High-end items for Detroit office bought with money for poor people

The Detroit Free Press reports:

More than $210,000 intended for poor people but instead used to furnish a City of Detroit office paid for numerous leather chairs, a $3,000 mahogany-finish conference table and at least three stainless steel trash cans with motion sensor lids and a price tag of $315 each, records show.

A 56-page receipt, obtained by the Free Press under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, lists dozens of high-end items destined last year for the Human Services Department's east-side building, including more than $30,000 spent to furnish the office and conference room of the director.

The Free Press first reported the furniture purchases in May, prompting an FBI investigation and the suspension of Director Shenetta Coleman and several other employees. Coleman could not be reached for comment.

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