Sanford. McGinnis and SADO took the case on appeal to ask Sullivan to overturn Sanford’s guilty plea. Those proceedings lasted over two years.
Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Brian Sullivan
“Judge Sullivan ignored and trivialized the evidence,” McGinnis said during the appeals court hearing.
She noted Smothers’ 14-hour confession to the various hit killings was videotaped and that he knew details of the Runyon Street murders that not even the police knew. She said he identified a .45 caliber gun found at his accomplice Ernest Davis’ house as a murder weapon in the Runyon Street killings, and police crime lab technicians later confirmed that. She said an AK-47 used in those killings was also used in the other killings to which Smothers confessed.
She pointed out that there were numerous inconsistencies in Sanford’s confession, and that the police videotape of his confession only involved him reading a prepared written confession and agreeing that was his statement.
Davontae at court hearing in 2010.
Judge Murray said he found it hard to believe that police would have provided Sanford with details of the killing found in his confession.
McGinnis said she would provide the appeals court with videotapes of both the Smothers and Sanford confessions.
Asked by the panel why no charges were ever brought against the two people Sanford claimed helped him in the killings, Chambers said he did not know.
“They just sent you here to clean up the mess, right?” Judge Sawyer remarked rhetorically.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has charged neither Smothers nor Davis in the Runyon Street murders, although she charged Smothers in other killings he confessed to. Instead, her office has relentlessly pressed its case against Sanford.
In March, she also charged a witness in a 2009 hearing in front of Sullivan, William Rice, formerly head of the Detroit Police Department’s homicide section, with perjury in a capital case, meaning he faces up to life in prison.
Rice testified during that hearing that Sanford was with him and his great-aunt Cheryl Sanford at the time of the killings. The prosecution presented complex testimony regarding Rice’s location from a cell phone tower expert. McGinnis argued at the time that such testimony is not reliable.
Smothers is currently serving sentences of 50-100 years involving ten murders committed in July, 2006, Jan. 2007, May, 2007, June, 2007, and Dec. 2007. He is incarcerated in the Michigan Reformatory at Ionia at Security Level 4, while Sanford is incarcerated at the Ionia Correctional Facility at Security Level 5, a higher rank.
McGinnis said Detroit Police Sergeant Ira Todd testified earlier that Smothers and Davis were part of the “Medbury Goons,” a murder-for-hire enterprise. Asst. Prosecutor Chambers argued its chief task was to “hide guns for hire.” Todd brought Smothers’ confession to the Runyon Street killings to the attention of investigators, to no avail.
Chambers also argued that a surviving female witness at the Runyon Street house identified Sanford’s youthful voice from the killings, and that she heard more than two people rummaging through the house. McGinnis said that the witness earlier described a taller, older man than Sanford as the one who came to her bedroom door, and that Smothers is also soft-spoken. Ira Todd (above)
The killers spared the lives of that witness and a seven-year-old child in her room.
Valerie Buford and her daughter Lakaisha Frye, 14, attended the hearing in support of the Sanford family along with others.
Lakaisha Frye, 14, with mother Valerie Buford
“The truth never dies, it’s only re-discovered,” Buford said after the hearing. “That’s what will happen in Davontae’s case.”
Her daughter said she has learned not to speak to the police without a lawyer present.
Putting herself in Davontae’s shoes as a 14-year-old, she said, “He was scared. He was only 14 and was being questioned by the police about something he didn’t know anything about.”
Another courtroom observer, Andrea West, said she has been supporting the Sanford family for the last three years.
“Davontae has awesome people behind him,” she said. “This is a terrible miscarriage of justice. How is it that the police could interrogate a 14-year-old child without his parents and legal representation? They should have been there throughout the interrogation. [Taking advantage of] a 14-year-old child in a room by himself shows corruption.”
Stop The War On Our Youth! – – A No Struggle, No Development Production! By KennySnod * Stop The War On Our Youth! There’s No Justice In Condemning An Innocent Child to Lift In Prison or Death!
Published April 24, 2012
Families, friends, and supporters of Davontae Sanford, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Dad Charles Jones, Trayvon Martin protested April 23, 2012 at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice
George Zimmerman, killer of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, is now out on bond, joining Detroit cop Joseph Weekley, killer of 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley Jones. They are free to roam the streets, while Davontae Sanford, 14 when he went to prison for murders to which another man confessed, and Charles Jones, Aiyana’s dad, are behind bars.
Davontae’s mother has just now heard from her son for the first time since January. He is being held in solitary and was under barbaric conditions until intervention by his supporters. Charles Jones, still grieving for his daughter Aiyana, killed May 16, 2010, is in the Wayne County Jail without bond based solely on the testimony of some jail-house prisoner. We would like to hear the truth about Davontae Sanford. There No Justice In Condemning An Innocent Child to Life In Prison or Death For A Crime They Did Not Commit! – –
A No Struggle, No Development Production! By Kenny Snodgrass, Activist, Photographer, Videographer, Author of From Victimization To Empowerment… www.trafford.com/07-0913 eBook available at www.ebookstore.sony.com YouTube – I have over 275 community videos and over 87,000 Hits on my YouTube channel at www.YouTube.com/KennySnod
Leon Benson
TO HELP ANOTHER WRONGFULLY CONVICTED PRISONER, LEON BENSON, SON AND BROTHER OF VALERIE BUFORD AND HER DAUGHTER, PICTURED ABOVE, GO TO http://leonbenson.wix.com/free?from_fb=1.
Crowds in support of Israel Hernandez gathered at the spot where he was spotted by officers spray painting graffiti on an abandoned storefront early Tuesday morning. Witnesses said tensions between demonstrators and police escalated, and officers moved in to surrounded the crowds.
Israel Hernandez-Llach of Miami Beach, Fla., originally from Colombia, is dead after cops tased him and laughed.
The demonstration came just hours after Hernandez’s father, sister and attorney called for outside agencies to look into the teen’s death at a press conference at their Bay Harbor Islands home.
Teen’s father and sister grieve over his death.
“We don’t know exactly what happened in this case, and we want to make sure we know with absolute certainty what did happen, and for that reason, we would like it to be an outside law enforcement agency,” said Jose Javier Rodriguez, the family’s attorney.
Miami Beach Police announced it will investigate the events surrounding Hernandez’s death, but the family is insisting that the investigation involve outside oversight.
At issue: the circumstances surrounding the teen’s death. In a statement, Police Chief Raymond Martinez said a Taser device was used to subdue the 18-year-old after he ran away from officers who caught him vandalizing the Collins Avenue storefront.
Israel Hernandez-Llach was an accomplished athlete and skateboarder as well as an artist.
While in custody, police said Hernandez went into medical duress. He was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Hernandez’s father told the press his family moved to the U.S. for a better life, and that his son, a Miami Beach Senior High student, was an accomplished artist. He said his hope now is that any wrongdoing surrounding his son’s death is punished.
Though police have expressed their condolences, Hernandez’s sister says her brother should never have lost his life.
“We’ll appreciate it very much if you can support [us], because art is nothing to be killed for,” Offir Hernandez said. The family is asking for help with his funeral costs at https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/djv2
Detroit Chief Compliance Officer Gary Brown greets new police chief James Craig.
ORR, CRAIG PLAN TO ADD TASERS TO DPD ARMAMENT
Kevyn Orr wants tasers too as he axes pensions, services for “dumb, lazy, happy” Detroiters.
Detroit Free Press writer Matt Helms reported recently, “In what emergency manager Kevyn Orr called just one significant example of improvements headed for the city’s basic public services, the Detroit Police Department will soon get 50 new squad cars, replacement bulletproof vests and two new devices Motor City cops have never had: electric stun guns and on-body video cameras.”
He continues, “The Taser issue illustrates one of the complications Orr’s team faces in improving police service. The city has been under federal oversight for a decade, and the U.S. Justice Department must approve any changes in the Police Department’s policies on use of force. Tasers, which use electricity to temporarily disable suspects, must win federal approval, something top aides to Orr say they believe will be granted because the devices help reduce shootings by officers.”
Don’t protest EM or this could happen to you.
VOD: Whether the DPD will even be subject to monitoring by the USDOJ is a big question, since the city pays millions a month for the federal process and is not supposed to be paying any vendors right now.
Protest outside federal courthouse during bankruptcy hearing Aug. 2, 2013
Gilda Jacobs of Michigan League for Public Policy.
By Gilda Jacobs
Michigan League for Public Policy
August 5, 2013
The July 18 bankruptcy filing for Detroit was shocking, though in many ways, it wasn’t a surprise at all. Detroit’s struggles have been evident for years. Still, as a native Detroiter, my heart broke a little that day.
One thing that is clear in this multilayered controversy: Detroit’s problems and solutions do not stop at the city limits.
“Detroit may be the canary in the coal mine for the rest of the country,” – Gilda Jacobs
We all have a stake in this — not only in Michigan, but across the country as Detroit may be the canary in the coalmine for other regions.
What should be the response from policymakers?
First and foremost, let’s remember that this is about people. Stronger state and federal strategies that invest in children and families, reduce poverty and grow jobs will be good for all. And we have lots of room for improvement.
Michigan lawmakers should move quickly to restore the state Earned Income Tax Credit from 6% to 20% of the federal credit. It encourages work and helps families gain independence. Detroiters lost about $44 million in state EITC payments this year. Restoring the EITC as part of a targeted jobs strategy for the beleaguered city would be a great first step.
Detroit children wait in line for free coats at Moorish Science Temple of America giveaway.
In addition, the shredded safety net means that millions of dollars have been pulled from Detroit at a time when it has nearly unbelievable and unacceptable levels of unemployment and poverty. Policies under Gov. Snyder to restrict access to food and cash assistance resulted in $75 million a year less in Wayne County alone. These harmful policies need a second look in light of the struggles of Detroit where nearly 60% of kids live in poverty.
Another way to help is to revisit the broken promises on revenue sharing to Detroit and other municipalities across the state. Detroit was dealt a double dose of revenue sharing cuts. A modernized revenue system is needed to restore revenue sharing and provide enough to pay for needed health ]care, education, protection for abused children and other essential services. Think sales tax on services, the capture of Internet sales, restoration of a portion of the corporate income tax and a more progressive income tax.
Public safety workers’ protest July 26, 2012 at CAYMC.
Of course, those most at risk of harm from bankruptcy are the pensioners, people who work for contractors owed money by the city and those who purchased Detroit municipal bonds. If there is a way for Michigan or the federal government to reduce this harm, it must be explored. In fact, the state Constitution may require Michigan to back the pensions.
Many agree that hardworking people with modest pensions should not end up with just a small fraction of the original promise. Detroit is also a cautionary tale as we move forward: Pensions and healthcare promises must be funded adequately and not simply left for future generations to figure out.
At both a state and federal level, an education and jobs strategy that strengthens foundational skills will help grow literacy and job skills. Detroit needs an infusion of jobs. In June, the Detroit –Livonia-Dearborn area posted the highest unemployment rate among 34 metro divisions with unemployment at nearly 12%. It also posted the biggest loss of jobs from June 2012 to June 2013.
Jobs a number one priority.
Economist Jared Bernstein makes a compelling case that creating jobs to clean up urban blight and restore the city’s infrastructure is a win-win.
In addition, the snarled debate over public transportation must take on a greater urgency to help connect the unemployed to jobs. This must be supported at all levels of government.
Detroit is Michigan’s major urban center and a touchstone for our state history, giving us the Motor City and the Motown sound. The muscle and ingenuity of Detroit in the last century grew our country’s auto industry, the middle class and our state and national economy. Let’s remember that when Detroit was prosperous, its revenue and jobs helped support our state and country.
The city’s economic contributions aren’t just in the rearview mirror, however. Detroit is the epicenter of the auto research and development that continues to help drive the auto industry. The revived auto industry that emerged from bankruptcy continues to grow. And with its sports teams and museums, Detroit is a cultural resource for all of us.
The people of Detroit need to know they are not standing alone. What’s good for Detroit is good for us all.
Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr Defames Detroiters and Detroit! A No Struggle, No Development Production! By Kenny Snodgrass
Press conference held August 6, 2013(PART ONE ABOVE)
EM Kevyn Orr’s words in the Wall Street Journal: “Much of Detroit’s dysfunction is also due to simple complacency. ‘For a long time the city was dumb, lazy, happy and rich,’ (Orr) explains. ‘Detroit has been the center of more change in the 20th century than I dare say virtually any other city, but that wealth allowed us to have a covenant (that held) if you had an eighth grade education, you’ll get 30 years of a good job and a pension and great health care, but you don’t have to worry about what’s going to come.’
Elections draw people away from fighting bankruptcy takeover
By Diane Bukowski — VOD Editorial
August 5, 2013
Monica Lewis-Patrick for City Council; Krystal Crittendon for Mayor
To date, VOD has not covered much of the city elections, other than our recent strong endorsement of Monica Lewis-Patrick for City Council at Large and Krystal Crittendon for Mayor.
There is a reason—the real battle taking place right now is in the bankruptcy court, where both Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes are pushing for a conclusion by the end of this year, before any new city candidates assume office. This would be recording-breaking time for any Chapter 9 filing, and a violation of federal law, which states such trials must be “JUST and speedy.”
Orr and the city’s corporate creditors have aimed their guns squarely at the city’s retirees, seeking to set a precedent for the 24 states that protect public pensions by busting not just retiree health benefits, but gutting pensions themselves. There is no protection under federal law for public pensions.
But it’s not only the pensions—it’s the city’s assets.
CH 9 ALLOWS ATTACK ON PENSIONS AND ASSETS
The U.S. Courts official website says “there is no provision in the [Chapter 9] law for liquidation of the assets of the municipality and distribution of the proceeds to the creditors. Such a liquidation or dissolution would undoubtedly violate the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution and the reservation to the states of sovereignty over their internal affairs.”
DWSD workers protest at Huber facillity Aug.15, 2012.
It says Chapter 9 “limits the power of the bankruptcy court to ‘interfere with – (1) any of the political or governmental powers of the debtor; (2) any of the property or revenues of the debtor; or (3) the debtor’s use or enjoyment of any income-producing property” unless the debtor consents or the plan so provides.”
Chapter 9 also explicitly recognizes the power of a state to control a municipality’s affairs.
Snyder and Orr at press conference on bankruptcy July 19, 2013.
“Similarly, 11 U.S.C. § 903 states that “chapter [9] does not limit or impair the power of a State to control, by legislation or otherwise, a municipality of or in such State in the exercise of the political or governmental powers of the municipality, including expenditures for such exercise,” with two exceptions – a state law prescribing a method of composition of municipal debt does not bind any non-consenting creditor, nor does any judgment entered under such state law bind a non-consenting creditor.”
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Orr have made it clear that Orr’s “Proposal to Creditors” is to lay the groundwork for any “Plan for Adjustment of Debts.” That proposal includes a drastic restructuring not only of Detroit’s debts, with the primary focus on the pension plans, but of its assets as well.
AN EMERGENCY OF THE GREATEST MAGNITUDE
Another story will be up shortly, on the Aug. 2 bankruptcy hearing before Judge Rhodes, which VOD covered. But it is clear NOW that city retirees, workers and residents need to take to the streets en masse as are the people of countries across the world during this global economic crisis.
U.S. President Barack Obama, AG Eric Holder
It is ALSO clear that most our top union and community leaders are themselves bankrupt in their approach to this catastrophe.
Instead of calling for a general strike or a boycott of Michigan over its abrogation of the voting rights of its Black residents, they are urging people to go to the polls to vote. They also want people to petition U.S. President Barack Obama to save Detroit.
Pres. Obama, Atty. General Eric Holder, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew, and the rest of the federal administration have repeatedly said since the dawn of Public Act 4 that they will DO NOTHING to intervene—no investigation of Voting Rights Act violations, no “bail-out” of Detroit as the feds bailed out the banks and the mortgage and auto companies, no intervention in the bankruptcy case.
That’s a matter between Detroit and the State of Michigan, they have said. They haven’t even called on the corporations that owe Detroit $800 million, or the state which owes over $300 million, to pay up.
To that degree, VOD believes electoral politics are massively diverting the people’s energy away from the real battle that needs to be fought.
That said, however, VOD wants to expose the criminal records of the two alleged front-runners for Mayor in this election, who have garnered the lion’s share of corporate campaign contributions.
NO TO NAPOLEON–NO MORE COPS IN CIVILIAN CITY GOVERNMENT
UAW Pres. Bob King (far left) and others as Benny Napoleon announces run for Mayor March 26, 2013.
Since the UAW is sporting a big sign at its headquarters endorsing current Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon for Mayor, we’ll start with him, although clearly both he and Duggan need to be locked up for the crimes they have committed against Detroit. The UAW itself has betrayed Detroit, contributing not one red cent to the campaign to repeal Public Act 4.
Napoleon is being touted as an alternative to Detroit’s having a white mayor, which VOD agrees would be a disaster.
But Napoleon is a cop, first and foremost. Take a look at the role two cops have played recently in Detroit politics—Councilman James Tate and former Council President Pro-Tem Gary Brown, currently the City’s “Chief Compliance Officer,” appointed by Orr.
Sell-out council cops James Tate and Gary Brown applaud Mayor Dave Bada Bing.
Both played primary roles in executing the disastrous Public Act 4 “Consent Agreement,” which Orr says laid the groundwork for his plan for Detroit, and what will become his “Plan of Adjustment” in Bankruptcy Court.
Tate (who says he was just a police press representative, but who held the title of Deputy Chief) accompanied disgraced former Council President Charles Pugh and Councilman Kenneth Cockrel, Jr. to Lansing to conspire directly with Snyder and State Treasurer Andy Dillon to come up with the consent agreement. This was admitted at the Council table.
WWTP worker on strike Sept. 30, 2013 denounces EMA plan to cut DWSD workforce.
Brown got his reward from Orr after robbing the taxpayers of $8 million in a lawsuit for which his attorney was sanctioned. His attorney gave the fatal Kilpatrick text messages to the Detroit Free Press, which withheld publication until after the two got their paws on the money.
U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox later appointed Brown and Pugh to a “Roots Cause Committee” to make recommendations on governance of the city’s largest asset, the $6 billion Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. They both signed a document recommending separation of the Department from city control, and also endorsed the notorious EMA plan to cut 81 percent of the DWSD workforce.
UNDER NAPOLEON, DETROIT WAS ‘MURDER-BY-COP’ CAPITAL OF U.S.
Napoleon’s record as Detroit Police Chief belies that sweet baby-faced grin he relies on.
Cop with cattle prod. Use of prod resulted in the death of Fred Warren at the 2nd precinct in Detroit in 1980.
His official bio says, “He joined the Detroit Police Department in 1975 as a trainee police officer and was admitted to the Detroit Police Academy in June 1975. He served the Detroit Police Department in many patrol, investigative, undercover and administrative capacities. He began his career walking a beat in the Second (Vernor) Precinct. He quickly rose through the ranks of the police department, being promoted to sergeant in 1983; to lieutenant in 1985; to inspector in 1987; to commander in 1993; to deputy chief in 1994; to assistant chief in 1995; and was appointed Chief of Police by the Honorable Mayor Dennis W. Archer in 1998. After more than 26 years of distinguished service, Chief Napoleon retired from the Detroit Police Department in 2001.”
So, Napoleon began walking the beat in the notorious Second Precinct, known for the use of electric cattle rods on arrestees, resulting in at least one death. By 2000, Detroit was exposed as the “MURDER-BY-COP CAPITAL” of the nation, racking up more killings by police per capita than any other major city in the country.
Rodrick Carrington, Lamar Grable, Darren Miller, victims of Officer Eugene Brown while Benny Napoleon was a command officer.
That exposure began in 1998, when the original Detroit Coalition against Police Brutality held a historic public hearing before City Council. It exposed for the first time since the abolition of STRESS the extent to which cops, both white and Black, had been getting away with murder.
Coalition co-founders Arnetta Grable and Herman Vallery testified about the killing of their son Lamar Grable at the age of 20, shot eight times in the back and chest, by Detroit police officer Eugene Brown, The family of Rodrick Carrington reported Brown’s killing of their loved one in 1995. Their warnings went unheeded—Brown went on to kill a third man, Darren Miller, in 1999.
The Coalition detailed dozens of other police killings at the hearing and in its literature.
Members of Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality including families of Lamar Grable and Derrick Miller. Herman Vallery is second from left, Lamar’s sister Arnetta Jr. and mother Arnetta Grable are right of Serial Killer Kop sign. Miller’s sisters and brother are a right.
It was this reporter’s ground-breaking story on Brown, “Serial Killer Kops?” published by the Michigan Citizen in March of 2000, that led to broader exposure in the daily media and across the country. That summer, Detroit police went on to kill a deaf man with a rake, Errol Shaw, Sr. and autoworker Dwight Turner, shooting at a vicious dog from his front porch to protect his community.
Detroit cop David Krupinski shot Errol Shaw Sr., a deaf-mute, to death after he could not hear his command to drop his rake.
The second killing led to a huge protest outside police headquarters by members of the UAW and hundreds of others. The protesters carried signs demanding the resignation of Mayor Dennis Archer and Chief Benny Napoleon. Both left office the following year. Arnetta Grable went to Washington D.C. to meet with former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, and later the Detroit Police Department subjected to a federal consent decree, which remains to this day.
The “Serial Killer Kops” story had a kicker headline: “We train our officers to shoot to kill,” a statement from Napoleon himself, made before the City Council.
Detroit police chief Benny Napoleon receives award at 2001 Arab-American Chamber of Commerce dinner.
Another story by this reporter, published a month before, was headlined, “Rent-a-Cops.” It included a photo of Chief Benny Napoleon and the entire Detroit police command wining and dining with merchants of Middle Eastern descent, at a lavish dinner sponsored by the Arab-American Chamber of Commerce.
The merchants were demanding police action against individuals allegedly victimizing their stores, which in turn victimized the people of Detroit by the sale of alcohol, cigarettes, unhealthy food, and even drugs and drug paraphernalia.
During that dinner, I asked Napoleon about Brown’s killing of three men in separate incidents. Napoleon said, “What would YOU do if someone pointed a gun at you?” In fact, none of the three men had guns. The Grable family battled for ten years before they won a $4 million jury verdict against Brown; the Miller family reached a settlement of $3.5 million.
Killer cop Eugene Brown proudly walks out of ceremony after promotion to sergeant. His fellow officers cheered him.
The public outcry about Brown’s killings, and his shootings of nine others, forced Napoleon to commission a three-member panel led by Deputy Chief Walter Shoulders to investigate his actions, a report which Napoleon promptly quashed. This reporter and the Michigan Citizen filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, which was denied. Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Wendy Baxter granted our request, but the city appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, as they appealed the Grable verdict (which resulted in it totaling $6 million with interest.)
Eventually, we won a redacted version of the report which showed that Shoulders et. al. had recommended disciplinary action be taken against Brown in the killings. That was never done under Napoleon’s command or since. Brown, whose cousin said he had bragged about being able to “kill people and get away with it,” remained on the force, and was promoted to Sergeant.
Napoleon went on to become Assistant Wayne County Executive and Wayne County Sheriff, stepping over the bodies of the three men Brown killed and the bodies of dozens more killed during his tenure in the Detroit police department.
Napoleon ordered Jimmi Ruth Ratliff’s virtual execution at Detroit’s luxury 1300 E. Lafayette building in Dec. 1995.
Not only did Napoleon refuse to act against Brown, he himself directed the virtual execution of Jimmi Ruth Ratliff in Dec. 1995, when he was Acting Police Chief. The 48-year-old professional Black woman lived at 1300 E. Lafayette and had worked at Blue Cross Blue Shield for 28 years. After the deaths of her mother and sister and the loss of her job, she became severely depressed and began packing to move in with another sister.
The building management called police to report they had seen a “bullet hole” in her window. A Detroit Police SWAT team complete with helicopters, riot gear, and submachine guns rushed to the scene. Napoleon, irritated at being called away from a high school basketball game, showed up shortly afterwards to take command.
Four and a half hours later, after police refused to let Ratliff’s sister and other relatives up to talk with her, and after they fed tear gas under her door through a tube, the SWAT team stormed her apartment and shot her to death as she held her Bible and prayed. Police claimed she had fired a bullet through the wall which hit one of the cops in the leg. The family’s lawsuit in federal court was settled for $1 million just before Napoleon was set to testify in front of a jury.
DUGGAN – MCNAMARA LACKEY; PARTICIPANT IN STATE DPS TAKEOVER, EAA; FOUNDED CORRUPT UHCP TO ADMINISTER FEDERAL HEALTH FUNDS; EXECUTOR OF DMC SALE TO FOR-PROFIT VANGUARD
Mike Duggan is boasting on the airwaves that he will “work closely with Kevyn Orr,” who during the Detroit bankruptcy proceedings. Orr was just lambasted by Detroit retirees for the following remarks he made in a Wall Street Journal interview:
The late Wayne County Executive Ed McNamara; Duggan was his Deputy Executive from 1986-2002.
”Much of Detroit’s dysfunction is also due to simple complacency. ‘For a long time the city was dumb, lazy, happy and rich,’ (Orr) explains. ‘Detroit has been the center of more change in the 20th century than I dare say virtually any other city, but that wealth allowed us to have a covenant if you had an eighth grade education, you’ll get 30 years of a good job and a pension and great health care, but you don’t have to worry about what’s going to come.’”
In the video below, retirees angrily protested Orr’s statement today. They tried to storm his office to confront him in person, but were blocked.
Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina earlier ruled that Orr’s boss, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, had no authority to approve the bankruptcy filing under the State Constitution. Allegedly on behalf of the city, Orr’s former law firm Jones Day, now the city’s “debt restructuring consultant,” is arguing the debtor side of the case. Jones Day is a megalithic, white-dominated firm with an ultraconservative, pro-corporate and racist record.
Duggan home in Livonia.
Bad enough Detroit is being subjected to these phony plantation-style proceedings, but Duggan endorses them as well, right in line with his life-long record.
First and foremost, Duggan hails from Livonia, known as “the whitest city in America,” where he lived for 45 years. The residents of Livonia even opted out of participation in the SMART bus system to keep Detroiters out.
Duggan moved into Detroit too late to legally file to run. As a result, he is illegally running as a “write-in” candidate with the permission of State Attorney General Bill Schuette, another right-wing racist, despite an appeals court ruling against the write-in won by mayoral candidate Tom Barrow. For the first time in Detroit’s history, a write-in candidate has thus garnered the most corporate campaign contributions and is receiving mammoth attention from the media.
Mike Illitch benefited from Duggan’s largesse, with Compuware Stadium.
Duggan was Deputy Executive during the infamously corrupt Wayne County Executive Ed McNamara regime from 1986-2002, a fact he neglects to emphasize in his official website bio. The U.S. Department of Justice opened an investigation into blatant bid-rigging and contract kickbacks during the McNamara regime, resulting most famously in the conviction of McNamara’s top aide Wilbourne Kelley II and his wife of extortion, bribery and conspiracy involving Wayne County Airport operations.
In an earlier VOD story, reporter Ron Seigel detailed Duggan’s alleged role in the illegal eviction of long-time tenants from the Detroit YMCA in 1997, to make way for the construction of Mike Illitch’s Compuware Stadium, which got hundreds of millions of dollars in city, county and state taxpayer funding.
Duggan then colluded with former Governor John Engler and Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer in the first state take-over of the Detroit Public Schools in 1999. That summer, McNamara loaned Duggan out to become DPS Deputy CEO to run the Summer Repair Program. Michigan Citizen reporter, the late Jesse Long-Bey, ran a series of articles exposing corruption and waste by contractors Duggan selected for the program.
Michigan’s EAA, better known as the Educational Apartheid Authority, is limited to Detroit schools,
Duggan lately picked up his role in profiting from the mis-education of Detroit’s children as a member of the Educational Achievement (read Apartheid) Authority, appointed by Gov. Snyder to take over 13 Detroit public schools and privatize them as charters, with ill-trained teachers and insufficient books and supplies.
The peripatetic Duggan has been busy for years in the privatization of Detroiters’ health care for profit, as well.
While Wayne County Deputy Executive, Duggan helped found the non-profit Urban Hospital Care Plus (UHCP) in 1993, which handled hundreds of millions of dollars in federal “disproportionate share” funding for indigent care. The federal government earlier forbade state and local government-run hospitals from directly receiving the funds, essentially privatizing them.
The former Southwest Detroit Hospital housed Ultimed, the nation’s only Black HMO, which failed due to Duggan’s withdrawal of funds and other factors,
UHCP contracted with two for-profits, one of them Ultimed, whose CEO Harley Brown said it was the only Black-owned HMO in the country. Brown set up a hospital on the site of the former Southwest General Hospital, the amalgamation of several of Detroit’s last Black-owned hospitals. Southwest shut down in 1991 due to competition from larger hospital chains.
UHCP later refused to make further payments to Ultimed, complaining that Ultimed was not paying hefty county fees. Brown said the problem lay in the failure of private insurance companies to reimburse Ultimed for patient care, which he said was an attempt to drive Ultimed out of business. In 2003, the Detroit Medical Center sued Ultimed for payment of $5 million in allegedly outstanding bills. Eventually Ultimed won the suit, but it did go out of business.
Mike Duggan celebrates sale of DMC to Vanguard. Hundreds of workers have recently been laid off.
In 2004, after a brief stint as Wayne County Prosecutor, Duggan became CEO of the Detroit Medical Center, allegedly to save it from financial ruin after the ruin of Ultimed.
Duggan was hailed as the savior of the DMC for taking the jobs. Prior to that, huge service cutbacks and layoffs were going on. The DMC’s CEO threatened to close Detroit Receiving Hospital, after hundreds of millions in city funds left over from its century as a public hospital disappeared. This reporter ran a series on the DMC’s tax filings at the time, exposing the high salaries of its executives, its corporate dominated board, and money that was being siphoned off to accounts in the Cayman Islands. Duggan made many promises when he took over, but instead ended up sellling the DMC to the for-profit Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanguard Health Systems. This reporter also did numerous stories detailing Vanguard’s role across the U.S. in cutting back services and laying off workers at hospital chains it took over. While retaining a token role as CEO of the remaining DMC core funds, Duggan became a Vanguard Senior Vice President for an unknown salary.
Duggan’s long-time ally Min. Malik Shabazz behind him at rally.
Vanguard, 70 percent owned by a Wall Street hedge fund, has since been sold to Tenet Health Care. Meanwhile, hundreds of little publicized lay-offs have taken place at the DMC, including the whole division headed by the Inner City Sub-Center’s Paul Taylor, who also lost his job after supporting Duggan in the takeover. MichUCan, a state-wide coalition for health care for the poor has claimed that since the sale, indigent patients are frequently being turned away from DMC’s portals.
Duggan makes a practice of running around with well-known Black “leaders” including Min. Malik Shabazz of the Detroit 300, an alleged “neighborhood protection” organization which is informally affiliated with the Detroit police and has been known to engage in its own thuggery. Another of Duggan’s allies is the Rev. Jim Holley, a notorious privatizer who has run charter schools and taken over the city’s Considine Recreation Center.
