Federal subpoena to be unsealed in Detroit demolition probe

A Wayne County, Michigan, judge has ruled that a federal subpoena for Detroit’s land bank will be unsealed.

According to a report  on Michigan Radio, Wayne County Judge David Allen ordered the subpoena unsealed in court Jan. 12, 2017, saying there’s been too much secrecy about what’s ultimately a “public matter.”

The article notes Detroit has demolished more than 10,000 blighted homes under Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration and that the Detroit Land Bank Authority has done most of those demolitions. The demolitions were funding with nearly $130 million in federal funds.

The report states a Special Inspector General for the Troubled Assets Relief Program (SIGTARP) subpoenaed the land bank earlier this year as part a larger criminal investigation that also involves the FBI. According the Michigan Radio article, feds fought to keep the contents of that subpoena sealed, contending that making it public would harm the ongoing investigation.

The report also states that a Robert Davis, which the article refers to as a union activist and convicted felon, had sued to unseal the subpoena after his requests to receive the information under the Freedom of Information Act were denied.