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Hours after dislclosing what it calls "a series of problematic real estate transactions conducted by members of Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree's family," the Detroit Free Press posts an editorial saying he's unfit to serve.
"A Wayne County resident with property in tax foreclosure shouldn't have to wonder if the county treasurer chose to seize his or her home because the treasurer's relatives wanted to buy it," the editorial board declares.
That's why Sabree can't continue to lead the county treasurer's office, much less oversee the tax foreclosure auction he is charged with fairly administering. . . .
He has forfeited the trust of his employers, and he should step down as soon as arrangements for a smooth succession can be made.
Original coverage, Tuesday morning:
Questionable behavior in Wayne County government is a recurring saga. Jennifer Dixon presents the latest chapter at the Detroit Free Press:
Relatives of Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree purchased tax-foreclosed real estate, including three houses in Harper Woods, in violation of his office's own rules. Then they didn’t pay tens of thousands of dollars in property taxes until they were delinquent. . . .
The real estate transactions involved Sabree’s wife, two sons and a nephew.
Eric Sabree: "It's hard to avoid the perception" of insider dealing.
(Photo: Wayne County Treasurer's Office)
Badriyyah Sabree, the elected official's 66-year-old wife, recently paid $58,000 to cover three years of late taxes on more than a dozen properties, the treasurer told Dixon Monday. The family, including sons Adam and Yusuf, owns a Detroit property investment firm called U.S. Development Services.
A Wayne State University law professor tells the paper why the activities are wrong. "For a county treasurer to be trading in tax-auction properties has the appearance of a conflict of interest and could be possibly trading on inside information," says John Mogk.
Treasurer Sabree, a 64-year-old Detroit resident in office since 2016, talks with Dixon "after he learned that another news organization was looking into the transactions," she writes. That outlet was The Detroit News, which had been working on the story for several months. Sabree declined to be interviewed by the paper, Christine MacDonald writes in a detailed report published later Tuesday morning.
MacDonald's report reveals that one of the delinquent properties was spared from foreclosure even though the taxes were three years past due. Sabree's son Adam, meanwhile, was able to buy a house in the 2017 auction even though he hadn't paid the taxes on another property he owned in Highland Park. That house appears to be a drag on its neighborhood; Deadline Detroit contributor Charlie LeDuff found it blighted and possibly vacant in November.
A Highland Park house owned by Adam Sabree. (Photo: Charlie LeDuff)
To the Freep, Sabree acknowledges the situation looks shifty.
"It's hard to avoid the perception" of special treatment, says the man authorized to collect property taxes, foreclose on those who're far behind and then auction the real estate.
