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A collection of three series where FOI was used extensively. The first series delves into the executive officer of Wayne County, Edward McNamara, and his misuse of county funds for his friends. McNamara more than tripled the number of political appointees while serving his office. 112 of his appointees took in more than $100,000. At least 50 of these appointees received cars, while 117 others were paid a monthly allowance of $400 to $500 for vehicles. The second series revealed how Wayne County and Detroit went from trying to stop slumlords to becoming slumlords themselves. After seizing around 2,000 homes to keep them out of slumlord hands, the county and city spent $17.3 million fixing up 32 houses. Many of the promises that were made prior to taking the houses never came to be. The third series showed that the new runway at Detroit Metropolitan Airport had serious problems with the concrete. Forty five percent of tests on the concrete failed to meet FAA and Wayne County standards. There was no immediate safety concerns for the $225 million runway but it would have shortened life span due to the lack of quality. See 2001 contest entry #18626 for more information on the airport series.