Guest Editorial
Matty Moroun, who has become a billionaire thanks to the Ambassador Bridge, is a powerful figure in Michigan. That was clear again last year as a proposal to build a second, rival Detroit-Canada bridge sputtered in the Legislature.
Now, it turns out, Moroun is not the bridge’s owner?
That is the contention being made in a Wayne County courtroom. A judge has ordered Moroun to appear before him to face penalties — the result of his company’s failure to live up to an agreement with state government to build ramps that connect the bridge with highways.
Moroun’s attorneys make the claim that he is a bit player in the company that owns and operates the bridge. They point to a corporate structure that places Moroun as a minority shareholder.
Any politician who has collected money from Moroun’s camp, or faced his wrath by supporting a second bridge, might be surprised to hear he is so ineffectual. Certainly, he has never publicly disputed news accounts that describe him as the Ambassador Bridge’s owner.
The judge gets to sort this out this week. We suspect he will find Moroun’s claim to be a bridge too far.
— THE JACKSON CITIZEN PATRIOT