Duggan - Make Your Date - Free Press Investigation

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MONDAY, MAY 13, 2019 ❚ FREEP.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
2 YEARS INTO 5-YEAR PLAN

Handling
SUPERINTENDENT: of Make
METRO, 4A
Toys on display
WE’RE ON TRACK Your Date
as protest
The installation is critical of
immigration policy that
Vitti touts donations
progress
refuted
separates families.
in Detroit
schools
President: Foundation has
nothing to do with nonprofit
Joe Guillen and Kat Stafford
Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY NETWORK
NATION+WORLD, 9A The nonprofit prenatal program under

scrutiny because of connections between its
Campus security director and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has
still debated defended itself by claiming its
donations were handled by
A Colorado school guard is a
the Wayne State University
hero, but experts remain
Foundation.
split how to secure schools.
But it isn’t true.
Despite previous state-
ments from representatives of
Dr. Sonia Hassan that dona- Hassan
Superintendent of Detroit Public Schools Community District Nikolai Vitti talks to students about their tions to the program were han-
concerns at the Student Leadership Development meeting on Friday. KIMBERLY P. MITCHELL/DETROIT FREE PRESS dled by the foundation, its
president told the Free Press it actually has
John Wisely nothing to do with Make Your Date.
Detroit Free Press Wayne State University Foundation Presi-
USA TODAY NETWORK “... overall attendance is up. Our vacancies have dent Susan Burns said claims the foundation
improved from 275 when we started to 120 right raised money for Make Your Date were incor-
Two years after taking the helm of Detroit public now, those are all proof points.” rect. The foundation is a legally separate en-
LIFE+MONEY, 1C schools, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti says a reform Superintendent Nikolai Vitti tity from the university and handles its en-
plan is on track and the district is returning to “nor- dowment, but it is not legally registered to
Secure your malcy” after a decade of emergency management. So far, the board is satisfied with his work, board Presi- seek charitable donations in the state of
The elected school board meets regularly, the bud- dent Iris Taylor said. Michigan.
debt-free future get is balanced and new systems are being put in “I think we’ve done very well,” Taylor said. “When “I think they’re confused. I think they mis-
People who have climbed place to make the business side of the operation work you consider where we were and where we are now, spoke,” Burns told the Free Press last week.
out of debt offer tips for again. the district is focused and has a strong strategic
others to escape. “We’ve tackled a lot in two years spanning from brand.” Info filed with attorney general
teacher pay to procurement to our budget, the strate-
gic plan to new curriculum,” he told the Free Press. “I Teachers withhold grade The shifting explanation for how charita-
mean, all those things for most organizations and ad- ble donations to Make Your Date are handled
Inside today’s Free Press ministrations would take five years to do. We’ve done Teachers are more skeptical and some parents are comes as the organization is under scrutiny
❚ Obituaries ............................12A it in two in a district that had no systems or processes taking a wait-and-see approach. by the Detroit Inspector General’s Office for
❚ Comics ....................................2C to begin with.” “We’ll hold our grade until we see the outcome of the its ties to Duggan and by Michigan Attorney
❚ Puzzles................................4-5C Hiring Vitti was the first major decision of the
❚ Movies ....................................6C newly elected school board, which took office in 2017. See SCHOOL REFORM, Page 7A See MAKE YOUR DATE, Page 6A
Weather
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Despite recalls and deaths, air bags help save lives
Jamie L. LaReau little time to react at 60 mph.
Detroit Free Press “The whole dashboard was on my legs,” said
USA TODAY NETWORK
Vaccher. “I saw this bright light and I truly thought
WEAHII-11000v In January 1997, Terri Vaccher saw a bright flash as

she slammed head-on into the trailer of a semi-truck.
She feared the flash of light was her life ending, but
that I was going to die, but that light was actually the
air bag coming out.”
The impact of the air bag burned her arms and
slammed her into the seat, where her seat belt
Volume 189 | No. 9 ©2019 $2.50
it was the exact opposite. cinched up hard to hold her in place.
Home delivery pricing inside
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Vaccher, who was 30 and eight months pregnant, She broke her left leg and knee and her right ankle. An air bag saved Terri Vaccher, who was 8
Classified: 586-977-7500; was in her Ford Explorer SUV on a freeway in Irvine, Rescuers spent an hour using the jaws of life to months pregnant when the Ford Explorer SUV
800-926-8237 California, that day when a tractor-trailer in front of slammed into the trailer of a semi-truck in
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E2 FREEP.COM ❚ SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2019 ❚ 17A
Cover story A Free Press investigation

Continued from previous page
Make Your Date as a nonprofit in previous cov-

erage.
“My client is not a public figure and has
never had her reputation attacked before. At
no point does the Free Press story cite a single
case where the nonprofit started by Dr. Has-
san got any money, any support, or any bene-
fit,” Thomas Cranmer, an attorney with the
Miller Canfield firm, wrote April 23 to the gen-
eral counsel for the Free Press’ parent compa-
ny, Gannett. The city has hired Miller Canfield
in the past for representation, notably in its
municipal bankruptcy case and the federal
demolition investigation.
“Dr. Hassan has been libeled, it was done
with malice, and it was done with full knowl-
edge the story was false,” Cranmer wrote. “If
you fail to move quickly to print a full retrac-
tion of the false allegations and apologize in
order to offset some of the damage to Dr. Has-
san’s reputation, we will take the necessary
legal action to clear her name.”
Through its attorney, the Free Press has re-
futed defamation and libel claims in its re-
sponse to Cranmer.
Nonprofit experts said it is difficult to un-
derstand officials’ explanation that Make Your
Date is entirely a Wayne State program with
no active nonprofit.
They point to the fact that Make Your Date
has maintained its tax-exempt status with the
IRS and the State of Michigan. And they point
to a logo obtained last year from the U.S. Pat-
ent and Trademark Office, which has been
used for fundraisers, the program’s website
and promotional items. Mayor Mike Duggan said, “I am 100% confident when the OIG does this they will find a dormant nonprofit that never spent any money, never
The fundraising brochure for Make Your took any money, that never ever opened a bank account and that the City of Detroit in no way did anything to support that.” MANDI WRIGHT/DFP
Date’s 2017 gala instructs donors to make their
checks out to the Make Your Date Detroit
501(c)(3), one of the IRS’s designations for a Your Date’s Facebook page. “Are they lazy, ignorant, (or) our partners — including the one we intend to
nonprofit organization. Make Your Date’s 2017 gala brought in tens work with soon.”
George W. Smith, a certified public accoun- of thousands of dollars, but the nonprofit did they just don’t know what Later that year, in August 2017, Sonia Has-
tant in Southfield who works with nonprofits, not report the income to the IRS in its 2017 tax they’re doing. I can’t tell you san anticipated the board’s reaction to an up-
reviewed Make Your Date’s regulatory filings return. coming public announcement involving Make
and fundraising documents and said the or- Make Your Date collected at least $59,000 enough with any of this to say Your Date and SisterFriends, a city initiative.
ganization’s structure is unclear at best. from health care organizations and other In emails with Duggan Chief of Staff Alexis
“They’ve done an outstanding job of blur- groups who sponsored the gala or bought
which way it is.” Wiley and Joneigh Khaldun, the city’s then-
ring everything to the point (of) how do I tell tickets to the event. George W. Smith, a certified public accountant in health director, Hassan debated contents of a
you what’s right and what’s wrong?” Smith The donations included a $25,000 spon- Southfield who works with nonprofits, talking about the news release to announce the partnership.
Make Your Date nonprofit
said. “If it’s deliberate, they’ve done a hell of a sorship by DMC and $20,000 from Henry Ford Hassan wanted to modify the health direc-
job and they should print a book on it.” Health System. Make Your Date financial rector’s quote in the release because it didn’t “op-
There has been no suggestion that Make ords obtained from Wayne State via the Free- Another sign that Make Your Date’s non- timally capture the spirit of the collaboration
Your Date or Hassan have misused any funds. dom of Information Act do not indicate exact- profit is up and running is the program’s use of …
Make Your Date created a brochure in 2017 ly how many tickets Make Your Date sold for a trademarked logo. “As written it implies that the current pro-
for its annual gala downtown that sought do- the gala. The Make Your Date nonprofit corporation gram ignores the other issues a woman faces
nations of up to $25,000. Make Your Date raised a total of $224,105 in received a trademark certificate in 2018 from — transportation, social issues, home visiting,
Duggan, as the gala’s honorary chairman, its 2017 fiscal year. the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. and more — which is not the case. Our pro-
was featured on the brochure along with co- But when Make Your Date filed its 2017 tax The certificate was sent to “Make Your gram, supporters, funders and board will be
median Louie Anderson, who was the head- return, it reported that its income was less Date, Inc.,” which is the nonprofit corporation surprised at the messaging — especially in
lining act. Individual tickets cost $250 and than $50,000. registered with the State of Michigan that city light of the success of the program thus far.
event sponsorships ran between $2,500 and Hassan spokesman Bill Nowling previously and Wayne State officials claim has been in- Perhaps we could focus on the message as dis-
$25,000. told the Free Press the Make Your Date non- active since 2014. cussed previously.”
Insignias for Wayne State, the City of De- profit never opened a bank account or spent “a Make Your Date’s trademark certificate de- Whether Make Your Date is a Wayne State
troit and the Detroit Medical Center were in- single cent.” scribed its logo — a baby’s footprints inside program or an independent nonprofit, a board
cluded in the brochure as the event’s present- “The nonprofit never received any funds pink and blue hearts, which is prominently of directors for an organization its size would
ing sponsors. But nothing on the package in- from any funder, the city or otherwise,” Now- displayed on the organization’s Facebook be expected to keep meeting minutes, said
dicated Make Your Date is a program run by ling wrote in an email. “Make Your Date is a page, website and promotional material. Smith, the Southfield accountant. If the IRS
Wayne State. program run by Wayne State University. WSU The Make Your Date nonprofit has a seven- were to audit Make Your Date, meeting min-
“Make Your Date Detroit is a nonprofit or- manages all the organization’s finances, in- member board currently headed by Hassan’s utes would be among the first things it re-
ganization leading the way to ensure every cluding the receiving of outside funding, the sister, Susan Hassan. New members have quests, Smith said.
pregnant woman in every neighborhood in approving of expenses, and maintaining an- come and gone since the nonprofit was incor- “If you don’t have minutes, they’re going to
Detroit knows that our great city is stepping nual budgets.” porated in 2014, according to regulatory fil- say you’re not even functioning like a nonprof-
up to ensure she delivers a full-term healthy, Bruce R. Hopkins, author of “The Law of ings. it,” he said. “It’s not a requirement; it’s an ex-
happy baby,” the sponsorship package said. Tax-Exempt Organizations” and a professor at The current board also includes Conrad pectation standard. Particularly in something
Legal experts said the brochure is an exam- the University of Kansas School of Law, said Mallett, CEO of DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital, like this with nonprofits, they would expect to
ple of how confusing Make Your Date’s struc- Make Your Date should be marketed either as and David Cotton, who was CEO and founder see minutes.”
ture is. If Wayne State runs the Make Your a university program or a stand-alone non- of Meridian Health Plan until it sold last year Ultimately, the setup for Make Your Date is
Date program, then it should be clear to do- profit. to WellCare Health Plans for $2.5 billion. Nei- irrelevant when examining whether the or-
nors that they are giving their money to “I don’t know quite what’s going on here,” ther Mallett nor Cotton could be reached for ganization received preferential treatment
Wayne State. Hopkins said. “It’s either a program of the uni- comment. from the city, said Leslie Lenkowsky, a profes-
“So, to me, that’s the question — who’s real- versity or it’s a separate nonprofit. I haven’t A spokesman for Wayne State downplayed sor at the Indiana University Lilly Family
ly soliciting? Is Wayne State soliciting or is the faintest idea which way it’s structured.” the board’s role. School of Philanthropy.
Make Your Date? If Make Your Date is not reg- A contract between Make Your Date and The board was set up when Make Your Date “The organizational form doesn’t matter at
istered to do charitable solicitation, then they the Detroit Medical Center in 2017 is also un- launched and was applying for tax-exempt all,” Lenkowsky said.
shouldn’t be soliciting. Wayne State should be clear about whether Make Your Date was op- status as a nonprofit organization. Make Your The issue is whether the city’s conflict-of-
soliciting,” said Sally Wagenmaker, a Chicago erating as a university program. Date opted to be run as a Wayne State program interest policies were followed in its support
lawyer who represents nonprofits. The contract spelled out DMC’s $25,000 instead of an independent nonprofit, spokes- of Make Your Date, he said.
Even references to Make Your Date on donation to sponsor Make Your Date’s third man Matt Lockwood wrote in an email last Viki Harrison, director of state operations
Wayne State’s website are confusing. Despite annual gala in 2017. DMC received 20 tickets to month. for the nonpartisan grassroots organization
the university’s insistence that Make Your the event, which included cocktails, dinner “Wayne State has never used a board to Common Cause, said the debate about wheth-
Date is only a program of the university, its and entertainment, according to the contract, govern the Make Your Date program. We have, er Make Your Date is a nonprofit or solely a
Wayne State website for accepting donations obtained by the Free Press via the Freedom of from time to time, consulted with voluntary university program doesn’t get at the heart of
describes Make Your Date as a “powerful and Information Act. advisors on the development of the Wayne the issue, which she said is the appearance of
free nonprofit program, offered through the As the recipient of the donation, Make Your State program, but those meetings were infor- a conflict of interest.
City of Detroit.” Date was listed on the contract as “Make Your mal and did not have minutes or formal re- Common Cause is a national organization
In the financial documents provided by the Date c/o Wayne State University, a nonprofit ports,” Lockwood wrote. that advocates for open and clean govern-
university, there is a copy of a $5,000 dona- organization.” Hassan signed the contract as Fundraising materials for Make Your Date ment.
tion from the Community Foundation of director of Make Your Date. offer donors who give $100,000 or more a spot “Whether it goes to a nonprofit or a school,
Greater Flint in 2017 that includes the Make Experts in nonprofit regulations said the on an “advisory board” and the “operating that’s a bunch of background noise,” Harrison
Your Date nonprofit’s federal tax identifica- contract language makes it difficult to tell committee” for the organization. But the ma- said. “That doesn’t matter. She’s working with
tion number. whether Make Your Date was a nonprofit enti- terials aren’t clear on whether those are seats the program over at Wayne State, too. ... He
On its Facebook page, Make Your Date is ty or a Wayne State program when the con- on the board of directors. has just put her in a bad situation.”
classified as a nonprofit organization. Infor- tract was signed. Despite Lockwood’s characterization of the Harrison, whose expertise includes ethics
mation about its ties to Wayne State is mini- “The way this is written it’s a bit ambigu- board as idle, emails Sonia Hassan sent in and accountability, said elected officials such
mal — visitors to its Facebook page only are ous,” said William Fournier, of Caplin & Drys- 2017 suggest the board influenced Make Your as Duggan should always be mindful that the
provided boilerplate information about Make dale, a Washington, D.C., law firm. “Including Date’s operations. The Free Press obtained the decisions they make could raise ethical and
Your Date’s backers. it as ‘care of Wayne State’ suggests that they’re emails through an open records request. morality concerns among their constituents.
On the 2017 gala brochure, Make Your Date trying to treat it as a program, but the recipient Hassan weighed the board’s input when “I think that our elected officials in this
is very specifically referred to as a 501(c)(3) signing the contract — signing as director of considering whether Make Your Date would country have to go above and beyond the law
nonprofit. In other public-facing documents it Make Your Date — which suggests they’ve got participate in the creation of a directory for to make sure there are no conflicts of interest
calls itself a “not-for-profit organization” a kind of legal authority to sign as a separate en- young expectant mothers. when you are talking about money,” Harrison
designation that also conveys a charitable tity,” said Fournier, who specializes in non- “We would very much like to partner with said.
purpose but has different requirements from a profit tax requirements. you,” Hassan wrote on Feb. 1, 2017, to a repre- Contact Joe Guillen at 313-222-6678 or
nonprofit. Smith said the contract language is vague, sentative of the National Council of Jewish jguillen@freepress.com. Contact Kat Stafford
“With the support of the Mayor’s office, and that he was unable to tell whether it is de- Women. “However, at this point would have to at kstafford@freepress.com or 313-223-4759.
major medical institutions, universities, foun- liberate. present the plan of your project and some of
dations, and insurance companies, we’ve “Are they lazy, ignorant, (or) they just don’t the logistics to our team overall. It’s also likely
built a caring and supportive team dedicated know what they’re doing,” he said. “I can’t tell our Board members would want to know a bit ❚ Coming Monday: Charity with close ties to
to turning the tide against dangerous preterm you enough with any of this to say which way more about this project before moving for- Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan flip-flops on
births,” reads the “Our Story” section of Make it is,” he said. ward as it could potentially impact some of who handles its money.
16A ❚ SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2019 ❚ DETROIT FREE PRESS
Nonprofit under scrutiny from Nessel

Continued from Page 1A saying then, if they have established them-
selves with the IRS.”
Make Your Date comes while the Detroit Office Wayne State officials have given the Free
of Inspector General investigates whether Press varying answers about how Make Your
Make Your Date received preferential treat- Date’s money is handled. They said last De-
ment from Duggan and the city. The probe was cember that Wayne State is Make Your Date’s
launched last month after a Free Press investi- fiduciary and identified other nonprofits for
gation showed the city directed $358,000 in which the university serves in that role. They
federal grants to Make Your Date and Duggan have said Make Your Date is entirely a Wayne
ordered a city-led fundraising effort for the State program. But then in April, a spokesman
program, which aims to prevent preterm birth for Hassan told the Free Press for the first time
in Detroit. that the Wayne State University Foundation
The Duggan administration and Wayne handles some of the organization’s donations.
State officials have been vehement in their po- Duggan, in defending the city’s support for
sitions that Make Your Date is entirely a uni- the organization, has joined Wayne State offi-
versity program and that the nonprofit — cials in characterizing Make Your Date as a
which happens to have a similar name — is dormant nonprofit. He predicted the city’s in-
dormant. City officials maintain the money spector general will also find the nonprofit
went to Wayne State and not the nonprofit. was inactive when the city directed federal
Days after the first Free Press report, Michi- grants to Make Your Date between 2015 and
gan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office 2017.
confirmed that it, too, was reviewing issues “I am 100% confident when the OIG does
raised by newspaper. this they will find a dormant nonprofit that
The office’s queries into Make Your Date never spent any money, never took any mon-
began with a Feb. 13 letter seeking clarification ey, that never ever opened a bank account and
on its registration with the state. The letter re- Dr. Sonia Hassan, in red, sits with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan during the 2015 fundraising that the City of Detroit in no way did anything
quested a reply within 30 days but went unan- gala for Hassan’s Make Your Date program at MGM Grand Detroit. MAKEYOURDATE.ORG to support that,” Duggan said at a news con-
swered. The office sent a follow-up letter on ference last month. “Everything was in direct
April 22 reminding the nonprofit to respond partnership with the university.”
and advising that it is against Michigan law to troit’s efforts to reduce preterm birth after he partment of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Detroit Inspector General Ellen Ha has not
raise money without proper registration. was elected in 2013. The Make Your Date non- The logo is featured in fundraising materials, said when her report on Make Your Date will
In its response to the attorney general’s of- profit launched in 2014, but it was never oper- along with descriptions of Make Your Date as be released. Some have questioned whether
fice on Wednesday, Make Your Date included ational because the university took over the a nonprofit organization. Ha, who previously worked in the law depart-
its bylaws and requested an exemption from program, Wayne State officials have said. Several experts familiar with nonprofit reg- ment under Duggan, can be impartial.
requirements in state laws for charitable or- Make Your Date has raised more than $1.5 mil- ulations whom the Free Press interviewed ex- Wayne State and Make Your Date officials
ganizations. lion since its inception, according to Wayne pressed confusion about how the organization earlier this month refused to answer the Free
The Free Press began examining Make Your State. is set up because it has used its nonprofit sta- Press’ questions seeking clarification on how
Date’s operations and funding several months Make Your Date is designed to help preg- tus in various ways. Make Your Date solicits donations, where the
ago, after possible conflict of interest issues nant women deliver full-term babies. The or- Paul Streckfus, a former IRS tax official money goes and how its donations are report-
arose because of revelations about the may- ganization holds pregnancy education classes who runs an online publication devoted to ex- ed to the IRS. On Wednesday, Wayne State re-
or’s close ties to its director, Sonia Hassan, a and says it connects women to doctors and empt organizations, said Wayne State’s affili- iterated in a statement its stance that Make
noted Wayne State physician. Duggan and midwives, and provides other medical ser- ation with Make Your Date is irrelevant be- Your Date is a university program and not a
Hassan were seen on surveillance footage last vices. cause donors are writing checks in Make Your nonprofit organization.
year arriving at the same suburban residence. The Make Your Date nonprofit filed paper- Date’s name and the nonprofit entity has Despite Wayne State’s hesitance to discuss
The video prompted the mayor and his wife to work with the Internal Revenue Service last maintained its tax-exempt status with the the inner workings of Make Your Date, an at-
defend their marriage when the video became year to maintain its tax-exempt status and it IRS. torney for Hassan on April 23 threatened the
public in November. filed an annual report with the state. Hassan “The issue is that they are recognized by Free Press with a libel suit, demanding the
Duggan’s wife, Lori Maher, filed for divorce also registered a logo with the federal trade- the IRS as a tax-exempt entity,” said Streck- newspaper retract its characterization of
May 3. mark office last year, using the name of the fus, editor of the EO Tax Journal. “It doesn’t
Duggan handpicked Hassan to lead De- nonprofit as registered with the Michigan De- matter what Wayne State and the others are Continued on next page
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SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2019 ❚ FREEP.COM E3 PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
PAUL WHELAN’S EMPLOYER HAD RUSSIAN TIES FREE PRESS INVESTIGATION
Spying case grows Nessel:

curiouser and curiouser More info
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Attorney general looking into
program linked to Duggan
Joe Guillen and Kat Stafford Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY NETWORK
While Wayne State University officials in-

sist that the Make Your Date nonprofit — un-
der scrutiny for its ties to Detroit Mayor Mike
Duggan — is dormant and inactive, the Michi-
gan attorney general is questioning the or-
ganization’s nonprofit status and had been
METRO, 4A
unable to get any answers for nearly three
Rochelle Riley months.
Inquiries from the attorney general’s office
says goodbye went ignored until Wednesday, when Make
Columnist leaving Free Press Your Date provided information to the state
but she will still be fighting about its operations — hours after the Free
for Detroit’s success. Press published an article about its lack of re-
sponse.
The attorney general’s office is looking into
Make Your Date’s fundraising practices, in-
cluding why it is not registered with the state
to solicit charitable donations and where the
donations ended up.
Kristen Jordan Shamus and Deirdre Shesgreen Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY NETWORK The newspaper’s review of Make Your
Date’s finances, organizational records and
Paul Whelan, the Michigan businessman accused of spying in Russia, entered fundraising activities shows that Make Your
Date used its nonprofit status in some in-
the country on a business travel visa supported by BorgWarner Inc., he told his
stances, including obtaining a federally is-
lawyers in Moscow. ❚ Whelan, 49, of Novi was the director of global security sued logo used prominently in its charitable
solicitations.
METRO, 3A for the Auburn Hills-based auto supplier when he traveled to Russia on Dec. 22
Several experts say Make Your Date’s setup
Who is your for the wedding of a friend. He was arrested six days later by the Russian Feder- is confusing. After reviewing financial docu-
ments obtained by the Free Press, they said it
Shining Light? al Security Service (FSB) and charged with espionage. ❚ He remains in a pris-
is difficult to reconcile claims of a dormant, in-
Honor those exceptional on cell at Moscow’s czarist-era Lefortovo Detention Facility, held without active nonprofit with annual fundraisers
leaders who are making a Make Your Date has held and also its routinely
much more information about the accusations against him than he knew on
positive impact. updated registrations with state and federal
the day when he was initially detained. See WHELAN, Page 15A agencies that suggest nonprofit activities.
The debate over the nonprofit status of
USA TODAY NETWORK ILLUSTRATION, PHOTO BY DMITRY SEREBRYAKOV/AP
Inside today’s Free Press See NONPROFIT, Page 16A
❚ Obituaries .....................24-28A
❚ Movies.....................................8E
❚ House Envy ............................1G
❚ Puzzles ...............................2-3H
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3M kept PFAS dangers a secret for
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Keith Matheny Detroit Free Press PFOS, one of 3M’s chief PFAS products, “is
USA TODAY NETWORK the most insidious pollutant since PCB,” Rich-
ard Purdy stated in his March 28, 1999, resigna-
WEAHII-40000x A 3M environmental specialist, in a scath-

ing resignation letter, accused company offi-
cials of being “unethical” and more “concerned
with markets, legal defensibility and image
tion letter, referring to a compound used in
3M’s ScotchGard stain-protection product
line, among other uses.
“It is probably more damaging than PCB be-
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6A ❚ SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2019 ❚ DETROIT FREE PRESS
Cover stories
Workers assemble grandstand seating Thursday in advance of the May 31 Grand Prix at Belle Isle. Many residents complain the setup and teardown ruins the island. JUNFU HAN/DFP
Gallagher the woods for that time.
A work in progress
Continued from Page 1A
Belle Isle has always been a work in pro-
But there are plenty of short-term issues on gress. When French settlers first reached the
Belle Isle just now: island in the early 1700s, it measured only
about three-fourths its current size of 982
1. Flooding acres — the largest city-owned island park in
the United States. Landfill expanded the island
Heavy rains have left standing water on to its current configuration around 1940.
grassy areas throughout the island. Much of Over the decades, the island evolved from
the park will be unusable until things dry out in mostly forest and marsh to a venue with mul-
coming days or weeks. tiple recreational and cultural offerings. But as
“Basically we have a lot of pumps on the is- the City of Detroit’s financial abilities deterio-
land,” said Karis Floyd, the park supervisor rated in the years leading up to the municipal
with the Michigan Department of Natural Re- bankruptcy in 2013, maintenance lagged at
sources. “We open those up to try to pump the Belle Isle and other cities parks.
water down. But as you know, not only the De- During that period of financial difficulty, the
troit River but several lakes around the state of historic Aquarium on Belle Isle had closed,
Michigan are flooding over due to the addition- restrooms were padlocked, the canoe rental
al rain. Hopefully, we’ll get a few additional had long shuttered, and there were multiple
days with no rain. We can continue to pump it other problems.
down and just wait for it to dry out.”
Restoring the glory
2. It’s Grand Prix time A flooded picnic area on Belle Isle. Recent heavy rains have caused problems. JUNFU HAN/DFP
Taken all together, the various repair work
The annual Detroit Grand Prix is setting up and upgrades now underway are part of a plan
for the three-day event beginning May 31. As to restore the once-dilapidated park to glory
many fans of the island have complained over following the takeover by DNR on a 30-year
the years, the Grand Prix setup and teardown lease from the city that began in 2013.
restricts traffic in various ways until the barri- Since then, DNR, the Friends of the Detroit
ers and obstacles are finally removed in the River, the Belle Isle Conservancy, the Army
weeks following the race. Corps of Engineers and other players have
worked on multiple renovation projects.
3. Electric cable project The island’s Blue Heron Lagoon on the east-
ern end of the island, formerly a closed body of
DTE Energy is taking over the electrical ser- water, has been opened to the Detroit River as
vice to the island from the city’s public lighting part of a fish habitat improvement project. Blue
department. To do that, DTE is laying new ca- Heron Lagoon has, in turn, been connected to
bles on the island. That has chewed up grassy Lake Okonoka, which has also been opened to
areas along the central road through the island the river.
but should be finished soon. Thanks to donations and volunteers, the
Aquarium has reopened and continues to ex-
4. Perimeter road; fish habitat plan pand its exhibits. The historic Conservancy,
which, like the Aquarium, was designed by
In a major construction project, crews are famed architect Albert Kahn, is also undergo-
building a new road bridge along the perimeter ing restoration work today.
road known as The Strand on the east end of DNR has also welcomed recreational offer-
the island facing Canada. ings, including kayak rentals, to the island.
There, crews opened up the shoreline to And there are many more projects in planning
connect the island’s Lake Okonoka to the De- The northernmost point on the outer perimeter road is under construction. to further restore the island.
troit River as part of fish habitat restoration MANDI WRIGHT/DETROIT FREE PRESS So perhaps some short-term inconvenience
work. Building the bridge over the opening is worth it for some long-term gain. At any rate,
should be done by mid-August, said Amanda fans of Belle Isle are not likely to let a little rain
Treadwell of the state’s Department of Natural eter road farther along. portation is scheduled to resurface part of the dampen their enjoyment of a Detroit jewel.
Resources. Until then, the perimeter road will central roadway through the woods. That Contact John Gallagher: 313-222-5173 or
be closed through that stretch, but visitors 5. Road resurfacing stretch has been notorious for big, deep pot- gallagher@freepress.com.Follow him on Twit-
should be able to use a shortcut that runs be- holes. The resurfacing should take about two ter @jgallagherfreep.
tween the forest on the island and the perim- In July, the Michigan Department of Trans- weeks and close that central roadway through
Duggan man Robert Carmack aired surveillance video

showing Duggan and Hassan arriving at the
ment read.
Duggan and Hassan both have repeatedly
inspector general has opened an investiga-
tion into the city’s support of Make Your Date.
same suburban residence last year. refused to address the nature of their rela- “I’m never going to talk about my personal
Continued from Page 1A “We decided to write this statement to- tionship in recent months. life, as you well know,” Duggan said at a news
gether because we are proud of the marriage The City of Detroit and Duggan supported conference last month.
from city officials were unsuccessful. we’ve built over 32 years, proud that our bond Hassan’s organization, Make Your Date, with Staff writer Kathleen Gray contributed to
Six months ago, Duggan and Maher de- today remains strong, and proud of our goal to $358,000 in federal grants from 2015 to 2017 this report.
fended their marriage after Detroit business- spend the rest of our lives together,” the state- and a fundraising effort in 2017. The Detroit
PLAYING THE FIELD
With no clear favorite in the Kentucky Derby,
Maximum Security could get the roses.
SPORTS, 2B
SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2019 ❚ FREEP.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
New Jeep factory a done deal

Land swaps complete; Detroit ments needed for FCA to move ahead building
the new Jeep assembly plant near Mack and St.
More inside
plant expected to open in ’20 Jean. ❚ Ram drives reduced profits for FCA. 9A
Construction should start this year with a ❚ GM talks of possible $1B expansion. 9A
John Gallagher planned opening date of late 2020.
Detroit Free Press FCA plans to invest $2.5 billion in the Jeep
USA TODAY NETWORK
plant and the adjacent Jefferson North Assem- new plant and to demolish or renovate homes
bly Plant, creating an estimated 4,950 jobs. in the area.
Fiat Chrysler’s new Jeep factory on Detroit’s Among the details Duggan announced: ❚ The city turns over about 215 acres of land
east side is now a done deal. ❚ FCA agreed to pay for a $35-million pack- assembled for the project to FCA. The final big
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced at a age of community benefits, including $19 mil- piece of that includes about 80 acres owned by
late Friday afternoon news conference that lion for workforce training and education, with FCA’s Mack Engine Plant II in Detroit will be
agreement has been reached on all the ele- millions more to build a buffer wall around the See JEEP PLANT, Page 7A converted to a new Jeep plant. JUNFU HAN/DFP
Mayor Mike UPGRADES COMING AT DETROIT PARK

As costs for
Duggan’s nuclear
wife files for energy soar,
a divorce its future is
Joe Guillen and Gina Kaufman
Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY NETWORK
uncertain
JC Reindl
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, whose per- Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY NETWORK
sonal life has been the subject of media re-
ports in recent months, is now facing di-
vorce. There was a festive atmosphere in down-
His wife of more than three decades, Ma- town Monroe earlier this week when a group
ry Loretto Maher, filed for divorce Friday in of nearly two dozen environmental activists
Wayne County Circuit Court. held a “funeral” for nuclear energy, complete
The divorce filing comes a month after a An aerial view Thursday of the James Scott Memorial Fountain and construction underway with a small homemade coffin bearing an effi-
Free Press investigation for the Grand Prix on Belle Isle in Detroit. MANDI WRIGHT AND JUNFU HAN/DETROIT FREE PRESS gy of the power industry’s old mascot, Reddy
raised questions about Dug- Kilowatt.
DETROIT’S JEWEL A
gan’s ties to Dr. Sonia Hassan, “You’re not supposed to smile at a funeral,
a Wayne State University phy- but this one we can,” said Keith Gunter, 63, of
sician who heads a maternal Livonia, who has been protesting nuclear
health program the mayor power since the late 1970s.
LITTLE TARNISHED
supported. The activists were in a buoyant mood be-
Duggan Online court records show cause of the nuclear industry’s recent finan-
Maher, who commonly goes cial struggles, which have brought early clo-
by Lori, filed the divorce com- sures to several reactors across the country
plaint Friday. Novi-based at- and prompted others to seek bailouts.
torney Julia Perkins, a partner
in the Varnum law firm, is list-
Rain, construction, Grand Prix setup make Belle Isle a mess Yet they acknowledged that their funeral
ed as having been retained. See NUCLEAR, Page 7A

Perkins could not be immedi- John Gallagher Columnist | Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY NETWORK
ately reached for comment.
Maher Information available Blame it on heavy rains, rising lake lev-
through the court online con-
tains limited information els, the Grand Prix setup, or major con-
about the divorce case. The record shows struction projects but Detroit’s Belle Isle Park is a
the complaint was filed Friday and that a
settlement conference is scheduled for Aug. mess right now. ❚ The good news is that most of the
2.
problems should clear up in time for another sea-
Neither Duggan’s spokesman, John
Roach, nor his chief of staff Alexis Wiley, son of picnics, family reunions, biking, jogging,
could be reached for comment by the Free
Press. The couple released a statement to and sunset watching. And the long-term outlook is
several media outlets confirming they had for a more ecologically friendly environment for
made the painful decision to divorce. Nu- High waters from heavy rains Anti-nuclear activists Mark Farris, left, and
merous attempts to obtain the statement wildlife, plant life and human visitors alike. flood picnic areas at the Blue Keith Gunter took part in a “funeral” for
Heron Lagoon on Belle Isle. nuclear power on Tuesday in downtown
See DUGGAN, Page 6A See GALLAGHER, Page 6A MANDI WRIGHT/DETROIT FREE PRESS Monroe. JC REINDL/DETROIT FREE PRESS
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FREEP.COM ❚ TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2019 ❚ 5A
Metro
Dragon trail work may start this summer

Hope is for hiking, biking From an aerial view, the 47-mile hiking and
biking trail encircles a dam-formed pond that
volved in the project.
The 2-foot-wide trail is planned to pass
Newaygo and Mecosta counties each pro-
vided $150,000 for the project, which also re-
path to be national attraction resembles the shape of a dragon. The pond is through untamed terrain, six campgrounds ceived $860,000 in grant money and other do-
part of the Muskegon River that pooled above and eight boat launches and marinas. The nations. The counties have applied for two
ASSOCIATED PRESS the Hardy Dam, which is owned by Jackson- route will also include 13 scenic overlooks and grants from the Michigan Department of Natu-
based utility Consumers Energy. 20 footbridges. ral Resources that could provide an additional
BIG PRAIRIE TOWNSHIP – A new trail in Visitors will be able to use the trail to walk or “It became really obvious really quickly that $750,000, Hoag said. The more than $1 million
western Michigan that developers believe bike along the top of the dam. this wasn’t a local trail; this was going to be an remaining is expected to be raised through cor-
could become a national attraction is set to “There are other trails that are this long, but attraction that would bring people into the re- porate and private donations.
break ground this year. very few are circular, fewer go around a body of gion,” Hoag said. “This is about economic de- The trail is scheduled for completion in
Construction on Michigan’s Dragon at Har- water and none of them that we could find go velopment.” 2022. It’s still pending approval from the Fed-
dy Dam trail in Newaygo and Mecosta counties around a body of water that’s undeveloped,” The trail and its bridges, overlooks, signage eral Energy Regulatory Commission, which
could begin by this summer, the Muskegon said Ryan Coffey Hoag, a land use educator at and kiosks are all estimated to cost more than regulates the property’s owner, Consumers
Chronicle reported. Michigan State University Extension who’s in- $3 million combined, he said. Energy.
Chalk up
a win for
people who
park too long
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DETROIT – Marking tires to enforce park-

ing rules is like entering property without a
search warrant, a federal court said Monday
as it declared the practice unconstitutional in
Michigan and three other states.
Alison Taylor had received more than a
dozen $15 tickets for exceeding the two-hour
parking limit in Saginaw. The city marks tires
with chalk to keep track of how long a vehicle
is parked. Her lawyer argued that a parking
patrol officer violated the Fourth Amendment
right against unreasonable searches.
A three-judge panel of the appeals court
agreed.
The purpose of marking tires was to “raise
revenue,” not to protect the public against a
safety risk, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Ap-
peals said.
“The city does not demonstrate, in law or
logic, that the need to deter drivers from ex-
ceeding the time permitted for parking – be-
fore they have even done so – is sufficient to
justify a warrantless search under the com-
munity caretaker rationale,” the court said.
The decision sets a new standard for Mich-
igan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, the
states covered by the 6th Circuit. The court
overturned an opinion by U.S. District Judge
Thomas Ludington, who had called the legal
theory “unorthodox” and dismissed the case
Mayor Mike Duggan is being investigated over alleged preferential treatment given to a local medical program. Two recall petitions, seeking in favor of Saginaw.
his removal from office, were filed Monday. MANDI WRIGHT/DETROIT FREE PRESS Saginaw’s city manager didn’t immediate-
ly reply to a message seeking comment.
Taylor’s attorney, Philip Ellison, began re-
Duggan with the mayor since he was first elected. Hill

has long been active in Detroit politics and re-
According to Michigan law, recall petition
language must be submitted to the county
searching the issue when another lawyer
complained that his tire was marked while he
cently worked on Coleman Young II’s failed bid clerk in the county where the elected officer sat in his car. It’s apparently a common prac-
Continued from Page 4A against Duggan for mayor in 2017. resides before a recall petition may be circu- tice in downtown Saginaw, where there are
“Time after time, we’ve found that he hasn’t lated. no meters to enforce time limits.
Charter.” There was no other comment from done what’s in the best interest of the majority Davis filed recall petitions in September “A good portion of my practice is repre-
city officials. of Detroiters,” Hill said. Former mayor “Kwame 2015 against Duggan, citing his hiring of two senting the everyday person,” Ellison said.
Davis’ petition language references Dug- (Kilpatrick) didn’t steer grants toward his al- top administrators who have since left the He argued that marking tires was similar
gan’s ties to Hassan, the inspector general in- leged mistress. Duggan’s doing that.” city — former Department of Neighborhoods to police secretly putting a GPS device on a
vestigation and “whether Mayor Duggan and/ The Wayne County election commission Director Charlie Beckham and Corporation vehicle without a proper warrant, which was
or any city officials potentially abused their au- will review the petition language in the coming Counsel Melvin Butch Hollowell — despite the subject of a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court rul-
thority by providing preferential treatment to weeks at a hearing that has yet to be scheduled. their brushes with the law. ing.
the Make Your Date nonprofit organization, If either petition is approved, Davis would Wayne County Clerk spokeswoman Lisa The case will return to federal court in Bay
which is run by Dr. Sonia Hassan.” have to collect valid signatures equal to at least Williams-Jackson said petition sponsors City. Ellison wants Ludington to certify the
Hill, who filed the second petition to recall 25% of votes cast for governor in Detroit last have 180 days to collect signatures once their lawsuit as a class-action, with refunds for
Duggan on Monday, said she’s been displeased year. petition is approved. people who got tickets.
Adoption
“If St. Vincent is unable to
Man ruled justified in shooting
receive referrals from or in attempted home burglary
Department of Health and Human Services. contract with the State, it will
Lansing-based St. Vincent Catholic Chari- Kara Berg Lansing State Journal own pickup at that location, leaving the engine
ties challenged the deal in federal court last be forced to close its foster care USA TODAY NETWORK — MICHIGAN running and headlights on.
week, alleging violations of the U.S. Constitu- The man grabbed his gun and went outside
tion and the federal Religious Freedom Resto-
and adoption programs ...” SEBEWA TWP. – A 69-year-old Ionia with Eddy, while his wife stayed inside and
ration Act. St. Vincent Catholic Charities County homeowner who fatally shot a Lan- called 911. They were not able to find anyone
Of the faith-based agencies known to not sing man will not be charged with the man’s outside.
serve LGBT couples or individuals in Michigan, death, prosecutors say. The man told Eddy “Don’t come in here,” just
Bethany does the most work for the state. The private adoptions, according to Bethany. Justin Eddy, 40, was shot and killed during before the 911 call ended, according to the news
nonprofit was handling 1,159 cases as of Febru- A 2015 Republican-enacted law says child- a reported attempted home burglary in Sebe- release. The police investigation showed Eddy
ary. Catholic Charities had 404 cases, or 3%, placement agencies are not required to pro- wa Township, near Portland, in early January. went back inside the home and smashed the
while St. Vincent had 80, or less than 1%. vide any services that conflict with their sin- Ionia County Prosecutor Kyle Butler ruled cell phone and asked for the gun several times.
State human services department spokes- cerely held religious beliefs. But Nessel’s set- Monday that the homeowner acted in self- Eddy struck the man in the face and pushed
man Bob Wheaton said the agency was pleased tlement says the law does not apply if agen- defense when he shot Eddy, and chose not to him down to the ground and attempted to take
it will “be able to continue its long-standing cies are under contract with the state. issue charges. the gun from the man’s waistband before the
partnership with Bethany in providing ser- In its lawsuit, St. Vincent said it fears the A man, later identified as Eddy, forced his man shot and killed Eddy, according to the
vices to children and families.” state will not renew its contract in October way into a home in the 4000 block of East news release.
Nessel tweeted over the weekend that hav- because of the local nonprofit’s religious be- Musgrove Highway occupied by a married He was pronounced dead at 11:36 p.m. Toxi-
ing more adoption agencies not discriminate liefs and practices. couple, a 69-year-old man and a 63-year-old cology reports showed Eddy had a blood alco-
results in “more children adopted into loving, “If St. Vincent is unable to receive referrals woman, just after 10:30 p.m. Jan 1. hol content of 0.25 and the presence of fenta-
nurturing ‘forever’ homes. Thank you to Betha- from or contract with the State, it will be He told the couple he was being chased by nyl in his system, supporting his “erratic be-
ny Christian Services.” forced to close its foster care and adoption someone who was trying to kill him, accord- havior,” according to the release. He had strug-
On April 11, Bethany’s national board of di- programs, ending a decades-old religious ing to the news release. He had arrived at the gled with drug abuse and had recent contacts
rectors voted to change the policy. It applies ministry and reducing the number of agen- couple’s home in a pickup that had been sto- with police and the Michigan Department of
only in Michigan, not to its operations in other cies available to serve families and children in len from a home about two miles east, accord- Health and Human Services.
states. The policy change also does not impact need,” the agency said in the complaint. ing to the news release. He abandoned his
4A ❚ TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2019 ❚ DETROIT FREE PRESS
Metro
Mayor Duggan faces recall effort
2 petitions filed filed on Monday against Duggan. The petitions
are worded differently but they both seek to
to the personal relationship because the pro-
gram is administered by the university, they
seeking to remove kick Duggan out of office based on an ongoing
investigation by the Detroit Office of Inspector
“He is by far one of the most say.
“Mike Duggan has been no friend to the citi-
corrupt, inept public officials this
him from office General into the city’s support of the Make
Your Date organization. city has ever elected.”
zens of the city of Detroit,” Davis said. “He is by
far one of the most corrupt, inept public offi-
Dr. Sonia Hassan, an associate dean at the cials this city has ever elected.”
Kat Stafford and Joe Guillen Wayne State University School of Medicine Government agitator Robert Davis This is Davis’ second attempt to recall Dug-
Detroit Free Press with close personal ties to Duggan, runs Make gan. His first petition was approved in 2016 but
USA TODAY NETWORK
Your Date, which aims to fight preterm birth. san in an edited surveillance video taken by a he said he collected no signatures. This time is
A Free Press investigation earlier this month private investigator. She was handpicked by different, he said, because he has $50,000
The investigation into whether Detroit May- showed the city directed more than $358,000 the mayor to lead Detroit’s efforts to reduce committed from Detroit businessmen, whom
or Mike Duggan gave preferential treatment to in federal grant money to Make Your Date be- preterm births in Detroit. he would not name.
a local medical program has spawned a recall tween 2015 and 2017. Duggan also ordered the Detroit Inspector General Ellen Ha opened Duggan’s Chief of Staff Alexis Wiley said in a
effort against the mayor. city’s chief development officer to help raise her investigation days after the Free Press de- brief statement, “As was the case in 2016, a re-
Government agitator Robert Davis and money for Make Your Date in 2017. tailed the city’s support to Make Your Date. call is still a right provided under the City
Brenda Hill, who called herself a “political ac- Duggan was seen late last year arriving after Both the administration and Wayne State have
tionist,” have coordinated on recall petitions hours at the same suburban residence as Has- repeatedly denied any conflict of interest due See DUGGAN, Page 5A
REACHING FOR SPRING
A Royal Thai Navy ship pulls a seastead

to shore. YONGYOS PRUKSARAK
Seastead
living puts
Michigan
man on run
Thai officials seize floating
home, seek to arrest couple
Frank Witsil Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY NETWORK
The Royal Thai Navy seized and disman-

tled the floating platform that a Michigan na-
tive and Bitcoin investor had made his home
with his Thai girlfriend.
In a video posted to social media early
Monday, a high-ranking Thai military official,
Witthanat Kochsanei, offered details in Thai
of the fate of the house that has been called a
“seastead,” a word combining sea and home-
stead.
Meanwhile, the Phuket News, a Thailand
news outlet, is reporting that Thai officials
also may drop charges accusing the pair of vi-
olating Thailand’s national sovereignty,
which could result in life imprisonment or
death.
Instead, they may be prosecuted on a less
Shruthi Siddu, 31, and Atreya Balekai, 2, of Troy have fun on the playground at Boulan Park in Troy on Monday. The severe charge.
Still, not much is known about the safety
thermometer didn’t quite crack 70, but it was still warm and sunny enough for outdoor springtime fun in metro Detroit. and whereabouts of the couple — Chad El-
The high was 68, according to the National Weather Service. Rain will move into the area Tuesday morning but should be wartowski and Supranee Thepdet — who said
through social media that they have been on
gone by early afternoon. Tuesday’s high is expected to be 68, with a low around 42. KATHLEEN GALLIGAN/DETROIT FREE PRESS the run from Thai officials for nearly a week
See SEASTEAD, Page 8A
Adoption agency changes $4.7M effort to stop ‘zombie’ deer

LGBT policy after settlement before they’re in Michigan forever
Aleanna Siacon Detroit Free Press
Decision only applies to ment agreement has been im-

plemented by the state govern-
USA TODAY NETWORK
group’s Michigan operations ment. Nonetheless, Bethany Michigan is raising the stakes in its battle to
will continue operations in fight chronic wasting disease in deer, a neuro-
David Eggert Michigan, in compliance with logical condition that makes deer look like
ASSOCIATED PRESS our legal contract require- “zombies.”
Nessel ments,” the nonprofit said in a The Michigan Department of Natural Re-
LANSING – A major faith-based foster care statement, confirming a policy sources is teaming up with Michigan State Uni-
and adoption contractor for the state of Michi- change that was first reported by WGVU-FM. versity to dole out $4.7 million in grants to sup-
gan said Monday it will place children in LGBT Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a port efforts targeting the disease.
homes, reversing course following a recent le- Democrat, announced the settlement last Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is related to
gal settlement. month with same-sex couples who had sued mad cow disease. Infected deer often look
Grand Rapids-based Bethany Christian Ser- in 2017. It prevents faith-based agencies from emaciated and confused, wandering aimlessly
vices is responsible for about 8% of Michigan’s refusing to place children in LGBT house- and unafraid of humans.
more than 13,000 foster care and adoption holds for religious reasons if it has accepted Dr. Russ Mason, chief of the DNR Wildlife
cases involving children from troubled house- them for referral from the Michigan Deer infected with chronic wasting disease Division, told the Free Press portions of the
holds. can look emaciated and confused,
“We are disappointed with how this settle- See ADOPTION, Page 5A wandering aimlessly. ERIC SHARP/DFP See ‘ZOMBIE’ DEER, Page 8A
FREEP.COM ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019 ❚ 11A
Cover stories
Duggan ing any additional public officials.”

But it wasn’t immediately clear whether the
statement solely addressed Daguanno’s and
Continued from Page 1A Haskins’ case or the entirety of the wide-
reaching probe, which has splintered off into
Your Date program. different facets within the last several months.
“I’m never going to talk about my personal When reached for comment, both the U.S.
life, as you well know,” Duggan said. Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Special
The Michigan Attorney General’s Office told Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief
the Free Press on Monday that it also was look- Program declined comment, saying they
ing into the situation, following publication of wouldn’t make a statement “beyond the press
the newspaper’s investigation last week. release.”
“We recently became aware of these con- Duggan on Wednesday said he was pleased
cerns and we are looking into them,” according by the announcement that no additional
to Kelly Rossman-McKinney, the Attorney charges were expected against any additional
General’s communications director. public officials.
No other details regarding state-level inter- “I said from the very beginning, if any public
est in the case were available, however the of- official committed a crime, they should be
fice does oversee requirements for organiza- charged,” Duggan said. “But in the three-year
tions that solicit or receive charitable contribu- investigation, I never saw any evidence that
tions in Michigan and provides consumer in- anyone running the Land Bank or the Building
formation regarding nonprofits. Authority had broken any laws.”
At the news conference he called Wednes- But when pressed on whether he received
day at City Hall, Duggan also expressed confi- any direct confirmation beyond what was stat-
dence that the federal investigation into the ed in the news release, Duggan said he was
city’s demolition program removed any doubts “acting today off the statement that was in the
about its integrity. release,” before declining to share any private
At the news conference, reporters peppered discussions he may have had with federal au-
Duggan with several questions about Make Mayor Mike Duggan speaks at a news conference Wednesday. It was called to discuss thorities.
Your Date and he addressed many of them developments in the federal probe of the Detroit demolition program. MANDI WRIGHT/DFP The convictions come a week after two con-
while declining to talk about his relationship gressional leaders — U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib
with Hassan. But he eventually stopped an- and Brenda Lawrence — jointly called for in-
swering questions and walked away from the grants and fundraising support. However, con- “I am a huge supporter of Wayne creased oversight of blight remediation efforts
mayor’s briefing room podium as his staff end- tracts for the grants also identified Make Your across Michigan, including Detroit’s demoli-
ed the news conference. Date as getting the money. State University’s Make Your Date tion program.
The Free Press investigation showed the Duggan was seen late last year arriving after program, and Dr. Hassan never The move followed Free Press investiga-
city’s chief development officer and members hours at the same suburban residence as Has- tions this year outlining concerns about the
of his staff undertook a fundraising campaign san in an edited surveillance video taken by a took a dollar and so I’m going to city’s quality controls within the federally
for Make Your Date at Duggan’s direction. private investigator. She was handpicked by funded program, which is overseen by the De-
The fundraising effort was eventually the mayor to lead Detroit’s efforts to reduce
let the OIG process play out.” troit Land Bank Authority and Detroit Building
deemed unnecessary, but not before several preterm births in Detroit. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, talking about an Authority.
city staffers collaborated on the campaign. The The city’s support raises ethics questions investigation over city support of a program aimed at Despite several recent high-profile inci-
fighting preterm births
effort did not result in any donations. However, about whether the mayor used city resources dents in the demolition program, Duggan de-
Make Your Date has raised more than $1.5 mil- to benefit Hassan’s program. fended the city’s quality controls and said it
lion since its inception. City officials had previously downplayed cused of bid-rigging and accepting bribes to- has responded strongly to companies that
On Monday, the city Office of Inspector Gen- Duggan’s assistance to Make Your Date as typ- taling hundreds of thousands of dollars. The have violated procedures in place.
eral launched a probe into Make Your Date. ical of the mayor’s support for city-backed convictions were the first to result from a “I think the oversight is excellent,” he said. “I
Duggan said he hopes the media thoroughly philanthropic efforts. lengthy federal investigation into the program, think they’re responding to accounts that may
reports the probe’s conclusions. But a Freedom of Information Act request which has been fueled by more than $258 mil- not be factually accurate but I am very confi-
“I am a huge supporter of Wayne State Uni- uncovered an email that showed Duggan’s in- lion in federal funds. dent of the controls in place.”
versity’s Make Your Date program, and Dr. volvement in the high-level fundraising effort. Anthony Daguanno and Aradondo Haskins Joe Guillen has been covering city govern-
Hassan never took a dollar and so I’m going to Duggan had ordered the city fundraising effort said they shared key bid information with a ance and development issues for the newspa-
let the OIG process play out,” Duggan said. “All I for the program, which was communicated via subcontractor when they were putting togeth- per since 2013. He has covered Detroit city hall,
ask is that you publicize the conclusion of the email to Hassan by his chief of staff. er demolition proposals for their employer, been a member of the investigations team and
investigation as much as you publicize the in- The results of the OIG investigation will be Adamo Group. previously worked at The (Cleveland) Plain
vestigation itself.” shared with the mayor’s office, City Council Daguanno received more than $372,000, Dealer covering county and state government.
As he left the news conference, he did not and the public. according to the indictment. Contact him at 313-222-6678 or jguillen@free-
answer a question about whether he will dis- Haskins, who also later worked for the city’s press.com.
cuss the Hassan relationship with the Inspec- Demolition probe Building Authority, received $26,000, includ- Kat Stafford is the Detroit government
tor General. ing some money after he was hired by Detroit watchdog reporter for the Free Press, covering
Duggan defended the city’s support of Make Separately, Duggan addressed Tuesday’s to oversee certain demolition projects. city issues and the community. A Detroit na-
Your Date. He said the program was structured news that two former employees of a promi- In announcing the guilty pleas, federal au- tive, Stafford is vice president of the Detroit
as a part of Wayne State University and not a nent contractor firm in Detroit’s demolition thorities said in a release that the government, chapter of the Society of Professional Journal-
nonprofit organization when it received city program pleaded guilty after they were ac- “as of today’s date, does not anticipate charg- ists. Contact her at kstafford@freepress.com.
ISIS charges
Ibraheem Izzy Musaibli, 28, a natural-born

U.S. citizen who has been locked up since his April 11, 2019
arrest last summer, is believed to be one of only
two American men to be captured on an Islam-
ic State battlefield and charged in the U.S. with
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE DRAFT 2019
supporting a terrorist group. He was captured MICHIGAN CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL ACTION PLAN
last summer as he tried to escape a valley in
Prior to submission for further funding from the Housing and Urban Development
Syria, where American-backed Syrian forces
(HUD) Office of Community Planning and Development, Michigan is required to
had been trying to destroy remaining pockets prepare a Consolidated Housing and Community Development Plan (the
of Islamic State control. He was transferred Consolidated Plan). The Consolidated Plan proposes an action strategy by which
into U.S. custody in July 2018. those needs will be addressed through five program years for the period July 1, 2015
The government says this case is about – June 30, 2020. The five annual action plans are funded by five formula programs
holding accountable Americans who leave this covered in the Michigan Consolidated Plan (HOME, Community Development Block
country to support terrorist groups. Grant, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDs, the Emergency Solutions Grant,
As Assistant Attorney General John Demers and the Housing Trust Fund). The Michigan State Housing Development Authority
stated: “The (Dearborn) defendant traveled (MSHDA) is responsible for preparing the Michigan Consolidated Plan and soliciting
overseas, joined ISIS, and received training comments from the public regarding the plan on an annual basis.
from the terrorist organization. He was ulti- Ibraheem Izzy Musaibli’s sister, right, and
The comment period will commence on April 11, 2019 and end on May 11, 2019
mately detained overseas and turned over to mother leave the Theodore Levin Federal and will focus on the draft action plan language. Copies of the 2019 Michigan
the FBI. With these charges, he will be held ac- Courthouse in Detroit in 2018. Consolidated Action Plan may be downloaded free of charge from the MSHDA
countable.” CAMERON POLLACK/DETROIT FREE PRESS website at www.michigan.gov/mshda.
Musaibli’s lawyer was not available for com-
ment. His family has long argued that the gov- All interested parties are invited to attend the public hearing listed below and/or
ernment has it wrong, saying Musaibli is not an “By traveling to Syria to train submit written comments for the Michigan Consolidated Action Plan. Information
extremist and has never associated with any gathered during the public hearings and the written comments received will be used
and fight as a member of ISIS, to develop the 2019 Michigan Consolidated Action Plan.
terrorist group.
His brother, Abe Musaibli, 26, previously Mr. Mousaibli fought against
Please note the following date and locations for the 2019 Public Hearings:
told the Free Press that his older brother trav-
eled to Iraq from Yemen to help refugees and coalition forces, which included
Detroit: Wednesday, April 24, 2019 from 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon
was later kidnapped by ISIS members and members of the U.S. Military.” MSHDA Detroit Office, Cadillac Place, 3028 W. Grand Boulevard,
forced into Syria. He said his brother was jailed Suite 4-602
in an ISIS prison, pleaded for help and eventu- Timothy Slater, Detroit’s FBI chief,
talking about the case
ally escaped to the Syrian Democratic Forces. Lansing: Thursday, May 2, 2019 from 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
The government, however, has painted a MSHDA Lansing Office, 735 E. Michigan Avenue
different picture, alleging Musaibli helped ISIS The government alleges Masaibli not only
for three years, using various aliases, including fought against Syrians, but American forces, Individuals and organizations unable to attend the hearing may still submit written
Abu Shifa Musaibli and Abu ‘Abd Al-Rahman too. comments to Tonya Young, 735 East Michigan Avenue, P.O. Box 30044, Lansing,
MI 48909. Written comments must be received no later than May 8, 2019.
Al-Yemeni. “By traveling to Syria to train and fight as a
Comments can also be submitted to the MSHDA Consolidated Plan Coordinator via
According to the superseding — or new — member of ISIS, Mr. Mousaibli fought against e-mail to hidmailbox@michigan.gov.
indictment, from April 2015 through June 2018, coalition forces, which included members of
Musaibli knowingly provided and attempted to the U.S. Military,” Detroit’s FBI chief Timothy Special Assistance: The meeting locations are accessible to mobility-challenged
provide material support to ISIS, received mil- Slater stated Wednesday. individuals. Persons with disabilities needing accommodations for effective
itary-type training from ISIS, discharged a ma- Musaibli was initially charged with crimes participation in a meeting should contact Housing Initiatives at 517.335.2524 a week
chine gun on the terrorist group’s behalf and that could send him to prison for 20 years, if in advance to request mobility, visual, hearing or other assistance.
attended an ISIS military camp. convicted. The new charges carry a manda-
U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said the tory minimum sentence of 40 years, or up to
DF-GMG0016741-01
new indictment in Masaibli’s case adds life.

charges “to more fully capture his conduct” Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@free-
while he was with ISIS for nearly three years. press.com
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FREE PRESS INVESTIGATION
DETROIT ROCK CITY Duggan

dodges
SPORTS, 1C
Pistons clinch
ON OPENING NIGHT questions
amid probe
playoff berth
Advance with victory over
Knicks in final game of season.
He avoids answering about

doctor who heads program;
Nessel is looking into it
Kat Stafford and Joe Guillen Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY NETWORK
Days after learning the Detroit Office of In-

spector General is investigating city support of
the program overseen by a Wayne State Uni-
MOTOR CITY, 1E
versity doctor, Mayor Mike Duggan avoided a
Ford Edge ST is barrage of questions Wednes-
day about his relationship with
fast and fun the program’s director.
Mark Phelan reviews the SUV’s A Free Press investigation
performance model. published last week raised
conflict of interest concerns
regarding Duggan and Dr. So-
Duggan nia Hassan, who runs a med-
ical program that received
$358,000 in city grants and also fundraising
efforts in 2017 ordered by the mayor.
Duane Smelser of Ira Township dances before the opening night showing. RYAN GARZA/DETROIT FREE PRESS Duggan was asked several times about the
nature of his relationship with Hassan during
a City Hall news conference Wednesday,
Bill Laitner Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY NETWORK called to discuss developments in the federal
probe of the Detroit demolition program. But
The Fillmore Detroit welcomed a crowd of rock-music insiders, fans and a few celebrities Thurs- the mayor, who previously refused to com-
NATION+WORLD, 6A ment, would say only that he supports the
day night to open this year’s Freep Film Festival. ❚ First up? A documentary tribute to Detroit’s
DeVos defends work to fight preterm birth by Hassan’s Make
literacy cuts rock-music history — and specifically to Creem magazine, which carried the beat nationwide from
See DUGGAN, Page 11A
Education secretary claims the late 1960s through the early 1980s. See FILM FESTIVAL, Page 10A ❚ More in Play and Sports
programs are ineffective.
Inside today’s Free Press

Bob Probert, Goose Feds: Dearborn
❚ Obituaries......................12-14A Loonies and a hat trick man trained by
❚ Movie Guide ..........................7D
of horrific headlines
❚ Comics ..................................13D
❚ Puzzles ................................2-3F
Keith Gave Special to Detroit Free Press
ISIS could face life
USA TODAY NETWORK Tresa Baldas Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY NETWORK
Weather “Keith Gave was this (expletive) who wrote a

column for the Detroit Free Press. We never got A Dearborn man who was arrested on a
High 54° ❚ Low 50°
along because he was always one of those re- Syrian battlefield and accused of helping ISIS
Morning shower. Forecast, 2A
porters that was just waiting for something, is facing new charges alleging he was trained
so he could report the (expletive), you know?” by the terror group, attended an ISIS camp
— Bob Probert, in his book, “Tough Guy.” and fired a machine gun on its behalf —
Daily $2.00 claims that could send him to prison for life if
Bob Probert deserves some credit in that he is convicted.
line he penned for his book — and repeated ‘Tough Guy: The Bob Probert Story’ The man’s family, however, has long main-
in the film that documents his short but tained that he is innocent of any wrongdoing
Volume 188 | No. 342 ©2019 ❚ 8 p.m. Thursday: Patriot Theater at the War Memorial.
eventful life; he pretty much nailed the job and that he was kidnapped by the terrorist
Subscribe: 800-395-3300
description of a newspaper beat writer. ❚ 7 p.m. Friday: Emagine Royal Oak. group and held against his will.
Classified: 586-977-7500;
800-926-8237 See PROBERT, Page 10A DETROIT FREE PRESS ARCHIVES See ISIS CHARGES, Page 11A
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6A ❚ TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2019 ❚ DETROIT FREE PRESS
Cover story/Metro
AFSCME takes control of

Mich. state employee union
Paul Egan leaders of attempting to break an internal
Detroit Free Press union formed by union office staff.
USA TODAY NETWORK
The union has been forced to pay hundreds
of thousands of dollars in back pay and pen-
LANSING – Michigan’s oldest state employ- alties after findings that it violated federal la-
ee union — the Michigan State Employees As- bor laws.
sociation — was placed in trusteeship Monday Moore won re-election in 2018, despite a
after years of controversy and internal feuding. challenge from union member James Zoccoli
Representatives of the American Federation of Garden City, who framed much of his cam-
of State, County and Municipal Employees paign around the controversies and the refus-
(AFSCME) International, the union’s parent al of Moore and other board members to dis-
organization, arrived at the union’s Lansing of- close how much had been spent on legal fees
fices Monday morning, locked officials out of defending the board’s position.
their computers, and sent its elected officers “I’m looking to hopefully get him out of of-
home, three union sources told the Free Press. fice, so we can restore our reputation in orga-
They later changed the locks on the office nized labor,” Zoccoli said of Moore and the
doors, sources said. MSEA.
The union, founded in 1950, is now under Moore could not be reached for comment Port Huron Police Lt. Brian Kerrigan inspects a handgun during the department’s gun
the control of a trustee. Monday. President since 2010, he has main- buy-back program Saturday at the Municipal Office Center. Firearms purchased at the event
Union officials said they were working on a tained support from a majority of the were to be sent to the Michigan State Police to be destroyed. BRIAN WELLS/TIMES HERALD
statement but had no immediate comment. 14-member MSEA board.
Port Huron citizens cash

AFSCME officials weren’t immediately say- The union has about 4,600 members, but
ing what prompted the unusual action, but the only about 65 delegates were eligible to vote
Free Press has reported on internal MSEA strife on whether Moore got another three-year
in at gun buy-back event

since 2016, when the National Labor Relations term.
Board accused President Ken Moore and other
Jackie Smith Port Huron Times Herald died five years ago, she said she wasn’t sure
USA TODAY NETWORK – MICHIGAN what to do with them.
REGION/MICHIGAN The incident was reported at 4:38 a.m. Po- “Then, I heard about this and said, ‘That is
lice said an argument took place between the The gun buy-back program organized by wonderful,’ ” she said. “See, I have a little one, a
Stolen ambulance recovered 70-year-old and the teenager, and the two Port Huron’s police department Saturday 10-year-old, and like I said, they could’ve both
after patient flees in it were reportedly tussling over a gun when the didn’t quite go as planned. been loaded. I don’t know anything about guns.
firearm discharged. “It was successful so fast that we ran out of It’s just a relief.”
An ambulance that was reportedly stolen by The 70-year-old was shot in the chest and money, and then we had to get our own funds Kortes said his gun had been given to him
a patient Sunday night in Detroit has been re- pronounced dead at the scene when a medic out of the police department,” Port Huron Po- two decades ago but spent the time stored in
covered, according to authorities. unit arrived. lice Chief Joe Platzer said about halfway his garage.
Detroit Police said the incident started in Police said the suspect fled the scene with through the four-hour event. “But I never even used it, never shot it,” he
the 19000 block of Prevost about 10:15 p.m., the gun. It was the first time the department hosted said. “It was just sitting there. It thought it was
with EMS responding to what was believed to a gun buy-back program, where residents can a good opportunity to get rid of it.”
be an overdose. Michigan commission: Trial court bring in unwanted firearms in exchange for And when the siblings got to the south MOC
Police said medics found an unresponsive funding is ‘broken’ cash, and Platzer said they hadn’t expected lot, they were in for a surprise.
25-year-old man and placed him in the ambu- such a high turnout. “We thought we were just going to turn them
lance. LANSING – A commission says the way The effort was announced in February in,” Kortes said.
During transport to the hospital, police said, Michigan trial courts are funded is “broken” with $5,000 in financial support from Ach- His sister chimed in, “We didn’t even know
the man woke up and was disoriented. The and should be overhauled with a new model eson Ventures, but within an hour to an hour we’d get money.” Combined, they received
EMS driver stopped the ambulance and went in which the state shares more of the cost. and a half Saturday, police at the Municipal $500.
to assist his partner, as the man “continued to The Trial Court Funding Commission, cre- Office Center’s south parking lot quickly Although the program had been geared to-
be combative.” ated under a 2017 law, released its interim re- sought other options to sustain the effort into ward city residents, Platzer said they hadn’t
When the medics exited the ambulance, po- port Monday. the afternoon. been turning away residents who live in sur-
lice said, the man got into the driver’s seat of The recommendations are designed to ad- Platzer and Capt. Marcy Kuehn said for rounding townships.
the vehicle and fled. dress how judges depend on money from de- some command staff, that included cash In the back of a police truck laid dozens of
A scout car stopped the ambulance at fendants convicted of crimes to cover court withdrawals from their own bank accounts. firearms, and in a container beside it was a
Woodmont and Plymouth a short time later, operating expenses. By noon, officials said they’d collected large swath of unwanted ammunition. Once
police said, and the man was taken into custo- Under one recommendation, the state about 50 firearms, as a steady stream of resi- the event was over, Platzer said the police de-
dy and brought to a hospital. would establish a fund for receipt of all trial dents continued to swing by. partment would go through the haul to ensure
court assessments and state general funds, “These are the type of guns that we want to none of the guns were stolen — Saturday’s pro-
Detroit grandpa, 70, fatally shot and distribute the revenue to local courts get off the street — rifles, shotguns, hand gram carried a “no-questions-asked” tag line
during struggle with teen based on caseloads. guns,” Platzer said. “We’ve had a lot of citi- — before returning any of those to their owners
Court employees would become state em- zens talk to us and said they were thankful and sending the rest to the Michigan State Po-
Police are searching for a teenage suspect ployees, and the state would fund technology that we were doing this program, that they’ve lice to be destroyed.
after a 70-year-old grandfather was shot and needs. had these guns sitting in their house. They Acheson Ventures Donna Niester, too, said
killed in Detroit on Monday morning, authori- The Michigan Supreme Court is consider- didn’t know what to do with them, and that she hadn’t anticipated such a high turnout for
ties said. ing whether court costs ordered by judges are this is what they were looking for.” the event and suggested they may continue it
According to a preliminary report, police say an illegal tax against offenders. Carol Fletcher and her brother Paul Kortes, on an annual basis.
they believe a 16-year-old boy came over to a Compiled from staff and Associated Press both of Port Huron, each brought in unwant- “For me, it’s a shock,” she said. “We’re going
house on the 9000 block of Mansfield to see the reports. ed guns. Fletcher brought a pistol and a rifle to get them an additional grant, so we’ll pay
victim’s granddaughter. that had belonged to her husband. After he them back their additional money.”
Duggan troit Free Press are completely false,” Wiley

said, adding that “no city funds were ever pro-
vided to a Make Your Date nonprofit and no pri-
Continued from Page 1A vate money was ever raised for it.”
Duggan has never directly addressed the al-
to the Make Your Date Non-Profit.” legations of an extramarital affair, insisting his
The city Office of Inspector General is an in- marriage is a private, personal matter unrelat-
dependent office that investigates waste, ed to city business. Representatives of both
abuse, fraud, and corruption in city govern- Duggan and Hassan refused last week to an-
ment. The office is headed by Ellen Ha, who swer direct questions about the nature of their
was appointed to the post by the Detroit City relationship.
Council in 2018 after serving as Detroit’s FOIA “Dr. Hassan does not comment about per-
coordinator in the city’s legal department. sonal matters,” spokesman Bill Nowling said in
The results of the investigation will be a statement.
shared, the OIG said, with the mayor’s office, Wiley last week referenced a previous state-
City Council and the public. ment from the mayor’s office that declined to
An email obtained by a Freedom of Informa- characterize Duggan’s relationship with Has-
tion Act request showed that Duggan ordered san. “This was addressed last November and
the city’s chief development officer to raise we made clear then that there would be no fur-
money for Make Your Date, which is a nonprofit ther comment,” Wiley wrote in an email.
medical organization according to state and In addition, the mayor’s office vehemently
federal records, where Dr. Sonia Hassan serves denied the city ever provided money directly to
as president and director. Dr. Sonia Hassan sits with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan during the 2015 fundraising gala for the Make Your Date nonprofit. The city con-
Duggan was seen late last year arriving after Hassan’s Make Your Date program at MGM Grand Detroit. MAKEYOURDATE.ORG tends Make Your Date is administered as a
hours at the same suburban residence as Has- Wayne State University program, sentiments
san in an edited surveillance video taken by a echoed by university officials. However, the
private investigator. She was handpicked by of the mayor’s support for city-backed philan- touch soon!” program continues to promote itself as a non-
the mayor to lead Detroit’s efforts to reduce thropic efforts. But the records obtained in late The fundraising effort was eventually profit on its website, in fundraising materials
preterm births in Detroit. March revealed a significant commitment of deemed unnecessary, officials stress, but not and required state and federal government re-
The city’s financial support, an attempted resources from the development office at the before several city staffers collaborated on the porting documents.
fundraising campaign and Duggan’s repeated mayor’s direction. campaign. The effort did not result in any do- Wayne State published on its website Mon-
promotion of Make Your Date, raises ethics The fundraising campaign Duggan ordered nations. However, Make Your Date has raised day a response indicating it also welcomed an
questions about whether the mayor used city began with an email introduction between the more than $1.5 million since its inception. independent review “following the question-
resources to benefit Hassan’s program. city’s development officer and Hassan. The In a prepared statement after the investiga- able reporting from the Detroit Free Press.”
The Free Press examined Make Your Date’s email’s subject line was “Make Your Date tion was announced, Wiley said the city wel- “While Wayne State University is not the
operations and funding for several months and Fundraising.” comes an “independent review” of the city’s target of the article, we feel compelled to de-
as part of its investigation requested commu- Wiley wrote in the August 2017 email: “I’d role in supporting the Make Your Date pro- fend a program critical to the health of Detroit
nications involving Hassan, Duggan and the like to introduce you to Ryan Friedrichs. He is gram. mothers and babies, and a dedicated, talented
mayor’s chief of staff, Alexis Wiley. our chief development officer and the Mayor “An unbiased, thorough review of the facts Wayne State faculty member who was ma-
City officials previously downplayed Dug- has tasked him with launching a large scale will demonstrate that the central claims and ligned based on implications and innuendos.”
gan’s assistance to Make Your Date as typical fundraising effort to Make Your Date. He’ll be in unsubstantiated suggestions made by the De-
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Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY NETWORK
An independent probe into a charitable

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vealed last week that the program received
$358,000 in city grants and
benefited from a fundraising
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Continued from previous page
“I would say that I don’t know of other in-

stances, which is not to say that they don’t
exist, but it seems to me that it’s probably
rare,” said Boris, founding director of the in-
stitute’s Center on Nonprofits and Philan-
thropy and former founding director of the
Aspen Institute’s Nonprofit Sector Research
Fund.
Like Chen, Boris questioned the city’s
process for deciding to raise money for Make
Your Date.
“Did they do campaigns for other organi-
zations?” Boris said. “Or is there some proc-
ess by which they raise money and dole it out
and this one is an aberrant case? I guess
those are the things I look for.”
A state directory of maternal infant health
programs lists about a dozen agencies in De-
troit.
Officials won’t talk; email withheld
The mayor’s office would not make Frie-

drichs available for an interview about the
Make Your Date fundraising campaign. It of-
fered only to respond to written questions for
Friedrichs, who is married to Michigan Sec-
retary of State Jocelyn Benson and has a city
salary of $181,983. The Free Press declined to
submit detailed written questions without an
opportunity to interview Friedrichs.
“We see no reason for Mr. Friedrichs to do
a wide-ranging interview where he would be
responding to various detailed financial
questions only from memory, instead of hav-
ing (office) staff assemble the full and accu-
rate information for your questions,” Wiley
wrote in an email.
Friedrichs’ office of more than 20 employ- Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan poses with headlining comedian Louie Anderson and Dr. Sonia Hassan, the president and director of Make Your
ees is responsible for finding grants and other Date, at the 2015 fundraiser gala. Duggan credited Hassan with carving a new path to reach pregnant mothers in Detroit. MAKEYOURDATE.ORG
sources of revenue to support the city’s prior-
ities. Make Your Date was among 41 priorities
listed in a 2018 annual report summarizing University, which also declined requests for through its celebration galas, where Duggan
the work of Friedrichs’ office. The priorities an in-person interview. A university spokes- served as honorary chairman for three
list is a mix of general city initiatives, such as man instead offered to answer only written City of Detroit fundraising totals straight years, from 2015 to 2017.
recycling, brotherhood, sustainable housing, questions via email. Detroit’s Office of Development and Photos from one gala posted on its website
and the Motor City Makeover, as well as some Nowling, who said Hassan was at a med- Grants is tasked with finding public and show Hassan and Duggan sitting at a table
specific groups, such as professional devel- ical conference in Europe, provided a state- private funds to support initiatives that together and posing for a photo with come-
opment for the Detroit Public Schools Com- ment Thursday afternoon that asserted there serve residents. dian Louie Anderson, the headlining enter-
munity District. was nothing wrong with the operation and tainment act.
The annual report indicates the Office of described questions about any relationship ❚ 2016 ...................................... $231.6 million While onstage at the 2015 gala at MGM
Development and Grants completed work on as “a personal matter that is and should re- ❚ 2017 ..................................... $274.7 million Grand Detroit, Duggan credited Hassan with
its Make Your Date efforts on Feb. 6, 2018, main private.” ❚ 2018 ..................................... $325.2 million starting Make Your Date and carving a new
with at least “some level of ODG support.” Wayne State Vice President and General path to reach pregnant mothers in Detroit.
SOURCE City of Detroit
The city’s fundraising campaign for Make Counsel Louis Lessem characterized the “She’s gone the next step and said, ‘It’s
Your Date followed a series of grants that the newspaper’s reporting as a sensationalist at- good that I made the breakthrough. I want to
city directed to the program from 2015 to 2017. tack on a “highly respected scientist.” About the reporting team make sure the moms and kids really get treat-
The money came from Detroit’s allocation of “Make Your Date was from the beginning a ed,’ and she’s gone to the extent of organizing
❚ Joe Guillen has been covering city
state money for maternal and child health program administered appropriately and this event. And on behalf of everybody in De-
governance and development issues for
programs. ethically by Wayne State University. … The troit, Sonia, thank you,” Duggan said in a
the newspaper since 2013. He has
Make Your Date, as an integral part of the only beneficiaries of the Make Your Date pro- video posted on Make Your Date’s Facebook
covered Detroit city hall, been a member
city’s plan to reduce preterm birth, is de- gram are the neediest among us,” Lessem page.
of the investigations team and previously
signed to help pregnant women deliver full- said in a written statement. Joe Mullany, a former CEO of DMC who
worked at The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer
term babies. The organization holds preg- left the health system in January 2017, also
covering county and state government.
nancy education classes and says it connects Duggan backs Make Your Date early on spoke at the gala and noted that he had
Contact him at 313-222-6678 or
women to doctors and midwives, and pro- worked with Duggan for a few months before
jguillen@freepress.com.
vides other medical services. Duggan’s professional relationship with Duggan became mayor. Mullany, whom Dug-
A program representative told the Free Hassan goes back at least to the beginning of ❚ Kat Stafford is the Detroit government gan hired at DMC, said the mayor personally
Press that Make Your Date has served more his administration. Shortly after he was watchdog reporter for the Free Press, reached out to ask him to support his initia-
than 8,000 Detroit women. Although Hassan elected in 2013, Duggan handpicked Hassan covering city issues and the community. tive to fight preterm birth.
would not discuss program services with the to carry out his mission to reduce Detroit’s A Detroit native, Stafford is vice “When I got the phone call from the mayor,
Free Press, Wayne State provided a sample preterm birth rate, which is among the na- president of the Detroit chapter of the it was, ‘Joe we gotta collaborate, we gotta
from 2017 that showed 1,715 women were ser- tion’s highest. Society of Professional Journalists. bring everybody into this together.’ You
viced in three key areas — educational ses- By the time Duggan picked her to lead the Contact her at kstafford@freepress.com know? I was like, ‘Really Mike? Ok, whooo,
sions, cervical length screenings and group effort, Hassan, a lauded doctor, had distin- or 313-223-4759. we can do that,’ ” Mullany said to laughter in
prenatal care. guished herself in the field of obstetrics and the audience. “This is bigger than any institu-
The city did not disclose its fundraising gynecology. She “achieved a national and in- tion, bigger than any entity. It’s a big issue we
campaign for Make Your Date when the Free ternational reputation of excellence” thanks need to attack together. And I’m so proud that
Press asked for information in December. In in part to her role as a lead investigator on a dissolving the corporation would serve to ad- egos got put aside. The institutions were able
response to written questions about the city’s breakthrough medical study to prevent pre- vance the Program’s ends or benefit those to come together and really make a commit-
and the mayor’s relationship with Make Your term birth, according to a favorable recom- who it serves.” ment to make this happen.”
Date — and specifically asked then whether mendation letter in 2014 from Wayne State’s In 2015, the City of Detroit began sending
city staff helped raise money — city spokes- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Big donations for Make Your Date to Make Your Date a portion of its state allo-
man John Roach provided the following writ- Promotion and Tenure Committee. cation of money for maternal and child health
ten response: Hassan, a professor and associate dean for Make Your Date was launched with help programs. The city directed more than
“The mayor volunteered to serve as hon- maternal, perinatal and child health at the from major health organizations in the area, $358,000 in grant money to Make Your Date
orary chair of Make Your Date’s annual fund- university’s School of Medicine, earned including St. John Providence Health Sys- between 2015 and September 2017. The state,
raiser, as he has done for many philanthropic about $512,000 in 2015, according to school tem, Henry Ford Health System and the De- Wayne State and the city’s grant administra-
events and the city of Detroit has been gener- documents. She launched the Make Your troit Medical Center, which Duggan ran as tor — the Southeastern Michigan Health As-
ally supportive of Make Your Date’s fundrais- Date nonprofit in 2014 with support from the CEO until he resigned in 2012 to run for may- sociation — all approved the city’s grant con-
ing efforts as we have done for a variety of city and Wayne State. Duggan was a key or. tributions to Make Your Date.
philanthropic efforts.” speaker at its initial news conference, touting Some of those health groups also gave Make Your Date used the city grants for
The Free Press obtained the emails be- the organization’s role in his ambitious mis- Make Your Date significant financial help many purposes — nurses’ labor costs, office
tween Wiley and Hassan last month through sion to fight preterm birth. early on. supplies, computer equipment and advertis-
a supplemental response to a Freedom of In- “Carrying her baby to full-term is the most The Detroit Medical Center and the DMC ing were among the expenses, records show.
formation Act request for their communica- important thing a mother can do for the de- Foundation donated $100,000 each and Me- There has been no suggestion that Make Your
tions. velopment of her child,” Duggan said in a May ridian Health gave $33,000 to Make Your Date or Hassan have misused any funds.
The messages from the city officials to 2014 WSU news release about the launch. Date in its first year. All three groups would The city’s third and final grant to Make
Hassan were not included in the city’s initial “The Make Your Date program is designed to continue to contribute over the next several Your Date, for $100,000, was finalized in May
395-page response, which had been re- make sure every baby born in Detroit is given years as Make Your Date expanded its donor 2017 and expired on Sept. 30, 2017.
viewed by the law department. Instead, the a chance at a healthy start in life.” base. The Detroit city charter — a document that
initial FOIA response included a single email City and university officials contend the DMC declined to answer specific ques- lays out the rules of city government — pro-
between Wiley, Hassan and Friedrichs with a nonprofit was never actually operational, tions about its contributions and instead pro- hibits the mayor, other elected officials and
message body that read, “Attachment is cor- even though it has been filing state and feder- vided a brief statement saying, “like many or- city employees from rendering services that
rupted.” After the Free Press questioned the al documentation of its charitable mission. ganizations in Detroit, the DMC and its Foun- are in conflict or incompatible with the prop-
“corrupted” notation on the attachment, the “At an early stage in the program’s develop- dation have provided support to this charita- er discharge of their official duties. Also, one
city provided the emails about the fundrais- ment, consideration was given as to whether ble organization.” of the 2017 contracts governing payments to
ing campaign and explained that “clean a 501(c)(3) corporation would be an appropri- DMC Foundation President Mariam No- the program also contains conflict of interest
copies” were eventually discovered during a ate structure, a subsequent determination land confirmed its monetary support for the guidelines.
“manual search.” was made that the financial and administra- organization. A spokeswoman for Meridian Cooper, the USC professor, said the public
“It appears this particular email thread tive services necessary to its functioning said late last year that the health care insur- deserves to know more about the city’s sup-
was corrupted during (the city’s IT depart- could be more effectively and much more ance organization has contributed to Make port of Make Your Date.
ment) process of transferring the emails economically provided by existing university Your Date since 2014, but did not respond to “Are we being fair to other nonprofits in the
identified as part of its search parameters,” resources,” according to Lessem. several specific questions about its dona- city if we give money to a particular nonprof-
according to a March 18 letter from the city’s Yet the program continues to promote it- tions. it?” Cooper said.
FOIA coordinator. self as a nonprofit on its website, in fundrais- Of the $1.5 million Make Your Date has “We’re always concerned about when we
The Free Press made several attempts to ing materials and required government re- raised, the newspaper could identify from give out public funds. We want the receivers
reach Hassan for comment but she declined porting documents. When asked why it con- university records about $500,000 in the to be accountable for how they’re used so we
through Nowling, who specializes in crisis tinues to file such paperwork, Lessem reform of grants and another $900,000 in do- can determine they were used in the most ef-
communication, and through Wayne State sponded: “It is not evident to me that nations. Many contributions were made fective or efficient way.”
14A ❚ SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2019 ❚ DETROIT FREE PRESS
A banner flies over downtown Detroit on Thursday above crowds partying at Opening Day events. The banner was one of three flown over the city, paid for by Mayor Mike Duggan agitator
Robert Carmack. Carmack said the banners cost $1,500 each. In November, Carmack broadcast surveillance video of Duggan on giant screens outside City Hall. JUNFU HAN/DETROIT FREE PRESS
Program’s support
Continued from Page 1A in November when Detroit businessman
Robert Carmack broadcast the surveillance
The Free Press has not named Hassan in video of Duggan on giant screens outside
raising questions
previous articles about the surveillance City Hall, creating a public spectacle during
video, which shows Duggan arriving at that rush hour. Carmack, who is embroiled in vari-
location on three occasions without his per- ous disputes with the city, suggested the
sonal protection team. But the city’s financial video showed the mayor having an affair. Af-
support, attempted fundraising campaign ter the video aired, Duggan and his wife, Lori
and Duggan’s repeated promotion of Make Maher, issued a statement defending their
Your Date raises ethics questions about marriage. Speculation about an affair also
whether the mayor used city resources to was referenced in an open records lawsuit
benefit Hassan’s program. government agitator Robert Davis filed in De-
The Free Press has been examining Make cember, against Wayne State and Hassan.
Your Date’s operations and funding for sever- The Free Press has not independently cor-
al months. As part of its investigation, the roborated the allegations suggested in the
newspaper requested documentation of video.
communications involving Hassan, Duggan On Thursday, three planes towing banners
and the mayor’s chief of staff, Alexis Wiley. referencing Duggan and Hassan flew over
City officials had previously downplayed downtown, catching the eyes of thousands
Duggan’s assistance to Make Your Date as partying during Tigers’ Opening Day events.
typical of the mayor’s support for city-backed At least one of the banners, which Carmack
philanthropic efforts. But the records ob- said cost $1,500 each, named Hassan, mis-
tained in late March revealed a significant spelling her name, and continuing in cheeky
commitment of resources from the develop- language: “Dr Hussan marry me? Love Mayor
ment office at the mayor’s direction. Duggan” followed in red letters by, “Oh I for-
got I’m married”
Duggan orders fundraising effort
City fundraising rare
The fundraising campaign Duggan or-
dered began with an email introduction be- Government ethics experts said it is un-
tween the city’s development officer and common for cities to raise money for non-
Hassan. The email’s subject line was “Make profit organizations and questioned whether
Your Date Fundraising.” Detroit’s fundraising effort for Make Your
“I’d like to introduce you to Ryan Frie- Dr. Sonia Hassan sits to the left of Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan at the 2015 fundraising Date was offered to other nonprofit groups.
drichs,” Wiley wrote in the August 2017 email gala at MGM Grand Detroit for Hassan’s Make Your Date program. MAKEYOURDATE.ORG “It’s not at all unusual for cities to make
to Hassan. “He is our chief development offi- grants or write contracts for nonprofits,
cer and the Mayor has tasked him with that’s done all the time,” said University of
launching a large scale fundraising effort to Southern California professor Terry Cooper,
Make Your Date. He’ll be in touch soon!” ments echoed by university officials. City commits resources to raise funds who authored the book “The Responsible Ad-
The fundraising effort was eventually “All funding went solely to the institution ministrator: An Approach to Ethics for the
deemed unnecessary, officials stress, but not of Wayne State University,” Wiley wrote in an After Wiley sent that email to Hassan in Administrative Role.” But “to raise money for
before several city staffers collaborated on email. 2017, Friedrichs wrote to the doctor, sending a nonprofit, that’s quite unusual. It seems to
the campaign. The effort did not result in any But contracts that govern the city grants an email to her at 10:36 p.m. that committed me there are several dimensions to this be-
donations. However, Make Your Date has all name Wayne State and Make Your Date as “all three of our lead Development Officers to yond a conflict of interest.”
raised more than $1.5 million since its incep- recipients. While Make Your Date is not de- the discussion” and said the fundraising Hui Chen, the former compliance counsel
tion. scribed as a nonprofit in the contracts, the or- campaign would focus on public and philan- expert at the U.S. Department of Justice, said
Duggan has never directly addressed the ganization is registered as a nonprofit with thropic grants and corporate donations. that all local nonprofits aligned with the may-
allegations of an extramarital affair, insisting the state and the Internal Revenue Service. Friedrichs, who oversees the Office of De- or’s mission to reduce preterm birth should
his marriage is a private, personal matter un- Donors at the 2017 annual gala were directed velopment and Grants, offered to host a have been given the opportunity to benefit
related to city business. Representatives of to make their checks payable to Make Your meeting to discuss the effort in the mayor’s from a city-staffed fundraising campaign.
both Duggan and Hassan refused this week Date Detroit, “a 501(c)(3) organization,” office. “Every organization that’s got a mission
to answer direct questions about the nature which is the IRS designation for a nonprofit. “I look forward to the discussion and to be- that’s aligned with your objective, not just a
of their relationship. Furthermore, Make Your Date’s own web- ing an ally for your work however I am able,” single organization,” Chen said. “You don’t
“Dr. Hassan does not comment about per- site describes its purpose as: “The Wayne Friedrichs wrote to Hassan. just have a private conversation with one sin-
sonal matters,” spokesman Bill Nowling said State University School of Medicine is raising Ultimately, the city’s fundraising efforts gle organization, ‘We’re going to help you.’
in a statement. funds to support Make Your Date Detroit, a for Make Your Date did not raise any money. “My stance is, to really do things in a fair
Wiley referenced a previous statement free program to help pregnant women ensure City workers met with Wayne State’s philan- and transparent way for a public organiza-
from the mayor’s office that declined to char- a safe delivery. Mothers-to-be can take ad- thropy staff, made a number of preliminary tion, if you want to offer this kind of help, of-
acterize Duggan’s relationship with Hassan. vantage of this powerful and free nonprofit inquiries and provided “concept papers” to fer it to everybody.”
“This was addressed last November and we program, offered through the City of Detroit, the Skillman Foundation and the Children’s Detroit’s decision to assign city workers
made clear then that there would be no fur- for assistance in delivering healthy full-term Hospital of Michigan Foundation, Wiley said. for nonprofit fundraising is not common, said
ther comment,” Wiley wrote in an email. babies on or after their due date.” “After those initial meetings, Wayne State Elizabeth Boris, a fellow at the Urban Insti-
In addition, the mayor’s office vehemently Duggan wasn’t just supportive of an effort philanthropy staff concluded they already tute and co-editor of the book, “Nonprofits
denied the city ever provided money directly to tackle preterm births — he approached had strong relationships with the potential and Government: Collaboration and Con-
to the Make Your Date nonprofit. The city Wayne State about creating a program to ad- funders and did not need (the city) to solicit flict.”
contends Make Your Date is administered as dress it, according to a statement from the funds for Make Your Date,” Wiley said.
a Wayne State University program, senti- mayor’s office. The controversy involving Hassan began Continued on next page
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TEXAS TECH 61, MICHIGAN STATE 51
Texas Tech’s
suffocating
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Mayor’s
defense too much
support
DAZED
for Michigan State
as Spartans are
defeated in the
raises
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MORE IN SPORTS, 1C
questions
Program run by woman with
BUSINESS, 1B
ties to Duggan got grants
New hotels find Joe Guillen and Kat Stafford
USA
USA TODAY
TODAY NETWORK
NETWORK
Detroit
Detroit Free
Free Press
Press
room downtown
in building boom A charitable program run by a woman with
close ties to Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan re-
Only a decade ago, hoteliers ceived $358,000 in city grants and also bene-
struggled to fill their empty fited from a fundraising campaign that a top
rooms. Now, they struggle city official spearheaded at the mayor’s direc-
to keep up with the demand. tion, the Free Press has learned.
An email obtained by a Freedom of Infor-
mation Act request shows that Duggan or-
dered the city’s chief development officer to
raise money for Make Your Date, which is a
nonprofit medical organization according to
state and federal records, where Dr. Sonia
Hassan serves as president and director.
Hassan was seen late last year arriving af-
Make change ter hours at the same suburban residence as
Duggan in an edited surveillance video taken
happen. by a private investigator. She was handpicked
by the mayor to lead Detroit’s efforts to reduce
USA TODAY NETWORK’s A preterm births in Detroit.
Community Thrives initiative
turns community building See PROGRAM, Page 14A
ideas into reality. Find a
project in Michigan and help
make it happen. Your donation
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6A ❚ MONDAY, MAY 13, 2019 ❚ DETROIT FREE PRESS
Cover stories
Make Your Date Press during its months-long investigation

concerning possible conflict of interest be-
501(c)(3), one of the IRS’s designations for a
nonprofit organization.
A Wayne State spokesman said Wednesday
that references to the foundation were a mis-
cause of to ties between Hassan, its director, Although the brochure instructed donors to take that was noticed the week prior and were
Continued from Page 1A and Duggan. make their checks out to the Make Your Date removed. He did not indicate exactly when the
Detroit 501(c)(3), Hassan spokesman Bill changes were made.
General Dana Nessel for its fundraising Foundation role repeated claim Nowling claimed last month that the Wayne Claims about the Wayne State Foundation’s
practices. State University Foundation collected the role in handling Make Your Date’s donations
On May 8, Make Your Date submitted a re- The involvement of the Wayne State Foun- money. also came from Hassan’s attorney, Thomas
quest to the attorney general’s office for ex- dation in Make Your Date’s fundraising was “The 501(c)(3) referred to is the WSU Foun- Cranmer of the Miller Canfield firm.
emption from requirements in state laws for central to claims from Hassan’s representa- dation,” Nowling wrote in an April 3 email to In an April 23 letter to the Free Press threat-
charitable organizations. The request was tives that Make Your Date was not operating the Free Press. “Make Your Date Detroit is the ening a libel suit, Cranmer wrote that all of the
submitted hours after the Free Press reported as a nonprofit program when it received name the WSU Foundation used to solicit for organization’s fundraising had been done
that day that Make Your Date had ignored the $358,000 in federal grants from the city and the WSU-run program.” solely through the university foundation.
office’s prior inquires about its operations. other donations that totaled more than $1.5 “All charitable donations made to the Make
The Free Press began examining Make Your million since 2014. Mistakes were made Your Date program from its inception have
Date’s operations and funding several months The Free Press reported last week that the gone exclusively to the Wayne State Univer-
ago, after possible conflict of interest issues Michigan attorney general is questioning the When told of the foundation president’s de- sity Foundation,” Cranmer wrote. “... The WSU
arose because of revelations about the may- organization’s nonprofit status and had been nial, Nowling said last week that his previous Foundation runs fundraising campaigns for all
or’s close ties to its director, Hassan, a noted unable to get any answers for nearly three claim about the foundation’s fundraising role aspects of the university.”
Wayne State physician. months. Several experts interviewed by the was taken from a Wayne State website that in- Cranmer had a different assessment of the
Duggan handpicked Hassan to lead De- newspaper said Make Your Date’s setup is dicated online donations to Make Your Date foundation involvement last week when told
troit’s efforts to reduce preterm birth after he confusing and that it is difficult to reconcile would be processed by the foundation. of Burns’ comments that it is not tied to Make
was elected in 2013. As a result, Make Your claims of a dormant, inactive nonprofit with “Do I verify every fact that Wayne State Your Date.
Date was launched in 2014. It is designed to annual fundraisers Make Your Date has held. puts out there? No,” Nowling said, emphasiz- “Wayne State University handles the finan-
help pregnant women deliver full-term babies. Officials have said that money was not re- ing that Hassan is his client and not Wayne cial transactions for Make Your Date through
The organization holds pregnancy education ported to the Internal Revenue Service be- State. “I assume they’re correct.” its infrastructure. Wayne State University is
classes and says it connects women to doctors cause Make Your Date is a Wayne State pro- The website Nowling was referring to has itself a 501(c)(3) and raised all of the money for
and midwives, and provides other medical gram and not a nonprofit organization. been edited to remove the reference to the Make Your Date. WSU processed the gifts to
services. But in its investigation into Make Your Date foundation. Nowling said he did not know Make Your Date and WSU issued the donor re-
Burns’ admission that the foundation is not and the organization’s nonprofit status, the anything about the edits to Wayne State’s ceipts,” Cranmer wrote in the email.
involved in Make Your Date contradicts previ- Free Press obtained a 2017 fundraising bro- website for its fundraising platform, Warrior- Free Press staff writer Gina Kaufman con-
ous statements made by others to the Free chure that referred to Make Your Date as a Funder. tributed to this report.
Air bags
extricate her, but “nothing from my belly up”

was injured. Two days later she gave birth to a
premature, but healthy, boy she named Do-
minic.
“I’m just very, very grateful,” said Vaccher. “I
absolutely believe, had I not had an air bag and
my seat belt on, I never would have survived
that.”
Vaccher’s experience illustrates what data
show: Working air bags save lives.
Which isn’t to say air bags are without trou-
bles. A typical air bag deploys at 200 mph, said
Becky Mueller, senior research engineer with
the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
People have been hurt by them. In recent years,
millions of vehicles have been recalled for de-
fective air bags that killed at least 24 people.
Still, properly functioning air bags greatly
increase the odds of surviving a severe crash,
especially if the driver follows other basic safe-
ty rules.
The recalls
If people get a recall notice for a defective air

bag, safety experts say it is critical to go to a
dealership and get it repaired, which is free, as
soon as possible.
“The horror of this type of defect is that you
don’t need it until you need it,
and when you do need it, it’s “I’m just very, very grateful,” said Terri Vaccher. “I absolutely believe, had I not had an air bag and my seat belt on, I never would have survived
now going to be hurting you,” that.” Vaccher gave birth to her son two days after this crash in 1997.
said Jason Levine, executive di-
rector of the Center for Auto
Safety in Washington, D.C. “A ment in all cars since model year 1998 and in all sors,” said Mueller.
defective safety product is just SUVs, pickups and vans since model year 1999. Air bag injuries today are typically minor
Mueller as terrible as defective brakes or Air bags reduce the chance of an upper body and far less life threatening than the situation
a steering wheel that prevents or head injury during a crash. According to the person would have faced without an air
steering.” NHTSA data: bag, Mueller said.
The most publicized air bag defect has been ❚ In frontal crashes, frontal air bags reduce “But we understand it could be a dangerous
the Takata recall. In fact, the National Highway driver fatalities by 29 percent and fatalities of thing in the wrong context,” said Mueller.
Traffic Safety Administration has dubbed it front-seat passengers age 13 and older by 32 “That’s why if you’re in a fender bender at 5
“the largest and most complex safety recall in percent. mph, your air bag doesn’t deploy because
U.S. history.” ❚ NHTSA estimates that the combination of there’s some risk in that” deployment.
It involves vehicles made by 19 different an air bag plus a seat belt reduces the risk of
automakers and more than 41.6 million vehi- death in frontal crashes by 61 percent. Sensing a crash
cles in the United States. Those ❚ From 1987-2015, frontal air bags saved
cars were recalled to replace 44,869 lives. Here are some safety tips drivers and pas-
frontal air bags, made by parts ❚ In 2016, air bags are esti- sengers should follow when driving in a car
supplier Takata. The air bags mated to have saved 2,756 peo- with air bags:
were mostly installed in 2002-15 ple. ❚ Wear the seat belt. It helps save lives and
model year cars. Some of those One of those lives was Lynne minimize injury.
air bags could deploy explosive- McChristian. Early one morning ❚ Shorter people should maintain 10 inches
Levine ly, injuring or even killing occu- in September 1999, McChristian between the steering wheel and their chest.
pants. At the end of March, was driving to work in Tampa. The first 2 inches of an air bag deploying have
NHTSA reports that, worldwide, McChristian As she turned left, an oncom- the most force.
300 have been hurt by the air bags in addition ing car plowed into the passen- ❚ Never put your feet on the dashboard.
to the 24 deaths. ger side of her new Toyota Cam- ❚ Hold the steering wheel at the 3-and-9 or
In addition: ry. The air bag in the steering wheel exploded in 4-and-7 positions and do not have your hands
❚ Last month, U.S. auto safety regulators her face and her seat belt constricted with such on the center part marked “air bag.”
said they were investigating about 12.3 million force it broke her collarbone, she said. The car ❚ Pay attention to the road to avoid a colli-
air bags made by auto supplier ZF-TRW and in- was totaled, but she was alive. She credits her Terri Vaccher, 52, poses with her son, Dominic sion in the first place.
stalled in vehicles from Fiat Chrysler, Honda, life mostly to the air bag. Vaccher, 22. Terri was 8 months pregnant Finally, safety experts say government tests
Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi and Toyota. These air “The seat belt alone might not have been with Dominic when an air bag saved them in air bags regularly to ensure they are as protec-
bags may have failed to deploy in crashes in- enough to prevent further damage to me,” said an crash with a semi-truck’s trailer. tive as possible, because if a person is in a high-
volving at least eight deaths. The air bags are McChristian, a spokeswoman for the Insur- PHOTOS BY TERRI VACCHER speed crash, that person is better protected
used in model-year vehicles 2010-19, said a ance Information Institute, a trade group fo- with a functioning air bag than without one.
government document. cused on insurance education. “I could have hit “They are a highly tuned feature on your car
❚ On May 6, NHTSA said that two owners of that steering wheel with the force of that im- tion in low-speed crashes from 1990-2008. that is far more intelligent than you can imag-
the Mazda CX-9 large SUV complained that the pact. That could have meant severe head trau- Most of those deaths were in vehicles made be- ine,” said Mueller. “They can sense a crash
side curtain air bags can inflate for no reason. ma and facial damage.” fore 1998, and more than 80 percent of people within milliseconds of hitting another vehicle
Four people were hurt in one of those cases. Sometimes, the force required to quickly in- killed were not wearing a seat belt. or object. Air bags can deploy between 10 to 40
Regulators are investigating the complaint and flate air bags can injure people if they are seat- But in recent years, advanced government milliseconds of having a crash — that’s a blink
said the probe covers CX-9s from the 2010-13 ed too close to the air bag before it deploys, requirements have made serious injuries from of an eye.”
model years. Investigators will determine the IIHS’s Mueller said. The first generations of properly functioning air bags rare. Technology Contact Jamie L. LaReau: 313-222-2149 or
possibility of a recall. frontal air bags did injure a lot of people, ex- has helped too. Sensors enable air bags to jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter
perts say, because they deployed with greater know if a 100-pound person is sitting close to @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and
Lives saved force than those on later model cars. the air bag or a 200-pound person is reclined in sign up for our autos newsletter.
NHTSA estimates that more than 290 a seat, and “they can adjust to how soon, fast
Frontal air bags have been standard equip- deaths were the result of frontal air bag infla- and how stiff that air bag deploys by those sen-

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