Wayne County Confidential

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Event Date:	Event Title:	Event Description:
05/21/2010	Wayne County officials play hard to get with public information	It’s a building taxpayers bought and paid for, so why did Wayne County officials put up so many roadblocks when Channel 7 asked to see their new headquarters? Action News Investigator Heather Catallo has more on the lengths one county will go to to keep public information private. Read more
10/29/2010	Shadowy non-profit fund pays for Ficano and other county officials' trade missions	Some of Wayne County's top officials are traveling the world to promote trade, but who's picking up the tab for these junkets? And what are they spending the money on when they land overseas? Action News Investigator Heather Catallo went to the county executive looking for answers. Read more
05/02/2011	Millions in taxpayer road funds misspent, former Wayne County official, others allege	It’s a distinction Wayne county officials aren’t very proud of: the worst roads in the state. But has the county been diverting millions of dollars that could have been used to help fix those roads? Read more
05/04/2011	As Wayne County commission promises hearings, Ficano insists no road funds misused	Are Wayne County road dollars being misused by the millions? That’s the allegation made by a former top county official, and you saw it in scott lewis’s latest investigation. And now, some county commissioners are taking notice and demanding answers. Read more
07/27/2011	INSIDERS: Amidst major budget cuts, Wayne County Exec's staff much larger than he claims	Facing a $160 million dollar deficit, Wayne County officials are slashing their upcoming budget and everything is on the table. But while he demands sacrifice, is the county executive hiding his highly-paid staffers? Read more
07/28/2011	Wayne County residents give Ficano an earful as commissioner turns up the heat	Wednesday night, Scott Lewis and the Action News Investigators exposed what insiders call a Wayne County shell game: county executive employees and salaries hidden in budgets where they do little to no work. Read more
07/28/2011	Wayne County residents give Ficano an earful as commissioner turns up the heat	Wednesday night, Scott Lewis and the Action News Investigators exposed what insiders call a Wayne County shell game: county executive employees and salaries hidden in budgets where they do little to no work. Read more
09/27/2011	Amidst $150 million deficit, Wayne County director walks with $200,000 severance	We may be on the verge of another recession, but for at least one Wayne County employee, it feels like the good old days. Read more
09/28/2011	Paid $200,000 to leave struggling Wayne County, executive says she's worth every penny	It’s the talk of the town: the sweet golden parachute given to a top Wayne County official, just for voluntarily leaving her job. Now, Turkia Mullin is responding to the Action News report that sent shockwaves throughout the county. Read more
09/30/2011	Mullin's $200k severance promised in undated, seven-sentence letter	Turkia Mullin is finally turning over documents Action News has been asking for since last week. They have legal experts and county officials scratching their heads and us asking: Has Wayne County been giving us the straight story? Read more
10/04/2011	Kept in the dark, Wayne County Commission turns up the heat on Ficano over secret severance deals	n Action News Investigation triggered a special hearing at the Wayne County Commission today. The commissioners are demanding to know how the county’s economic development chief walked away with $200,000 in severance just for taking a higher paying job at the airport…Read more
10/05/2011	Ficano dodges questions over Mullin's $200k payment	For the first time since the Action News Investigators broke the story of a pricey payout to one of the Wayne County Executives top appointees, Robert Ficano faced questions today. Read more
10/14/2011	Commissioner calls severance letter a "cover-up," wants firings instead of suspensions	One Wayne County Commissioner says suspensions just aren’t enough in the county's widening severance scandal. She says the county made decisions to deceive taxpayers and she wants heads to roll. Read more
10/14/2011	Ficano announces suspensions and termination over Turkia Mullin severance payout	Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano announced at a press conference Friday that his second in command and the county's top lawyer will be suspended immediately over the $200,000 severance scandal. Read more
10/17/2011	Protestors want Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano to step down	The Wayne County severance scandal is prompting protestors to call for Robert Ficano to step down. Read more
10/18/2011	Michigan AG: FBI investigating Wayne County Executive's office	State legislators and protesters have been calling for Michigan’s Attorney General to investigate Wayne County in the wake of the severance scandal first exposed by Action News but now the Attorney General confirms he won’t be taking the case because the FBI is already investigating. Read more
10/19/2011	FBI serves subpoenas at Wayne County headquarters	he Action News Investigators have learned that three teams of agents for the FBI showed up at the Wayne County headquarters in downtown Detroit Wednesday afternoon. Read more
10/20/2011	Plymouth attorney files recall petition against Ficano	Under scrutiny from every news organization in town, a probe by the Wayne County Commission, and now the FBI, Bob Ficano didn’t need any more bad news - but he got some. Read more
10/20/2011	FBI subpoena focuses on Elder, Mullin, IT chief and local companies	The FBI has subpoenaed records focusing on suspended Wayne County Deputy CEO Azzam Elder, former economic development czar Turkia Mullin, information technology chief Tahir Kazmi and companies associated with the non-profit Wayne County Business Development Corporation. Read more
10/21/2011	Attorney Tom Cranmer retained by Wayne County	Attorney Tom Cranmer has been hired to represent Wayne County during the FBI investigation into some of Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano’s executives and the non-profit Wayne County Business Development Corporation. Read more
10/25/2011	Treasurer and CFO to be questioned by Wayne County Commission	The severance scandal will be the subject of another special meeting this Thursday. Read more
10/27/2011	Mullin pays back severance money to Wayne County	Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano just announced that Turkia Mullin paid back $135,900 to Wayne County. Read More
10/27/2011	Wayne County Commissioners want to get to the bottom of the severance scandal	Wayne County Commissioners will be asking tough questions at Thursday’s special meeting to get to the bottom of a scandalous severance payout. Read more
10/27/2011	Asst. Wayne County CEO Grundy suspended as FBI probe expands to kickback allegation	Wayne County Asst. CEO Mike Grundy has been suspended by County Executive Robert Ficano, it was disclosed today. Grundy will be paid while on leave. Read more
10/27/2011	Another non-profit fund linked to Turkia Mullin, Ficano administration	The 7 Action News Investigators were the first to report on the controversial non-profit fund that is now subject to an FBI probe. Now, 7 Action News Investigator Heather Catallo has uncovered new details about another non-profit with ties to the Ficano Administration. Read more
10/28/2011	Mullin paid $16,500 as head of 2nd Wayne County non-profit	In an upate to a story the 7 Action News Investigators brought to you Thursday night , a spokesperson for Wayne County says Turkia Mullin was paid $16,500 for her work as the Executive Director of the Wayne County Regional Jobs and Economic Growth Foundation. Read more
10/31/2011	Mullin says her termination was wrongful, says she is looking for a legal remedy	Turkia Mullin has issued a statement regarding her termination as CEO of Metro Airport. Read more
10/31/2011	Metro Airport's board votes to fire CEO Turkia Mullin	Drama erupted at a special meeting of the Wayne County Airport Authority where the Airport Board voted to terminate CEO Turkia Mullin. Read more
10/31/2011	Lawsuit alleges Turkia Mullin wanted $170k in regulated funds diverted to non-profit that paid herRead more: http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/lawsuit-alleges-turkia-mullin-wanted-%24170%2C000-in-regulated-fees-diverted-to-non-profit-	A former Wayne County economic development employee who worked for Turkia Mullin says he was pressured to funnel money meant for a federal program into a non-profit fund that, in part, paid Mullin $75,000 in salary. Read more
10/31/2011	Turkia Mullin may have more to worry about than losing her job at Detroit Metro Airport	Turkia Mullin’s firing comes after a month of controversy about one of Wayne County’s most powerful women. And while Mullin may now be out of a job – she could have much bigger problems on the horizon. Read more
11/01/2011	Fired Metro Airport CEO Turkia Mullin to fight for job	The next step for Turkia Mullin is likely arbitration. Her contract as CEO of Metro Airport calls for arbitration in case of termination. Read more