Something slimy slithers into court

News Hits can't say with certainty exactly who is guilty of what, but we can say with a high degree of certainty that a distinctly odious smell was unleashed when we opened up a motion the Detroit International Bridge Company filed with the Wayne County Circuit Court last week.

Every media outlet in town has reported how the company — controlled by the family of Grosse Pointe billionaire Manuel "Matty" Moroun — agreed to finally abide by the orders of Circuit Court Judge Prentis Edwards and build its share of the southwest Detroit Gateway Project according to the terms of a contract it has with the Michigan Department of Transportation.

The company still maintains that the contract doesn't clearly spell out what must be done, and that it will appeal Edwards' decision in the hopes that the state will eventually have to cough up a lot of cash. But, in the meantime, the DIBC claims that it will do exactly what the judge and MDOT say it has to do.

Had they not, Matty, chairman of the bridge company's board of directors, and bridge company President Dan Stamper ran the distinct risk of being sent back to jail for contempt. Edwards had already sent the two men to the slammer last month. They spent about 30 hours behind bars, then were released while the Court of Appeals agreed to consider the issue. When the higher court confirmed the right of Edwards to use jail as a way to coerce the company into obeying his orders, it seemed the DIBC honchos were out of options: Either do what the judge says, or be prepared to don an orange jumpsuit.

Like we said, all that has been well-covered.

Also covered were statements by assistant attorney general Robert Mol, representing MDOT, who urged Edwards to reject the bridge company's motion to disqualify himself; Mol said the allegations in the motion lacked both merit and proof of Edwards having done anything to warrant disqualification. Edwards agreed and decided to stay on the case.

What we haven't seen exposed elsewhere, though, were details of allegations contained in that motion. Part of the reason it didn't get covered is that the bridge company's team of lawyers declined the opportunity to say in open court what they claimed on paper. 

And this is where we get to the really smelly part.

In essence, Gov. Rick Snyder, Judge Edwards and Charles Scales — an engineer and attorney appointed by Edwards to monitor the bridge company's progress in completing the work ordered by the court — are accused of participating in what amounts to a conspiracy designed to get the bridge company to back off its opposition to construction of a publicly owned bridge linking Windsor to the Delray area of Detroit.

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