DETROIT (WWJ) -- A Macomb County contractor is on the hook for $4.7 million and is banned from doing business in Detroit for the next two decades.
Following a six-year investigation, that’s the penalty that’s been handed down to Den-Man Contractors of Warren.
In 2018, when the City of Detroit was in the process of removing a large amount of blight, Den-Man was hired to fill construction holes with uncontaminated dirt.
But the city’s inspector general says arsenic, mercury and other toxic materials were discovered in the dirt that was used, which had been taken from reconstruction projects on I-96 and I-94, as well as commercial properties.
Additionally, it was alleged that Den-Man never paid for the contaminated materials, but charged for them anyway when they used it to fill the holes.
Company owner David Holman and contracting manager, David MacDonald, were each charged with felonies, and received probation.
Den-Man is said to have used to the dirt to fill over 90 residential properties during the course of a two-year period. A portion of the $4.7 million fine was used to successfully remove that "dirty" soil and replace it with clean material.