Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano
Update, Monday, 2:45 p.m.: Robert Ficano issued a statement ti The Detroit News, saying his name has been cleared:
“Today, the U.S. Attorney's office made a most welcome announcement, one that has been three and a half long years in the coming, years that have terribly affected me, my family and our community,” Ficano said in an email to The News. “I have always had faith in the justice system. That's why I have defended it and spent my entire career upholding the law, as an attorney, sheriff and Wayne County Executive.
“Today, my record and my good name have been cleared and I move on with confidence and renewed faith.
“Those who prejudged and sensationalized the situation and the people involved in it have extracted a heavy price and ruined the reputation of many decent and honest citizens. I hope there is a lesson in this for them.”
Earlier today:
This comes as no surprise.
The U.S. Justice Department says it has completed its corruption investigation of Wayne County’s government and it will not seek additional charges, The Detroit News reports.
There had been speculation that Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, who lost his bid for re-election last year, might get indicted.
But on Dec. 15, Deadline Detroit reported:
Sources have told Deadline Detroit in the past couple months that it didn't appear there was evidence to indict Ficano for any wrongdoing.
On Monday, U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade issued a statement, according to The News:
"I would like to thank and commend the officials and staff of the Wayne County Executive and the Wayne County Corporation Counsel for their cooperation during this investigation. Their assistance and openness allowed federal investigators to carefully review and assess a number of complex issues regarding the operation of county government."
The three-year probe netted convictions of five people including including Wayne County’s chief information officer and an assistant Wayne County executive who served as the director of HealthChoice of Michigan, the News reported.
A while back, Ficano had requested a letter from the U.S. Attorney's Office saying that he was clear of any wrongdoing. At the time, he was under FBI investigation to see if he was involved in any corruption, and the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to give him a letter.
