Hamtramck Whistleblower Settlement Produces Possible Public Corruption

Attorney Mark Koroi addressing
Hamtramck City Council

My 2 cents are infused in fuchsia because, if you are going to talk smack and file false claims in the public as a public official, expect for me to call you out on public corruption.

The city attorney for Hamtramck is a public official.

Hamtramck whistleblower lawsuit may cost the city around $300,000

HAMTRAMCK - A whistleblower lawsuit connected to the city's former director of public services, Steve Shaya, was settled last week for $75.000, but with the addition of attorney fees, the real cost may have surpassed $300,000.

Oh, it did.  I filed a FOIA for all billing and payments for the city attorney in this matter and got back, wait for it, a redacted ream of paper, of which I had to pay about $80.  Seriously, pages upon pagers of public expenditures were blacked out.  I consider that a generation of fraudulent documents.
  
The Iraqi-born Chaldean, who was fired in 2014, sued the city, the previous police chief and others for $10 million, claiming his civil rights had been violated.

Violating one's civil rights in Hamtramck is just pro forma in operations because the city has a stellar record in settling all of its numerous civil rights lawsuits.

In March 2014, Shaya filed a federal lawsuit that said city officials hit back after he blew the whistle on police misconduct.  He claimed he was targeted with racially disparaging language.  He was called a "Chaldean prince" and was struck with false hit-and-run charges.

The charges were later dropped after he uncovered misconducts by city employees, police and elected officials.  He claimed they were benefiting from city contracts with a towing company.

The charges were dropped when it was found out that there was no state accident report filed, the city realized that the 911 recording had nothing to do with Shaya or the city vehicle, and that a city council person was creeping around on his property taking pictures.

Shaya and his Plymouth-based attorney, Marak Koroi, will receive a check from Hamtramck's insurance company because the city's costs already reached the brink of the insurance deductible - $200,000.

Hamtramck City Manager Katrina Powell told MLive that the total attorney costs in the case surpassed $200,000 and that they were paid to two different companies.

Koroi released a statement saying there were three firms and 10 attorneys involved on behalf of Hamtramck, all through several periods of the court action.

These were state appointed attorneys under the Emergency Manager Law and representatives of individual defendants.

"My impression was, as soon as they hit the deductible, it was a lot easier to get the case settled", Koroi said.  "So, if that's the case, that tells me, why would you spend $200,000 on a case that only cost ($75,00)?  Why wouldn't you have settled before they got to that point?

The reason the city was willing to spend $200,000 was the same reason it spent about $30,000 to litigate a Michigan Unemployment Insurance Claim, of which the city would have only been liable for about $5,000.

Billables!

That is correct.  The City of Hamtramck and its legal geniuses (trademark pending) otherwise known as the City Attorney, have a long and sordid history of taking advantage of a city council which operates in an hermetically sealed geographic chamber of "doing whatever it wants" to rip off the city, even if it means paying an attorney under the table, without council resolution, to represent the city in a matter of law, in a court room, without even filing notice of appearance, but that is just another issue for federal investigation of the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.

Complaints filed to investigate City of Hamtramck for violating state election law


"It was important for the city to show that plaintiff's wide-reaching claims were all meritless and that there was no pattern or practice by city employees or officials to discriminate against anyone," Hamtramck City Attorney J. Travis Mihelick said.

If the claims were meritless, then why did the city not go to litigation to become the prevailing party to recoup its legal costs?

Allow me to answer that question.

First, when you have members of the city council who are looking at being exposed for actions of public corruption, 9 times out of 10, particularly when it is not your money, an elected official will use the services of a city attorney to its full capacity to ensure one does not end up being brought up on charges of using their public offices for purposes of personal inurement.

Secondly, the city is under the statutory rule of the State Emergency Manager, of which the constitutionality of the law and the liability of its Emergency Managers are being questioned by the State Attorney General and the Sugar Law Firm.

This means there still looms the question of liability, or weighted portions of liability, which may still pull the State of Michigan in as a defendant in subsequent legal actions, considering the fact the city is still under the purview of a Receivership Transition Advisory Board and the transgressions of this case took place under an Emergency Manager.

I still say the city should file up against the state, but that would be another $500,000 in creative litigation billables from the city attorney.

"The city understands that there is a cost of doing business associated with lawsuits, "Mihelick said in a statement emailed to MLive, "but are very pleased that the only court opinion on record shows no wrongdoing by the city or any of the defendants and  finds no merit in any of the plaintiff's claims."

No, the city, inclusive of residents, elected and appointed officials, have no clue that its city attorney, including his predecessor, has fraudulently billed the city for legal services, all the while, substantially neglecting its chartered obligation to function in the best interests of its citizens, hence all the damn civil rights lawsuits being settled.

As for having no records showing wrongdoing or no findings of merit in any of the plaintiff's claims, well, that is the entire point of a negotiated settlement.

Duh.

No wonder the city is still in receivership of the State of Michigan, again.

Dude needs to be removed from office...if only he had taken an oath of office...

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Hamtramck City Attorney Travis Mihelick Rips Off City Because “People get litigation happy”

As reported by the Hamtramck Review, in the article entitled "City once again facing a financial crisis despite state oversight"  I have shared a statement by the City Attorney speaking upon the $500,000 in litigation costs for 2016:

"City Attorney Travis Mihelick said the ongoing legal fees boils down to one thing: “People get litigation happy,” he told the state-appointed Transition Advisory Board."

No.  People have the right of due process and people have the right of free speech when the City Attorney does not do his job and protect the rights of its citizens.

Just for the simple fact that this man, I shall intentionally omit his title as a foreboding act of stripping his license, has failed to function as the City Attorney.

Hamtramck City Attorney Travis Mihelick

This man, Travis Mihelick is supposed to be a public servant, but it seems, since he just made partner, has been serving himself and his partners at his law firm.

Yes, that is correct.  Mihelick has no contract with the City to even represent the City.  Heck, he has not even filed an oath of office, but of course, as everyone knows, one does not have to have an oath of office, let alone follow the law, when it comes to defalcation.

Instead of hiring a City Attorney with an annual salary, let us say $70,000 and a $100,000 budget, to farm out conflict of interest cases, the City of Hamtramck prefers to allow the City Attorney to bill, line item bill.

Now, this begs the question, "Who approves the cost-reimbursements?"

City Council, of course.

See, I am just going to allege  that City Council is severely lacking administrative acumen and Mihelick knows this very well.

One half of City Council supports gender segregation while the others are too busy taking stuff from the city and trying not to get busted.

For instance, Hamtramck changed its fiscal year to cover up its budget shortfalls for years.

What this means is that a fiscal year for federal, state and counties begin October 1st, but not in Hamtramck.

So, instead of a City Attorney, Travis Mihelick, doing his job of protecting the citizens of the City, you have a man who will sit back, waiting for someone to get "litigation happy" then bill the City for it with frivolous and dilatory motions.

For example,

Oh, and do not let me forgot to mention that Travis Mihelick has a motion for sanctions sitting on the desk of another federal judge.

The following is an excerpt from the instant complaint which was obviously filed by someone bitten by the"litigation happy" bug,  today, at 3:00 p.m. in the Michigan Eastern District Court:

28. Upon information and belief, that during the course of the investigation and racially targeted mission to rid the Hamtramck community of “these fucking Arabs” and “Sam everybody like him​”​, Defendant police officers Stout and McMahon habitually referenced members of the Arab American business community, including Plaintiff R. Joumaah, an Arab American, as; “​towel heads​”, “​rag heads​”, “​sand niggers​” and “​camel jockeys​”. (See Ex. A ­ John Doe v. Detective McMahon et. al paragraphs 36­43)​. 

29. Upon information and belief, that as a factual basis to fabricate probable cause to procure a search warrant, and initiate a raid upon Plaintiff Sam’s Tire Shop and the residence of Plaintiffs R. Joumaah, the confidential John Doe informant was directed by Defendants McMahon and Stout to present himself to Plaintiff R. Joumaah, as a purchaser of marijuana and guns.

Hamtramck Police Tire Dumping Lawsuit by Beverly Tran

I strongly encourage City Council to start looking for a new City Attorney, just in case, because I have a feeling there are going to be people who will read this, be really displeased with what I have just published, and will be too enthused to do something about it if you do not.

City Attorney says his bills can’t be looked at

According to City Attorney James Allen, of the Allen Brothers law firm, the monthly bills he submits to the city outlining what cases and issues he worked on and how much he and other attorneys in his law firm received in payment are “privileged” information.

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