Did Emmett Moten, good friend of Mayor Dave Bing, get a deal with the city few else would have gotten?
Fox2's Charlie LeDuff suggests that in a report.
LeDuff reports that Moten, who is also Bing's campaign treasurer, owes the city nearly $200,000 in back property taxes on his downtown hotel -- The Double Tree Suites on Lafayette Blvd. And he also is $4 million behind on a loan he took out with the city for the hotel, which was once the Hotel Fort Shelby.
LeDuff reports:
Back in 2008, the city borrowed nearly $19 million from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and lent it to Moten to redevelop the hotel. This is known as a Section 108 loan.
When developers like Moten, and there is a handful of them in Detroit, don't make payments on those loans, HUD simply takes it out of another pot of federal money, grant money they give to the city to refurbish the neighborhoods -- money designed for things like playgrounds and demolishing dangerous buildings near schools.
LeDuff suggested some questionable dealings involving Bing's office.
He reports:
In 2010, his office drafted a secret letter to Moten, even misspelling his name. It says, in part, "This letter will confirm certain understandings and the willingness of the City of Detroit to forbear from declaring a default relative to the loan by the City to the Fort Shelby Hotel, LLC."
Wait it even gets more ridiculous. "We will continue to work with you to develop a plan for repayment that is realistic and acceptable to both. You're specifically authorized to share his letter with your lender." It was signed by Karla Henderson, group executive for Planning and Facilities.
LeDuff also reports:
So let's break this down. Bing's pal, Emmett Moten, gets a nearly $19 million loan to redevelop the Hotel Fort Shelby. He can't make the payment, so Bing's people write him a letter saying don't worry about it right now. But the loan is not in default. Somebody is paying the note. Who could that be? You Detroit.
