Judge orders Moroun to demolish his U.S. duty free store

[davewindsor]

Amazing. Matty Moroun now has to demolish his new US duty free store at the Ambassador bridge. I never thought they'd go that far.



http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Judg...399/story.html



Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun has been ordered to demolish his newly constructed duty free store and gas pumps on the Detroit side after a judged ruled Friday that the company violated government agreements and illegally built the structures on city property.
Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Prentice Edwards ordered the bridge company to appoint someone within 21 days to oversee demolition and present a timetable for removal of the structures.
The Michigan Department of Transportation launched the lawsuit claiming the bridge violated the design and terms of agreement under the Gateway Project — a US$230-million effort to improve freeway connections to the bridge on the U.S. side.
Along with building the structures on City of Detroit property, the bridge company also violated the project agreement by building its own enclosed truck lane on Fort Street.
It also failed to build a 40-foot-wide access road exiting the bridge from Canada to the new $17-million Michigan Welcome Centre constructed a few years ago by the state.
It was unclear Friday whether toll booths at the
Detroit bridge entrance and massive pillars designed for Moroun’s proposed twin
span may also must be demolished.
“We are gratified with the court’s ruling,� said Bill Shreck, spokesman for MDOT. “We hope this means we will get the trucks off Fort Street and the local community will get the project they were promised and what we contracted the bridge company to do.�
Tensions have been high between the state government and Moroun for over the past year. In May, MDOT blocked new freeway on-ramps to the bridge plaza with massive mounds of dirt because of the bridge owner’s violations under the Gateway Project agreement.
The bridge is reviewing the ruling and it has not decided whether it will appeal, said president Dan Stamper.
He put a positive spin on the ruling, pointing to the possibility of MDOT removing the dirt.
“Sometimes a loss can be a win,� Stamper said. “With this ruling in its favour, hopefully MDOT now will open the completed ramps providing direct freeway access to the Ambassador Bridge. The ramps have been finished since last May and MDOT has held them hostage because of this dispute which involves a tiny portion of the [[Gateway Project).�
A spokesman for Transport Canada did not want to comment on the ruling.
The decision does not have any impact on the proposed binational government effort to build a downriver Windsor-Detroit span linking the industrial communities of Brighton Beach and Delray. Transport Canada and MDOT are partners in that effort along with Ontario’s Transportation ministry and U.S. federal government.
It may have a major impact on Moroun’s efforts to build a twin span because he requires some of the city property that Edwards ordered vacated.
Minutes after Friday’s court ruling, Moroun suffered another blow when the U.S government launched another lawsuit in U.S. District Court calling on him to “cease and desist� using the term “federal instrumentality� in any of the bridge’s property or court dealings.
The bridge owner has used the moniker frequently for years after obtaining a state ruling that allowed him the right to take over city lands in Detroit and gain immunity from regulations.
“The United States hereby requests enforcement of federal law through a declaration by the court that [[the bridge company) is not a federal instrumentality or limited federal instrumentality or any type of appendage of the federal government,� said the court filing in the Eastern District Court of Michigan by United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade.
“There is no basis in fact or in law for [[the bridge company) to hold itself out as a federal instrumentality,� she said in court documents.
© Copyright [[c) The Windsor Star

[Route29]

For years now Maroun, along with his imp Stamper, have been lost in their unfailing hubris but their unbelievable arrogance is catching up with them.
Despite his vast wealth and power, there is still some semblance of rule of law in this country, and throwing money at people only goes so far when you act as brazenly as he does.
I'm by no means devout, but I were an old, old evil piece of shit like him, I'd start trying to make peace with my Maker, because there has to be a warm place in hell reserved for him.
I take comfort in that.

[barnesfoto]

sweet...not enough garlic to hurt the vampire, but a few well placed cloves nonetheless.

[Whitehouse]

Gloves are off. That second bridge will only come over Moroun's dead body, I think.

[Lowell]

Nice cuffing around, but watch this one string out in the courts. Now how about some code enforcement on the Michigan Central Depot...

[gnome]

The interesting part of this, I pored through both the Freep and the News on Friday ... only found crickets. Maybe something is in the Saturday papers, but the whole hush hushness on Maroun and his empire of greed is a true head slapper.

[Meddle]

The only winners in this will be the lawyers.

[yupislyr]

Nah, I was watching last night too and not a mention anywhere in Detroit that I saw.

Freep instead posted an editorial suggesting that the governments buy out the Ambassador Bridge and then hire Moroun to run both the Ambassador AND the new downriver bridge. LOL. That's a good one.

http://www.freep.com/article/2010020...idge-stalemate

[Rocko]

Excellent! Adamo Demolition waiting in the wings..... we get all the lanes of Fort Street back to the correct alignment.....no more silly gas station & duty free shop...which as I recall was illegally built over a portion of 24th Street.....excellent!

[mikeg19]

Does anybody have any pictures of these pillars for the bridge and building he put up illegally?

[gnome]

The bridge approach that Matty didn't get approval to build hangs over a Detroit owned street that has been seized by Matty Maroun and a City owned park.

[Tig3rzhark]

I really hope that Matty doesn't get his twin span. If that happens, any hopes of extending the Riverwalk west of the Ambassador Bridge will be all for naught.

He should be fixing up the Michigan Central Depot to prove that he isn't a slumlord.

[mikeg19]

Wow. I didn't realize he had everything in place once he got approval to start building the bridge immediately.

Somebody explain this to me though..... Matty wants to build a new span right next to the existing bridge, yet he wants to close the current Ambassador span. The new span would also be 4 lanes. How exactly would this increase capacity and allow more traffic to cross? Hypothetically if he gets to build his twin span, wouldn't it make sense to have it work like the Blue Water Bridge spans with each bridge carrying one way traffic? Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't the best option to build the second span south of the current span so that the bulk of the truck traffic will use that one and the Ambassador would be mostly be for commuter traffic between Detroit and Windsor?

I understand why Matty wants his span obviously so he doesn't lose out on the tolls from the diverted truck traffic. But at this point what is the holdup on building the span downriver? Injunctions filed by Matty or the downriver communities? Environmental proceedings that still need to be completed?

[bartock]

The only winners in this will be the lawyers.

True, which is maddening.

Isn't Manny's son behind most of [[i.e., inheriting the family tradition) the lawsuits and hubris in recent years?

[buildingsofdetroit]

Gee, wonder if he'll appeal. Hmm.

[leland_palmer]

The News finally got with the program.

http://detnews.com/article/20100206/METRO01/2060387

[KOMPOST]

I understand why Matty wants his span obviously so he doesn't lose out on the tolls from the diverted truck traffic. But at this point what is the holdup on building the span downriver? Injunctions filed by Matty or the downriver communities? Environmental proceedings that still need to be completed?

Here's one small piece of the puzzle you are asking to solve:
http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthread.php?t=4086

[Brittz]

This is just great. The people living in that area dislike what has happened. Tear it down NOW!

[Meddle]

Judge should have ordered Deputies to padlock the place in the meantime.

[Brittz]

Judge should have ordered Deputies to padlock the place in the meantime.

Wow, now I wonder if the judge will. Hope he reads this forum.

[mikeg19]

Somebody explain this to me..... Matty wants to build a new span right next to the existing bridge, yet he wants to close the current Ambassador span. The new span would also be 4 lanes. How exactly would this increase capacity and allow more traffic to cross if your just replacing 4 lanes with 4 new lanes? Hypothetically if he gets to build his twin span, wouldn't it make sense to have it work like the Blue Water Bridge spans with each bridge carrying one way traffic? Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't the best option to build the second span south of the current span so that the bulk of the truck traffic will use that one and the Ambassador would be mostly be for commuter traffic between Detroit and Windsor?

[One Shot]

I'm shocked at that pic of the approach bridge already built! WTF?

[detroitsgwenivere]

I'm surprised some of you didn't know about the pillared span that was already built. It's been there for about 2 years or more. Everyone one I drive by it is shocked and angered by this guys blatant disregard for the law and the community he operates in. His vacant hulk of a train station is like a slap in the face of everyone in the neighborhood who's trying to make this a safe and clean place to live. So many people here work tirelessly to make the area desirable to families and newcomers. I hope they tear all of his shit down...

[eriedearie]

Ya know - through all of this I wonder about the people with the bait shop "Morouned" right in the middle of Manny's mess there. Every time we use the bridge to come home from Detroit, I just feel so sorry for those people and their business. How can they make any money? Those people were done down-right- dirty by Moroun. With all his money he could have bought the guy out. But no, he builds around the place. Rotten, rotten, rotten. There's gotta be a fire in hell designated just for Matty Moroun.

[yupislyr]

Perhaps whoever wrote that freep editorial wasn't far off. No word on who would be running it though. And of course nothing could happen.

Ottawa mulls buying Windsor-Detroit Ambassador Bridge

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2538184

Another story with a few more details that make it sound like there have been talks but they have gone nowhere.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1460783/