Mike Duggan

“Duggan shows he simply is a man who does not want to face reality, and — like President Donald Trump — wants to blame the media for the issues unraveling under his administration.” Bankole Thompson, The Detroit News

Destruction of Criminal Records

Summary: During Duggan's tenure as Wayne County Prosecutor (2001-2004), thousands of criminal files from 1995 and earlier were allegedly destroyed in violation of Michigan law. Current Prosecutor Kym Worthy implicated Duggan's administration in this purge, which has created significant obstacles for wrongfully convicted individuals seeking to prove their innocence. Duggan denied knowledge of any purge.

Details

Duggan has been implicated in the destruction of vital criminal records during his tenure as Wayne County Prosecutor from 2001 to 2004. Thousands of criminal files from 1995 and earlier were allegedly removed from an off-site warehouse and destroyed in violation of Michigan state law, which requires prosecutors to retain files of defendants serving life sentences for at least 50 years or until the inmate dies. Current Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy directly implicated Duggan's administration in this purge, stating that during his tenure, employees "were enlisted to locate and purge the files that were on site and located in the off-site storage."

The destruction of these records has created significant obstacles for wrongfully convicted individuals seeking to prove their innocence. The files contained crucial evidence, including police and forensic reports, lab results, transcripts, witness statements, and video recordings. Without access to these materials, individuals like Carl Hubbard, who has been imprisoned since 1992, face nearly insurmountable challenges in their pursuit of justice.

Duggan has denied involvement, claiming he had no knowledge of any purge and suggesting that if records were destroyed, it could have been done by the Wayne County Building Department without his knowledge. However, the prosecutor's office disputed this characterization, asserting that they maintained "custody, management, and control over the files stored in the warehouse."

Medicare and Anti-Kickback Violations at Detroit Medical Center

Summary: As CEO of Detroit Medical Center (DMC), Duggan oversaw a period that resulted in a $30 million settlement with the federal government for improper financial relationships with physicians. While Duggan turned around DMC's finances, his aggressive strategy included questionable practices like providing office space to physicians at below-market rates and offering perks to referring doctors. Duggan characterized these as "technical problems," but prosecutors viewed the violations as significant.

Details

As CEO of the Detroit Medical Center (DMC), Duggan oversaw a period that later resulted in a $30 million penalty settlement with the federal government. In January 2011, the DMC acknowledged violations related to improper financial relationships with physicians. These violations included allowing physicians to continue renting space after leases expired, providing free signage and marketing help, offering free continuing medical education seminars, and providing other perks including tickets to sporting events.

When Duggan took over as CEO of the Detroit Medical Center (2004-2012), he inherited a hospital system that had lost $462 million from 1998 to 2003 and had just received a $50 million bailout from the state of Michigan. Healthcare legal experts noted that Duggan implemented an aggressive financial turnaround strategy that included recruiting private physicians to DMC's medical staff to increase patient referrals, particularly those with insurance coverage. According to a report obtained by Crain's Detroit Business, DMC's private physicians contributed to a steady increase in operating profits from $2.8 million in 2004 to $42 million in 2008, with dramatic increases in admissions from certain specialties. During this period, patient admissions from certain specialties increased dramatically—internists increased admissions by 20 percent, orthopedic surgeons by 210 percent, and cardiologists by 315 percent.

Duggan's strategy, while financially lucrative, incentivized a series of problematic practices that occurred under his leadership:

• Providing office space to physicians at below-market rates
• Offering tickets to sporting events and charitable dinners to referring doctors
• Distributing free or discounted marketing materials to physicians
• Compensating doctors without proper written contracts
• Billing Medicare and Medicaid without sufficient documentation

In December 2010, DMC agreed to pay federal authorities $30 million to settle allegations of improper financial arrangements with physicians and inadequate documentation for Medicare and Medicaid billings.

Duggan publicly downplayed the significance of these violations, describing them as "technical problems" that were "minor in nature." He insisted that "there was no suggestion that anyone from DMC ever intentionally billed anything incorrectly or ever paid a doctor to influence referral."

However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Caplan characterized the settlement differently, stating that "the $30 million was not a slap on the wrist in any circumstances" and that federal officials determined DMC's "potential exposure would be so significant that they might not be able to pay the potential liabilities." Caplan noted that the settlement amount "was as much as the government could get from DMC without preventing the deal from closing."

Health care legal expert Greg Moore later noted that the DMC settlement illustrated "a breakdown in the hospital system's fraud compliance program" during Duggan's tenure.

Relationship to Architects of Detroit's Emergency Management

While publicly positioning himself against state intervention, emails obtained through FOIA litigation revealed Duggan's deeper involvement. Documents showed Duggan was advising Governor Snyder's office and Treasurer Andy Dillon on potential emergency manager candidates.9 When confronted, Duggan downplayed these communications, claiming he was just offering opinions as requested. However, activist Robert Davis, who obtained the emails, noted they revealed state officials were instructed to "run their recommendations through no other than Mr. Duggan."10

Duggan maintained close relationships with key state officials involved in Detroit's emergency management, including state Treasurer Andy Dillon and Governor Snyder's aide Richard Baird, who even donated to Duggan's campaign.8

Collusion with Emergency Manager to Eliminate Citizen Oversight

"Our city has lost a quality instrument for ensuring residents have a voice of any kind regarding development in their neighborhoods."13 Rev. Dean P. Simmer, Corktown CDC

Duggan secretly collaborated with Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr to abolish Citizens' District Councils just before Orr relinquished control of the city.2

Citizens' District Councils provided Detroit residents a crucial voice in neighborhood development decisions. Established during the Urban Renewal era, these councils gave communities power to shape rehabilitation projects and urban planning that directly affected them.3 When Orr quietly signed the order eliminating CDCs in 2014, he claimed they "created an unnecessary level of bureaucracy" hindering development.4 The mayor's office initially denied involvement in this decision.

When confronted with evidence that sources confirmed his participation in dismantling the CDCs, Duggan's office fell silent. Rather than addressing the allegations directly, the administration stonewalled further inquiries.5 Later, when investigative journalists requested email records between the mayor and Orr through FOIA, Duggan's office demanded over $12,000 for their release – effectively blocking public access to crucial information about his role in these decisions.6

While Community Advisory Councils still exist under the 2012 Detroit City Charter, they lack the focused neighborhood-level power that CDCs provided. CACs cover entire council districts rather than specific development areas and have broader but less direct influence over neighborhood planning.11 As former Charter Commission chair Jeniece Mitchell Ford explained, "They are two different creatures."12 The elimination of CDCs effectively reduced residents' ability to directly influence development in their communities.

Allegations of "Borderline Illegal" Deals

Summary: During former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's corruption trial in 2013, Duggan's name surfaced in connection with allegations made by Kilpatrick's father. In a recorded conversation presented as evidence, Bernard Kilpatrick claimed that Duggan and former Wayne County Executive Edward McNamara had participated in deals that were "borderline illegal" during their time at Wayne County.

Details

In January 2013, during former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's corruption trial, Duggan's name surfaced in connection with allegations made by Kilpatrick's father, Bernard Kilpatrick. In a recorded conversation presented as evidence, Bernard Kilpatrick was heard discussing his son's administration with Synagro executive James Rosendall. During this conversation, Bernard Kilpatrick claimed that Duggan and former Wayne County Executive Edward McNamara had participated in deals that were "borderline illegal" during their time at Wayne County.

The recording, made in 2000, captured Bernard Kilpatrick stating: "We carved out this, and I know this is ... is borderline illegal and ... the county was a different animal, everybody will tell you that." According to trial testimony, Bernard Kilpatrick told Rosendall that Duggan and McNamara "were carving out corners of contracts for themselves."

Towing Industry Connections and Controversies

Summary: Duggan's administration has faced criticism over its handling of towing contracts, with allegations of punitive actions against certain companies and preferential treatment for his friend Anthony Soave, who tows vehicles for the city. This controversy gained additional significance given Soave's past admission of providing valuable gifts to former Mayor Kilpatrick. A University of Michigan professor identified towing as a "perennial avenue for corruption in Detroit."

Details

The towing industry in Detroit has been a particular flashpoint for corruption allegations during Duggan's tenure. Multiple sources indicate concerns about his administration's handling of towing contracts, with critics alleging that Duggan took punitive actions against certain towing companies in retaliation for their filing lawsuits against the city. Simultaneously, accusations emerged that he provided preferential treatment to his friend Anthony Soave, who tows vehicles for the city and owns several impound lots.

This controversy gained additional significance in light of Soave's past. He previously admitted to federal investigators that he provided approximately $300,000 worth of flights and a Rolex watch to former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, establishing a troubling precedent of towing industry operators seeking to influence Detroit mayors through valuable gifts and services. While no similar direct gifts to Duggan have been publicly documented, the administration's towing policies have nonetheless raised concerns about potential favoritism and conflicts of interest.

Adding to these concerns, Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross Business School, identified "towing and social welfare organizations" as "perennial avenues for corruption in Detroit" in an interview with The Detroit News. The persistence of corruption concerns in these areas across multiple administrations suggests systemic issues that Duggan's administration has failed to address adequately.

Make Your Date, Purposeful Destruction of Emails, and Conflicts of Interest

"The siege mentality displayed by senior city officials in this case strains credulity. It is a reminder of the extraordinary lengths some dedicated civil servants and elected officials will go to protect self-interest at the expense of the public interest."

Summary: In 2019, investigations revealed that Duggan had directed city resources toward Make Your Date, a prenatal health program run by Dr. Sonia Hassan, with whom he had a personal relationship. When the Detroit Free Press requested related emails, key correspondence was initially omitted. Former city officials alleged staff were ordered to delete emails to conceal the city's support for the program. These allegations led to investigations by the Michigan Attorney General and Detroit's Inspector General, with Duggan later receiving a "Golden Padlock Award" for secrecy.

Details

In April 2019, the Detroit Free Press published an investigation revealing that Mayor Duggan had directed city resources toward Make Your Date, a prenatal health program run by Dr. Sonia Hassan, with whom Duggan was later discovered to have a personal relationship. The Free Press investigation found that Make Your Date had received $358,000 in city grants and benefited from a fundraising campaign spearheaded by top city officials at Duggan's direction.

When the Free Press submitted a public records request for emails related to Make Your Date, the city's initial response omitted a key email showing that Duggan had ordered his chief development officer, Ryan Friedrichs, to raise money for Make Your Date. An email sent by Duggan's chief of staff Alexis Wiley to Hassan stated: "He is our chief development officer and the Mayor has tasked him with launching a large scale fundraising effort to Make Your Date. He'll be in touch soon!" The city initially claimed the file was "corrupted," and only produced the revelatory email after the newspaper pressed for an explanation.

The controversy deepened in July 2019 when a former city official told the Free Press that city staff involved in fundraising for Make Your Date were ordered to delete emails to conceal the extent of the city's support for the program as the newspaper was preparing its initial report. Kennedy Shannon, former assistant director of the Development and Grants Office, alleged that two workers were instructed to delete their Make Your Date emails to hide the administration's involvement.

After questions about the deleted emails arose, the City of Detroit recovered and released 211 pages of previously deleted correspondence. The recovered emails contradicted previous claims from Duggan's office that the city had devoted minimal resources toward raising money for Make Your Date.

The severity of these allegations led to investigations by both the Michigan Attorney General's office and Detroit's Inspector General.

The Free Press continued to pursue additional city records related to Make Your Date, filing a lawsuit in April 2020 in Wayne County Circuit Court for access to all public records connected to Detroit's Inspector General investigation. When the newspaper attempted to obtain these records through a Freedom of Information Act request in August 2019, the city granted only a portion of the request, requiring the Free Press to pay $222,667 and wait an estimated three years for legal staff to review approximately 400,000 pages of documents. The Free Press' attorney argued that these substantial fees and delays effectively denied the FOIA request in violation of Michigan's public records law.

In September 2020, Duggan and the city won the annual Golden Padlock Award, which recognizes the most secretive U.S. agency or individual, for the intentional destruction of emails.