UPDATE: It should be noted that three of the four main partners in the law firm chosen by Tony Marrocco to represent him in the lawsuit over the Oakland-Macomb sewer line donated thousands of dollars to his re-election campaign. The firm is Kirk, Huth, Lange and Badalamenti of Clinton Township. Robert Kirk and Raechel Badalamenti each contributed $2,700 to Marrocco and Rob Huth, a well-known Republican activist, donated $2,600.
The October surprise in the nasty battle for Macomb County public works commissioner hit this weekend as reports indicate incumbent Tony Marrocco unsuccessfully pursued questionable court fights and billed sewer customers $5 million for the high-priced attorneys involved in the two cases.
The public works commissioner entered into the Detroit bankruptcy case over a long-simmering feud with the Detroit water department regarding a sinkhole repair project in Sterling Heights. He filed a second suit over control of a massive sewer system that traverses Macomb and Oakland counties.
So far, he has nothing to show for it.
And sewer/water ratepayers in 11 Macomb County communities are footing the bill, a fact that Marrocco had kept secret.
Marrocco
The Macomb Daily has lots of detail about this controversy in today’s edition. The story emerges just nine days before Marrocco, a Ray Township Democrat, faces outgoing Congresswoman Candice Miller, a Harrison Township Republican, at the ballot box. The Marrocco campaign says the new information is nothing more than a politically motivated attempt to sink the 24-year incumbent’s re-election.
Jamie Cook of the Daily reports that the bulk of the attorney fees, about $3.8 million, went to the Deckert law firm in New York City, which charged $1,000 per hour for work in Marrocco’s filings in the Detroit bankruptcy. The remaining $1.3 million went to the Kirk-Huth firm located in Clinton Township, for its work in Marrocco’s lawsuit against the Oakland Macomb Interceptor District.
Marrocco’s chief deputy and longtime aide, Bill Misterovich, conceded this: “It turned out to not be a very good deal for us. Hindsight is 20-20.”
In the bankruptcy case, which Marrocco hailed as a move against Detroit corruption during Kwame Kilpatrick’s reign as mayor, the public works boss said Detroit overcharged the county by more than $20 million. It now appears the county, because it was so low on the totem pole of creditors seeking payments, will likely receive no more than about $200,000 a year for 10 years.
In the legal fight over the Oakland-Macomb Interceptor, the 22-mile-long sewer pipe that was purchased from Detroit several years ago, Marrocco sought a court order to name him the manager of the project. He also wanted to connect Warren into that sewer to prevent overflows during heavy rains. The sewer system at issue serves 850,000 customers in 25 municipalities in Macomb and Oakland counties and has received $160 million in upgrades. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the 11 Macomb communities that rely on the interceptor.
Interceptor upgrades
The public works commissioner won in the first round of court proceedings and lost on appeal earlier this year. Legal fees in that case continue to rise as Marrocco has appealed to the state Supreme Court. In addition, the Oakland-Macomb sewer system has spent more than a half million dollars on lawyers.
The Macomb County Board of Commissioners, which has limited jurisdiction over Marrocco’s department, was not given the opportunity to approve or disapprove either lawsuit in advance. In fact, the multi-million dollar cost of those two endeavors was never made public until recent days.
Marrocco did not comment but Misterovich told the Daily that the New York firm was chosen because they are considered one of the top bankruptcy specialists in the country. The $3.8 million worth of billings piled up over just seven months.
Sterling Heights finance director Brian Baker is now calling for a full audit of the Oakland-Macomb Interceptor District operations. Sterling Heights officials had already complained that their sewer rates skyrocketed by 120 percent over the past seven years to pay for the interceptor project.
In recent campaign literature, Marrocco claimed that he is trying to fight against water pollution but he keeps getting outvoted, 2-1, by Oakland County and the state. That was a reference to a three-member board that maintains some oversight regarding the sewer interceptor.
But details revealed through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) indicate that a key Marrocco objective was to set aside millions of dollars in the Interceptor District’s surplus fund so that it reached the level of $8 million in reserves.
Perhaps the most bizarre aspect of this story is that Macomb’s top elected official, County Executive Mark Hackel, was forced to file FOIA requests to the public works office to obtain information about certain financial matters. The Marrocco campaign complains that Hackel released the information in late October to influence the November election. But Hackel said he filed several FOIA requests many weeks ago and that Marrocco’s office dragged its feet for 45 days before releasing any information.
On Thursday, when Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor learned of the legal expenses Marrocco approved “without justification,” he lashed out at the public works commissioner in a statement.
“City administration in Sterling Heights is frustrated — to say the least — with the lack of transparency in the public works office, particularly with regards to increases in sewer rates,” Taylor said.
The mayor also announced that, because of Marrocco’s actions, he has endorsed Miller in the election.
Marrocco campaign manager Michael Radtke responded: “This is a half-baked, made-up campaign issue that misrepresents the efforts the public works office (has) made to protect the people of Macomb County, over the course of many years.”
Photo of Marrocco check to attorneys: Macomb Daily
