Detroit's demolition program has been played up by the city as a great success. But has everything been on the up and up?
Joe Guillen writes atr the Detroit Free Press:
The FBI has reviewed a report that suggests bid-rigging and collusion among Detroit demolition officials and contractors, documents obtained by the Free Press show.
Contractors’ bids to tear down Detroit’s blighted homes were manipulated, the documents say, as part of a scheme concealed from state overseers yet known by Dave Manardo, Mayor Mike Duggan’s group executive for operations.
The mayor's office Friday disputed that Manardo knew of the bid manipulation scheme and downplayed the documents' significance, saying issues they raised already have been resolved with the state.
