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No. 10
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
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March 7 – 13, 2013
w w w . a s s o c i a t e d n e w s p a p e r s . n e t
Members of the Wayne City
Council members have
approved a $60,000 contract
with
the
Winchester
Consulting Group to provide
grant writing and lobbying
services for the city.
See page 2
.
Romulus
Community
Schools will be offering an
"early college" program begin-
ning this fall in cooperation
with the Wayne County
CommunityCollegeDistrict.
See page 4.
In Plymouth, the city com-
mission has already made
plans for an anticipated
$56,000 in Community
Development Block Grant
funding, expected this sum-
mer.
See page 3.
Northville Public Schools
sold the 2013 technology bonds
in the amount of $16.27million
last week to fund technology
improvements, communica-
tions and building security sys-
tems andbuses.
See page 4.
The City of Belleville will
use the 2013 Community
Development Block Grant
funds for barrier free improve-
ments in the city, along with
services for seniors.
See page 5.
Vol. 128, No. 10
Vol. 66, No. 10
Vol. 66, No. 10
Vol. 13, No. 10
Vol. 128, No. 10
Vol. 66, No. 10
Vol. 66, No. 10
Inkster Police continue to
search for clues in the death of
aWestlandman found dead on
Central Street, east of
Middlebelt Road, last Friday.
See page 2.
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
It took less than an hour for
the entire limit of 1,000 appli-
cations for federally-funded
housing vouchers to be
reached on-line in Westland
last week.
See page 5.
The City of Detroit has filed an affidavit
reclaiming 190-acres of prison farmproperty at
Five Mile and Beck roads from Plymouth
Township.
The township paid $606,150 in 2011 for two
parcels of land totaling 323 acres being fore-
closed and sold by Wayne County for back
taxes. According to the affidavit filed Jan. 9, the
190-acre parcel of the former Detroit House of
Corrections property bordered by Napier, Five
Mile, Beck and Ridge roads still belonged to
the City of Detroit. The two land parcels had
not been correctly split and identified as
owned separately in the township assessor's
office which caused tax bills for the entire 323
acres to go to a corporation, Demco 54, which
owned only 132 acres of the land.Whenproper-
ty taxes were not paid on either parcel, the
county treasurer offered the entire property for
sale for back taxes inSeptember of 2011.
Wayne County relied on the township
records for the tax information, resulting in the
erroneous tax bills and subsequent foreclosure
sale, according to documents from the county
treasurer's office.
In January, the City of Detroit, through attor-
ney Timothy Beckett, issued the Affidavit
Affecting Real Property. In the document, the
city claims, “the purported foreclosure and
conveyance of the publicly-owned property by
the Wayne County Treasurer is void.” The doc-
ument, recorded with the Wayne County
Registry of Deeds, shows the City of Detroit as
the owner of the 190-acre parcel township offi-
cials assumed was purchased with a quit-claim
deed. No reason for not seeking a warranty
deed on the property at the time of the salewas
ever offeredby township officials.
The legal affidavit filed byBeckett facilitates
the return of the 190-acre parcel on the west
end of the site, separated by Johnson's Creek
from the 132-acre parcel. In a communication
to the Detroit City Council, Beckett noted that
the city will now have to pay the back taxes on
the property, estimated at about $100,000.
Despite a 9-percent
increase in rates from Detroit,
Canton Township residents
will see no increase in 2013 for
water.
See page 3.
See
Land,
page 3
The way the transaction
was handled was not
consistent with state law.
”
Detroit files to reclaim land from township
3 teens charged in armed robbery of Canton Verizon
Vol. 13, No. 10
Chief’s ‘investigation’ faults union officers
For the third time last week, Inkster Interim
Police Chief Hilton Napoleon cancelled a
scheduled disciplinary hearing against a com-
mand officer he has accused of lying and per-
jury.
Napoleon has charged Chief Union Steward
PhillipRandazzo, a 15-year veteran of the force,
with lying and presenting false evidence in a
vote of no confidence both police unions filed
against the interim chief several months ago.
The charges were filed Nov. 21 with City
Manager Ronald Wolkowicz who referred the
matter to Napoleon, the subject of the allega-
tions, for investigation. Napoleon subsequently
demanded that several officers answer ques-
tions about their union activity, including how
they voted on the no-confidence charges filed
against him. He also accused several officers of
lying and presenting false evidence but singled
out Randazzo, the chief union steward, for the
disciplinary Chief's Hearing, a usual precursor
to termination. Napoleon's investigation of the
charges against himself have recommended
immediate termination of Randazzo, a source
in the department said. The interim chief can-
celled the scheduledhearing onFeb. 27, onFeb.
26 and onFeb.14.
Among the charges the chief has leveled is
that Randazzo was untruthful about the circum-
stances surrounding the layoff and call back sta-
tus of officer Branden Rousma. Rousma was
also active with the union prior to his layoff last
year.
Rousma, allegedly named in Napoleon's
investigation, is currently awaiting an arbitra-
tion hearing.. Rousma, who was also a former
union steward, was laid off in July, admits that
he had several unpleasant scenes with the chief
during negotiations and discussions about lay-
offs.
“I was vocal and active and I did call himout
on several instances where he was blatantly
lying,” Rousma said. “And I am the one who
took the photo of him sleeping during the talks
about layoffs of officers. I am responsible for
that,” he said. “I just felt it was disrespectful
Here we are, talking about jobs, issues that
affect these guys' families, and he goes to sleep,”
he said.
After Rousma was laid off, there were work
call backs in the department and Randazzo was
verbally ordered by Napoleon to contact
Rousma by phone to notify him that he had
been calledback towork.
Randazzo told Rousma in a phone conversa-
tion that the chief had ordered him to make a
decision about coming back to work immediate-
ly. Bothofficers confirmthat conversation.
“First of all, they can't by union rules just
phone you and demand a decision. I had five
days to decide. I told Randazzo that I wanted to
talk to my wife about it. When he demanded I
decide right at that time, as ordered by the
chief, I said if that was the demand, the answer
wouldhave to be no,”Rousma said.
He then began to receive letters from
Napoleon at his home address stating he had
violated procedures by not updating his contact
information. The correct address and contact
information were on the letter above
Napoleon's signature, asserting that the infor-
mationwasmissing.
Napoleon then sent Rousma a letter saying
his verbal conversation with Randazzo was con-
sidered his resignation from the department,
which Rousma disputes. Following that letter
fromNapoleon, another laid off officer with less
seniority than Rousma was called back to work
and subsequently promoted to lieutenant.
“I never resigned. You can't just resign by
telling another officer you resign,” he said.
“And if I resigned, why did they (the city)
never dispute my unemployment?” he said.
Rousma provided a copy of the unemployment
response form on which the city states that he
was laid off.
Rousma sent Napoleon and the city a
detailed letter, by registered mail, stating that
he had not resigned from his job, had kept his
personnel information up to date and that he
This photo of Inkster Interim Police Chief Hilton
Napoleon sleeping was taken by Officer
Branden Rousma during negotiations of police
layoffs last July.
Three teens were arraigned on
charges ranging from a misde-
meanor to felony armed robbery
last week in 35th District Court
before JudgeMichael J. Gerou.
The multiple charges stemmed
from the 11 a.m. Feb. 25 attempted
armed robbery of the Verizon
store on Ford Road, just west of
Morton Taylor in Canton
Township.
According to police reports of
the incident, officers responded to
the 911 call of an armed robbery in
progress. The suspects were
allegedly armed with a semi-auto-
matic assault rifle, according to
police reports.
Witnesses said the three sus-
pects fled the scene traveling
south on Oakview in a silver vehi-
cle. A Canton patrol car in the
area intercepted the vehicle at
Oakview and Saltz roads, near
Flodin Park, and disabled the
vehicle, according to police
reports.
The three suspects fled the car
on foot and were found almost
immediately hiding in a storm cel-
lar adjacent to a house on Willard
Street, police reports said.
Taken into custody were Eric
James-Lee Wilkins, 18, of Inkster,
Antonio Jerome Porter, 18, of
Inkster andDantez Lamar Boykin-
Johnson, 18, ofWestland.
Due to the proximity of the inci-
dent, police notified Hoben
Elementary School which went
into lockdown until the suspects
were arrested.
Plymouth-Canton Community
Schools expanded the lockdown to
include several additional schools
in Canton until the incident was
over, according to police reports.
At the arraignment, the three
professed to be homeless, accord-
ing to a courtroomwitness.
Each of the three faces charges
of armed robbery, a felony punish-
able by life in prison or any term
of years; breaking and entering a
building with intent, a 10-year
felony; retail fraud, first degree, a
five-year felony; stolen property
receiving and concealing $1,000 or
more, a five-year felony, weapons,
firearms discharge in or at a build-
ing, a four-year felony, felony
firearm, a two-year felony and
breaking and entering, illegal
entry without owner permission, a
90-daymisdemeanor.
Gerou set each defendant's
bond at $1 million. The prelimi-
nary examination on the charges
is set for tomorrow at the 35th
District Court.
Eric James-Lee Wilkins
Antonio Jerome Porter
Dantez Lamar Boykin-Johnson
See
Police,
page 2