One thing is for certain: Detroit's aggressive program for demolishing homes is getting good and bad publicity.
The latest in the bad column:
The president of a company that helped the Detroit Land Bank Authority pick demolition contractors is charged Tuesday with a felony involving the alleged falsifying of bills, Joe Guillen of the Detroit Free Press writes.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette alleges that Barry Ellentuck, president of ADR Consultants, submitted false billing statements to the Detroit Land Bank, then pressured an employee to falsify documents.
"As Detroit continues to rebound, it is imperative that we not allow anyone to stand in the way of the progress we are seeing," Schuette says. "We cannot allow criminal behavior in the new Detroit."
The Freep reports:
ADR Consultants represented the state at multiple stages of Detroit's demolition procurement process, putting together requests for proposals, scoring bids and sending winning bidders notifications that they were awarded contracts with the Detroit Land Bank Authority.
ADR and the Michigan Land Bank entered into a contract in late 2012 that would pay the company $55 for an hour of demolition consulting services. The Michigan Land Bank and the Detroit Land Bank noticed inconsistencies and asked for an explanation. Ellentuck then pressured an employee to falsify records for more than 100 hours of excess work, according to Schuette. Ellentuck was not paid for the bills in question.