Right after Mayor Kilpatrick appointed Victor Mercado as Director of the Detroit Water & Sewerage Department (DWSD), Mercado sold off many of the Departments vehicles, including “leak trucks” used to repair water mains, some of them fully equipped. AFSCME Local 207 has repeatedly told the City Council and news media that many of these vehicles were sold to contractors, such as Ferguson Enterprises (owned Kilpatrick’s pistol-whipping pal, Bobby Ferguson). Recently the City told Council that they didn’t know who the vehicles were sold to. Yeah, right.

These vehicles were sold supposedly because they weren’t needed to repair water mains. Here is a photo taken during the recent water main break on E. Jefferson. It clearly shows a truck with the DWSD decals crudely removed, and with “Ferguson Enterprises” plastered on the side. By the way, the main broke again, a few days later.

So the trucks are still used to repair water mains, only now the Mayor’s buddy Ferguson profits from it, just like he does by over-charging to demolish houses. Before Kilpatrick was elected Ferguson was just a small time trucking firm. Now it’s a so-called construction and water system repair corporation as well. It’s a good thing for Ferguson that Kilpatrick subscribes to “friends and family plan.”