Judge Backs Off, Opens Court File In Wayne County Failed Jail Case

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A lawyer for a Detroit newspaper says a judge has agreed to unseal the court file in a case of alleged corruption tied to construction of a jail.

But Herschel Fink, lawyer for the Detroit Free Press, says Wayne County Judge Vonda Evans still is barring all parties from talking to reporters.

Evans held a hearing Friday in response to a challenge from the Free Press. Even the prosecutor says the court file shouldn't be sealed.

Carla Sledge, former Chief Financial Officer for Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano; and Steven Collins, a former board member for the Wayne County Building Authority, are charged with giving false or misleading information about the cost of a new Wayne County jail. A third person, contractor Anthony Parlovecchio, has been charged with a misdemeanor.

Fink says he'll ask the appeals court to overturn the gag order.

The 2,000-bed facility on the northeastern edge of downtown Detroit was wildly over budget and only partially finished when construction was halted.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy asked for a one-man grand jury to investigate the jail debacle last September. The grand jury reviewed 140,000 pages of documents, which led to the indictment.

Touting the project in 2012, Ficano said the new jail was expected to save the county $20 million a year when it opened in 2014, consolidating three county jail facilities.

MORE: Robert Ficano Tries To Explain Wayne County Jail Debacle

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