Judge Orders Ambassador Bridge Owner to Jail

[GMAN]

Judge orders Ambassador Bridge owner to jail




By David Tanner, Land Line associate editor

The billionaire owner of the Ambassador Bridge, Manuel “Matty” Moroun, and president of the bridge company, Dan Stamper, were still behind bars on Friday, Jan. 13. Wayne County Judge Prentis Edwards said the pair would remain there until they complied with a previous court order to complete the Ambassador Bridge Gateway Project in accordance with the law.

The Ambassador Bridge, owned by Moroun’s Detroit River International Bridge Co., is the busiest U.S.-Canadian border crossing, carrying 8,000 commercial trucks and 68,000 travelers per day between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.
The company was, according to the Gateway Project, supposed to connect the Ambassador Bridge with major roadways in an effort to take border traffic off city streets and ease congestion. For years, the company defied orders from city, county and state officials. Moroun’s company even went so far as to build a fueling station and toll booths on publicly owned land.

Judge Edwards issued a court order on Feb. 1, 2010, for the company to remove the illegal buildings and complete the access ramps or face contempt charges. Holding to his word, Edwards handed down contempt charges against Moroun and Stamper in November 2011.
Jail time was the next step, according to Edwards, who can be heard in a courtroom video by the Detroit Free Press ordering Moroun and Stamper to be incarcerated until they comply with the previous court order.

Edwards announced another court date for Feb. 9 but gave no indication about how long Moroun and Stamper would remain behind bars.
As could be expected, Moroun’s attorneys scrambled for an appeal.
“The Michigan Court of Appeals denied the emergency appeal for their release pending the appeal of Judge Edwards’ decision,” company spokesman Al Upchurch told “Land Line Now” on Friday.

Upchurch said he had not spoken with Moroun or Stamper directly since the ruling.
According to media reports, Moroun and Stamper are roommates in a 15-foot by 10-foot cell in a special wing of the Wayne County Jail.

Copyright © OOIDA

[Windwalker]

My, my... Isn't that interesting... I remember the roads I had to take to get to the bridge, and back again. Unless you know EXACTLY where the bridge is, you will miss it. Along with being business associates, they now get to be buuzum buddies????

[Malaki86]

Getting to the bridge (at least from the south) wasn't too horrible. But coming from the bridge and back to the interstate (any direction) plain out scares the crap out of me. Definitely not the best section of town.

[GMAN]

My, my... Isn't that interesting... I remember the roads I had to take to get to the bridge, and back again. Unless you know EXACTLY where the bridge is, you will miss it. Along with being business associates, they now get to be buuzum buddies????

I am a little surprised that he was arrested. He has been doing pretty much what he wants for many years. Matty has been upset in recent years due to Michigan and Canada wanting to build a tunnel to take some of the traffic off the Ambassador Bridge. He didn't want to lose the revenue. Matty is supposed to be the largest private land owner in the state of Michigan and owns a number of trucking companies such as Universal Am Can and Mason Dixon.

[Orangetxguy]

I am happy to say that I have never contributed to his fortunes! Have always crossed at the Blue Water in Port Huron.


Instead of giving to a private thief I give to two government one's!

[Windwalker]

I am a little surprised that he was arrested. He has been doing pretty much what he wants for many years. Matty has been upset in recent years due to Michigan and Canada wanting to build a tunnel to take some of the traffic off the Ambassador Bridge. He didn't want to lose the revenue. Matty is supposed to be the largest private land owner in the state of Michigan and owns a number of trucking companies such as Universal Am Can and Mason Dixon.

I have worked for a contractor that was contracted to Universal Am Can. They've got agents all over the country that get to pay him for their "franchise". It was profitable if the agents ran you correctly, but if not you got screwed.

[mgfg]

I am a little surprised that he was arrested. He has been doing pretty much what he wants for many years. Matty has been upset in recent years due to Michigan and Canada wanting to build a tunnel to take some of the traffic off the Ambassador Bridge.

Wrong GMAN>

There is a NEW BRIDGE proposed down stream of the Ambassador Bridge, no tunnel ever mentioned. Matty wants to twin his Ambassador Bridge which makes no sense for numerous reasons.

The first reason being that IF there ever was an attack on the Ambassador Bridge (the busiest crossing between Canada and the US) trade would be stymied. Sure there's a barge in Detroit for haz-mat and heavy haul loads and the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia/Port Huron but they don't have near the capacity the Ambassador Bridge does.

The second reason a new bridge makes sense is because it gets traffic off of Huron Church Road which is the 6 lane city street with a ten or more traffic lights that leads to the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario.

The third reason a new bridge needs to be built is that there is no truck inspection facility (due to a lack of space) in Windsor. If Canada Customs wants to search/inspect a truck/load it has to be done at an off-site facility.

Building a new bridge has far more positives than negatives.

[Malaki86]

I'd love to see a completely new crossing built south of Detroit. Doubt it'll happen in my lifetime, though.

[GMAN]

Wrong GMAN>

There is a NEW BRIDGE proposed down stream of the Ambassador Bridge, no tunnel ever mentioned. Matty wants to twin his Ambassador Bridge which makes no sense for numerous reasons.

The first reason being that IF there ever was an attack on the Ambassador Bridge (the busiest crossing between Canada and the US) trade would be stymied. Sure there's a barge in Detroit for haz-mat and heavy haul loads and the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia/Port Huron but they don't have near the capacity the Ambassador Bridge does.

The second reason a new bridge makes sense is because it gets traffic off of Huron Church Road which is the 6 lane city street with a ten or more traffic lights that leads to the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario.

The third reason a new bridge needs to be built is that there is no truck inspection facility (due to a lack of space) in Windsor. If Canada Customs wants to search/inspect a truck/load it has to be done at an off-site facility.

Building a new bridge has far more positives than negatives.

At one time they were talking about building a tunnel. A bridge makes more sense. I am sure that it would cost less to build and maintain than a tunnel under the water. They have needed another bridge for many years. It can be very time consuming to cross the Ambassador Bridge. I think a little competition could be good.

[LBF]

Yes, Gman is correct. In the early stages, when considering all the options, there is an older abandoned railway tunnel under the river, that was an option to convert for truck use. The railway built a larger tunnel some many years ago now, to accommodate what we consider "normal" sized railcars now.

But the action has been on brokering a deal where everyone living on either side of the river might be happy with where the ends of the bridge actually land, which has been a devil, with the suspicion/assumption that Matty is financing anyone and everyone to filibuster every step of the way.