Cost of Doing Business or Something More Sinister? Vendors Donate Big to Ficano

Is it simply business as usual or something sinister and illegal?

A Detroit News analysis shows the top 10 donors for Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano are vendors who landed $83 million in contracts in the past 10 years.

What the analysis also shows is that employees have given Ficano at least $282,000 since 2008 to Ficano.

A federal grand jury is looking into relationships between contractors and Ficano's administration.

The News reported that Ficano's top donors didn't return calls for comment but other contractors who donated to the county executive said they figured it was the cost of doing business with Wayne County.

"You wonder what in the heck would happen if I didn't give," said Jack Doheny, whose Jack Doheny Supplies sells sewer cleaning equipment to the county.