Wages of Vice

Michael W. Lynch from the August/September 2001 issue

Motor City's working girls aren't the only people making a bundle off those looking for love in all the wrong places. According to the Detroit Free Press, Wayne County's 153 prosecutors are slated to divvy up $500,000 in raises that have been funded by the fines alleged Johns pay to get their cars out of impound.

Faced with a declining budget, newly minted Wayne County Prosecutor Michael Duggan put the county's police powers to work for him. He persuaded local politicians to allow him to use proceeds from forfeited and impounded cars to reward prosecutors. He then upped the impound fine on cars seized from Johns to $900 -- a $250 increase -- and discontinued such soft-on-crime practices as giving exonerated Johns their cars back for free.

Duggan expects to triple the county's booty this year. He isn't shy about letting his staff know it's in their best interest to keep impounding cars and other valuables. "All these promotions are possible only because of the extraordinary performance of the forfeiture unit," wrote Duggan in a memo to employees obtained by a Free Press reporter. "Some of you are probably going to owe them lunch."