The Free Press has an update on the unfinished unlikely-to-be-finished Wayne County jail in downtown Detroit.
A judge Wednesday sealed an audit of the project.
"Prosecutor Kym Worthy has empaneled a one-person grand jury to investigate possible crimes related to the deeply troubled Wayne County Jail project," John Wisely reports.
An audit of the project, completed Aug. 16, must remain sealed because it is evidence properly admitted as “Exhibit A” before the grand jury, according to an order issued today by Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny and obtained by the Free Press. The order notes the audit report and materials related to it are “subject to the secrecy provisions of the grand jury statutes and shall not be publicly disclosed.” . . .
Officials originally said they expected to save more than $20 million annually in operation costs by building one new jail downtown to replace three aging jails. But the project was halted last month after it was expected to come in more than $91 million over budget.
The project was supposed to be managed by the five-person Wayne County Building Authority, whose members are appointed by County Executive Robert Ficano with county commission approval. But meeting minutes from the authority show its members had little oversight of the project, most of which was handled by Ficano staffers like chief financial officer Carla Sledge.
