Mullin Makes Out - The Costs of Corruption In Wayne County

Just as I predicted, Wayne County's Turkia Mullin is getting paid $712K plus as this little corruption kabuki dance comes to an end.

The Detroit News: Arbitrator: Turkia Mullin to get $700K from airport

Turkia Mullin will receive the remainder of her contract — more than $700,000 — after an arbitrator ruled she was wrongly fired as CEO of the Wayne County Airport Authority.

"It's a major, major victory," her attorney, Raymond Sterling, said Thursday afternoon, as he was digesting the opinion. "It's a complete exoneration. The arbitrator ruled she did a great job and a binding, legal contract."

The Thursday ruling from retired Wayne Circuit Court Judge Paul Teranes ruled that Mullin is entitled to the remainder of three-year contract, $712,000, and awarded her nearly $100,000 in legal fees. He denied her bid for lifetime health care and another $750,000 on claims her contract would have been renewed and more money for damages.

"It's a damn shame," said former airport board member Bernard Parker. "I think we did have cause. She did lie to us and misrepresent things. It's a lot of money that could have gone into the airport that will now go into her pocket."

Mullin, a former Wayne County economic development director, was hired in September 2011 for the $250,000 per year job and fired less than two months later amid news that she received a $200,000 severance from the county. Subpoenas and federal documents have since identified her as the target of an ongoing FBI investigation.

The ruling comes one week after depositions and documents were released showing the airport fired Mullin on claims she was dishonest. Teranes ruled that Mullin's actions "were not dishonest."

The 17-page opinion was a stinging rebuke of the airport, which has faced criticism for months that it concocted a sham search to appoint a crony of County Executive Robert Ficano as CEO of the airport. His spokeswoman, June West, declined comment.

Let's see - she was a crony hired as a result of a corrupt job search, received a crony corrupt severance fee from Wayne county, then was fired in a botched manner that gave her a golden opportunity to get her paid and she doesn't even have to work for the money.

But don't worry, this won't come out of the pockets of Wayne County Taxpayers, as the Airport Authority is a separate entity, so this payoff will come out of the pockets of airline passengers and airlines - is that convenient or what?

The fix was well and truly in on this one, Democrat Wayne County style.