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No. 46
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
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November 15 - 21, 2012
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
Officials at Oakwood
Annapolis Hospital in Wayne
unveiled the first phase of an
extensive renovation and
expansion of the Emergency
Department last week.
See page 5.
Employees of the City of
Romulus who are members of
Teamsters Local 214 have
donated $1,000 to the "Adopt a
Family" fund for the upcoming
holiday season.
See page 5.
Plymouth firefighters have
finished their annual Turkey
Drive and will purchase as
many turkeys as possible this
week to donate to The
SalvationArmy.
See page 3.
The Annual Northville
Foundation Holiday Home
Tour will take place from 10
a.m. until 4 p.m. tomorrow and
Saturday and features five
homes decorated for the holi-
days.
See page 3.
Keystone Academy recog-
nized the service of veterans
last Wednesday when both vet-
erans and current military ser-
vicemen attended the
Veterans' Day
See page 4.
Vol. 127, No. 46
Vol. 65, No. 46
Vol. 65, No. 46
Vol. 12, No. 46
Vol. 12, No. 46
Vol. 127, No. 46
Vol. 65, No. 46
Vol. 65, No. 46
The
Wayne
County
Prosecutor who allowed two
Inkster police officers to lie
under oath on the witness
stand, will remain disbarred
from practicing law in the
state.
See page 4.
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Former Westland City
Councilman and Wayne-
Westland school board mem-
ber David Cox has returned to
the private sector after 20
years inpublic service.
See page 4.
Former Romulus Police Chief Michael St.
Andre, his wife, Sandra St. Andre, and former
detectives Jeremy Channells and Larry Droege
will face a judge and jury beginning Jan. 22.
The tentative jury trial date was set this
week by Judge Bruce Morrow, who also set a
deadline of 2 p.m. tomorrow for motions from
both the prosecution and defense attorneys in
the case.
Morrow also set a trial date of March 4, 2013
for former Romulus police detectives Richard
Balzar, RichardLandry andDonaldHopkins.
The prosecution follows a 3-year investiga-
tion by the Michigan State Police with assis-
tance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation
into corruption charges against the seven
defendants. In September of 2011, search war-
rants were executed at the Romulus Police
Station, St. Andre's home and his wife's tanning
salon in Westland, among other locations, and
boxes of documents seized.
The five detectives and the chief are
accused of using drug forfeiture money to pay
for prostitutes, marijuana and alcohol.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said
the case had “a culture of corruption and greed
at its core,” when the arrests were made in
September of 2011.
St. Andre, 50, faces 10 charges, including
conducting a criminal enterprise and acquiring
or maintaining a criminal enterprise. The for-
mer chief could get up to 20 years in prison of
convicted of themost serious charges.
His wife, Sandra Kay Vlaz-St. Andre, also
faces up to 20 years in prison. She is accused of
acquiring or maintaining a criminal enterprise
Work up an appetite for a
good cause Thanksgiving
morning by running orwalking
in Canton Leisure Services
10th annual Turkey Trot for a
Cause.
See page 3.
See
Cops,
page 2
Sylvia James will not be
returning to the judicial bench at
the 22nd District Court in Inkster
where shehad served since 1989.
Voters last week chose
Sabrina Johnson by a margin of
6,576 votes to James' total of 3,339
for the seat which pays $138,272
annually.
Johnson, a former assistant
Wayne County prosecutor, was
appointed to the court by Gov.
Rick Snyder last September after
James' was removed from the
bench by the Michigan Supreme
Court. James' removal was part of
her sentencing following an
investigation and charges from
the Michigan Judicial Tenure
Commission which alleged mis-
appropriation and mismanage-
ment of court funding and
accounting and other improper
acts.
Johnson's appointment made
her the incumbent on the ballot
where she received 66 percent of
the total votes cast while James
received 34 percent. During the
primary election, James was the
top vote getter in the city.
James was first suspended
with pay from the court last
April. Following a protracted
hearing before retired judge Ann
Mattson, who issued a 48-page
opinion, James was found guilty
of misconduct. Sentencing was
pronounced by the Michigan
Supreme Court judges, who
removed her from the bench for
the remainder of her term of
office, which would have ended
Jan. 1, 2013, and required her to
pay more than $81,000 in restitu-
tion and court costs.
In her ruling, Mattson said
that James used money from the
APlymouthmanwith an appar-
ent fondness for jewelry items was
arrested last week, on a warrant
issued fromNorthvilleTownship.
Troy Alan Wiercioch, 26, is sus-
pected of stealing a large amount
of jewelry froman antique store in
Brooklyn, MI.
Police allege that on Oct. 11,
Wiercioch, entered the Pinetree
Centre Antiques store and went to
a locked glass display cabinet that
held jewelry. The owner of the
store discovered the suspect had
removed a glass panel from the
case and saw jewelry missing.
When the owner confronted the
man, a brief struggle ensued, and
the suspect fled the store, losing
one of his shoes as he escaped,
according to police reports.
During the short chase, the sus-
pect also discarded his shirt and
hat while being pursued by the
store owner, police said. All three
items were recovered from the
scene, aswell as fingerprints.
Police in Brooklyn said that
during the investigation, the store
owner was in contact with an Ohio
antiques dealer, who recounted a
similar incident from September.
That owner provided police a pos-
sible license plate number of the
suspect's vehicle. Brooklyn police
found that the suspect, located in
Plymouth, had prior contact with
Northville Township Police in
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy
said the case had “a culture of corrup-
tion and greed at its core,”...
”
Trial dates set for former Romulus cops
The Westland District Library
will host former football great
and motivational speaker Wally
Triplett at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov.
27.
A longtime Detroit area resi-
dent, Triplett, 86, has a special
place in football history. The for-
mer Penn State star broke the
color barrier in the 1948 Cotton
Bowl when the Nittany Lions
battled Southern Methodist
University to a 13-13 tie. It was
in front of a capacity crowd of
47,000 in Dallas that Triplett and
teammate Dennie Hoggard
became the first blacks to star in
the previously segregated Cotton
Bowl.
Never before had black ath-
letes played in a college football
game in Texas against one of the
segregated universities in the
state. “We have no objections
ourselves,” said Southern
Methodist head coach Matty
Bell, in a 1948 edition of The
Dallas Morning News. “After all,
we're supposed to live in a
democracy.” The trailblazing
event took place without any
reported incidents.
Triplett, now in his 80s with a
long list of life experiences, has
been popular on the banquet cir-
cuit. “Penn State was responsi-
ble, along with SMU, for tearing
down the bias in the late '40s,”
saidTriplett.
Triplett was one of the first
blacks drafted in the NFL in
1949. He later teamed up with
Walker as they played together
on the 1950 Detroit Lions team
that went 6-6.
On Oct. 29, 1950, Triplett had
one of the greatest games in
NFL history. Against the Los
Angeles Rams, Triplett returned
four kickoffs of 81, 97, 74 and 42
yardswith one touchdown.
Unfortunately for the Lions,
the Rams electrified the Los
Angeles Memorial Coliseum and
scored 41 points in the third
quarter, winning 65-24.
Another draft, this one for the
U.S. Army, interrupted his foot-
ball career, as he served for two
years during theKoreanWar.
Triplett will reminisce about
his life journeys, funny football
experiences and motivation.
“Often I am asked to discuss suc-
cess,” said Triplett. “I respond
by asking the listener to consider,
'What are the two most impor-
tant letters of the alphabet?' The
answer, I tell them, is to always
remember P and O: P for
Preparation and O for
Opportunity. That is what the
world is all about - being pre-
pared for opportunity.”
Veteran sports broadcaster
Raymond Rolak, past president
of the Detroit Sports
Broadcasters Association, will
introduce Triplett. Rolak will
share some anecdotes from the
new movie, Get A Job in which
he had a cameo. www.getajob-
movie.com
The event is free but the
Westland District Library
requests pre-registration by
phoning (734) 326-6123. The
library is located at 16123
Central City Parkway in
Westland. More information is
available at http://www.west-
land.lib.mi.us/
See
James,
page 2
See
Heist,
page 2
Man-in-motion
Football hero to speak
at Westland Public Library
During the primary election,
James was the top vote getter in the city.
”
Voters reject ousted judge’s bid to return to bench
Plymouth man charged with jewelry theft in Brooklyn
Wally Triplett