By Joel Thurtell
Maybe the judge realized, after reading my JOTR column yesterday, that he’d jailed the wrong jackass.
That’s the only reason I can see why Wayne County Circuit Judge Prentis Edwards freed Stamper after the Ambassador Bridge president cooled his heels in jail for six hours.
The judge jailed Stamper on Monday, January 10, 2011, for contempt of court, after ruling that the Detroit International Bridge Company “headed” by Stamper refused to tear down part of a new duty-free store and gas pumps as ordered nearly a year ago by the judge.
I put “headed” in quotes because we all know who really runs the Ambassador Bridge show.
And Matty Moroun, billionaire bridge owner, was definitely NOT cooling his heels anywhere near the jail.
Still, according to press reports, there was no indication Monday why the judge relented.
Minus the arrival of a demolition crew aimed at tearing down the offending structures, built partly on city land and in violation of bridge company agreements with the Michigan Department of Transportation, it’s hard to see what progress Dan and Matty have made towards compliance.
For Dan Stamper to step out of his jail cell and thumb his nose at the judge seems like sound reason to slap his boss’s ass in jail.
Once he was a free man, Moroun minion Phil Frame put out a press release taunting MDOT and the judge, predicting the state “will lose” in trying to stop Matty from building a new bridge beside the old Ambassador span:
The following statement is from Dan Stamper, president of Detroit International Bridge Co., who was released from custody this afternoon after being held since this morning for contempt of court involving a contract dispute between the company and the Michigan Department of Transportation:
“MDOT bureaucrats are doing everything they can to stop our successful 80-year-old private sector business from building our new bridge with our own money. They will lose. This won’t stop us and our new bridge will be built and serve the public well.
“It’s a shame that this situation had to occur and that the court had to order scheduled meetings between our company and MDOT, under the supervision of a court-ordered monitor, so we could move forward to complete the Ambassador Bridge Gateway Project. We’ve been asking MDOT for these meetings for many months now, with no response.
“Our company recently purchased Lafayette Bait & Tackle, which is the property that was MDOT’s excuse for not opening the completed bridge access ramps from I-75 and I-96. Although we disagreed, the bait shop is no longer an issue standing in the way of finishing the Gateway Project. Nevertheless, as long as MDOT seeks to construct a bridge of its own right next to ours, reasonable discussions are difficult.”
“Reasonable discussions,” indeed. Hard to discuss anything with a megalomaniac who insulates himself with flocks of lawyers and shotgun-totin’ goons.
What Stamper and Boss Matty don’t mention is that the billionaire can’t build his cherished second bridge until he acquires — legally, rather than by theft — part if not all of the city’s public Riverside Park. Matty has been squatting on the part of the park that he needs since he seized it shortly after 9/11 gave him a phony excuse to raze basketball hoops and shade trees and fence off the city-owned area with bogus “Homeland Security” signs. He’s been ordered off city property, but — as with the gas station and store — he has not complied.
Even if Matty had proper permits from the US and Canadian governments (which he does not) to build his second bridge, he’d be stymied for lack of title to the portion of Riverside Park he needs to site the bridge.
Stamper’s bombast aside, I’m curious to see if he and Matty make any real progress toward removing the gas station and duty-free store.
Advice to Judge Edwards: Keep a jail cell ready, and next time, forget Dan. Put Matty in the slammer and keep him there until he’s complied fully with your order.
Unbelievable! What progress could DIBC accomplished towards compliance for the Judge to release Danny boy is the question? And his statement written by DIBC’s Phil Frame had absolutely nothing to do with why Dan/DIBC was thrown in jail…typical DIBC behavior to try to confuse the issues between their illegal behaviors regarding the Gateway Project and bringing up the 2nd Bridge Project. First one to see the wrecking ball and DIBC complying, may want to get their eyes checked & gather witnesses to collaborate that you aren’t seeing things!