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Amid a federal probe into Detroit's aggressive demolition program, Jim Wright, a high-ranking Detroit demolition official, abruptly resigned Wednesday without a public explanation, the Detroit Free Press reports.
Wright, the deputy director of the Detroit Building Authority, helped select demolition contractors for the program, which has gotten more than $250 million in federal funds, reports Joe Guillen of the Freep. Timothy Palazzolo, another Detroit demolition program manager, will replace him.
"Tim has done a tremendous job managing our city-funded demolitions, so he is a natural fit to take on this added responsibility," Detroit Building Authority Director Tyrone Clifton said in a statement.
Wright originally earned $205,000 a year under a two-year contract, the Freep reports. When his contract expired in March, he earned $175,000 as a city employee.
The Freep reports:
During his time managing the city's demolition program, Wright helped make key decisions in the awarding of "unit-price" contracts — lucrative deals handed out in June 2014 to three companies, Adamo, Homrich and MCM. The deals involved a pre-bid discussion of contract prices with Detroit demolition officials before the bids were opened to the public. The Free Press reported last year that the three companies also received uncommon accommodations, including a break on bonding requirements.
Federal investigators, including the FBI and SIGTARP, now are looking into Detroit's demolition program. SIGTARP is the federal inspector general agency that monitors the Hardest Hit Fund, the source of the more than $250 million Detroit has received for blight demolition. Duggan has said his administration has pledged complete cooperation with the investigation.
