Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano knew one-time top aide Turkia Mullin was about to be fired by the Detroit Metro Airport board and made sure one of her allies did not try to stop it, according to depositions made public Thursday.
A team of Detroit News reporters write that those records also show Ficano initially pushed Mullin — his top economic development aide — to apply for the top airport job, even though Ficano has publicly denied having a role in the airport's hiring of her.
The revelations come as Mullin seeks as much as $8 million in damages, lost wages and attorney fees from the airport.
Board member Samuel Nouhan, one of only two board members to vote against her termination, revealed in his deposition that Ficano called him in late 2011 to "discourage" him from attempting to block the vote to fire Mullin, scheduled for the next week.
