Friday, November 19, 2010

It's Not The First Time

It's not the first time someone lost their job for reporting fraud to the FBI in Wayne County.

Ficano accused of bullying in whistle-blower lawsuit

A former high-ranking Wayne County official says in a whistle-blower lawsuit filed this week that he was bullied by county Executive Robert Ficano and his appointees and eventually was fired for talking with the FBI about allegations of corruption.

The suit, filed by former Assistant County Executive Ralph Kinney, 46, in Wayne County Circuit Court, depicts an atmosphere of cronyism and graft in county government and the sheriff's office from 2003 to 2007.

Kinney says he was demoted and then fired in November 2007 for reasons ranging from blowing the whistle on illegal use of public money to refusing to campaign for Ficano. Ficano, who declined to comment until he sees the lawsuit filed Tuesday, is in China on a trade mission.

Kinney says he rooted out and exposed corrupt county employees and disclosed malfeasance in Wayne County government offices, according to the lawsuit.

"At the time of his removal, Mr. Kinney had provided considerable information to the FBI regarding fraud and corruption of high-ranking public officials and their family members," the lawsuit says.

Kinney referred questions about the case to his attorney, Richard Convertino.

"Clearly he was retaliated against for coming forward and doing what he was tasked to do, which is to root out corruption and bring unseemly contracts to the attention of his boss, Robert Ficano, and the FBI," Convertino said. "He did what the citizens of Wayne County and the state of Michigan wanted him to do."

In February 2003, Kinney says in the lawsuit, he saw "egregious abuses" of power, including sweetheart contracts between the county and Evans Solutions, a business co-owned by then-Sheriff Warren Evans' brother Blair Evans.

Three months later, Kinney says, he was approached by a high-ranking sheriff's official who warned that he would be jailed on unspecified charges if he didn't stop talking with the FBI.

Upon notification of the threat, Kinney says, Ficano told him to cut off contact with the FBI and the sheriff's office would stop investigating him.

Two months later, Kinney was charged with embezzlement after being accused of using public money to buy campaign T-shirts for Ficano. In December 2003, a district court judge dismissed the case, saying it was politically driven and "stinks to high heaven."

Kinney says in his suit that he reported other alleged abuses, including misuse of public funds dedicated to services for children and families and fraudulent billings for businesses that never did work for the county.

As a result of his dismissal, Kinney says, he has suffered embarrassment, financial distress and depression.

Kinney had worked for Ficano for more than 15 years in various capacities. And it was Ficano who supported Kinney when the Free Press reported in 2003 that Kinney had misrepresented his academic credentials when he sought and eventually got the job of running the county's Department of Community Justice.

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