Wayne County Prosecutor Michael Duggan has dropped the lawsuit he filed against Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, according to attorney Sam Nouham, who represents Ficano.
Duggan had sued in February because Ficano refused to approve the prosecutor’s appointment of Jeriel Heard as his educational outreach director. Heard, who was director of community justice under the former county executive, Ed McNamara, was slated to be paid $129,000. Heard’s job duties would have included diverting jail inmates into educational programs.
Ficano says he refused to approve the appointment until Duggan comes up with a plan to pay for the nearly $8 million renovation of the prosecutor’s offices, as well as account for the $1.4 million in operation costs for which the office is also projected to be over budget.
Nouham says he is not sure why Duggan dropped the case.
“When you are a defendant and someone wants to dismiss a case, you don’t ask questions,” says Nouham. He added that Heard might be hired to do contractual work for the prosecutor’s office.
“That is a new development,” Nouham says.
The Prosecutor’s Office didn’t return News Hits’ calls.
Perhaps Duggan is still hiding behind that alleged gag order he cited last week, via his press secretary Rebecca Tenorio, who said presiding Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Pamela Harwood had issued the order prohibiting both sides from talking to the press. The judge tells News Hits she issued no such order.
Which means we’re still gagging on the fact that the Prosecutor’s Office either misinformed or disinformed us. Unless, of course, it was their idea of a gag.
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