$500 American Motors sale blocked, ownership disputed
DETROIT – The $500 auction sale of the former American Motors headquarters on Detroit's west side has been indefinitely postponed amid claims by a past owner that the property's tax foreclosure was a sham.
The Wayne County Treasurer's office said late Thursday night that it no longer plans to award title to the vacant and crumbling office and industrial complex to the winner of this week's tax foreclosure auction. That's because the previous owner -- a corporation associated with an imprisoned scrap-metal hauler -- claims the county gave inadequate notice of the property's foreclosure last month for over $2 million in unpaid taxes.
"The deed will not get issued because there will be court proceedings," Eric Sabree, a deputy treasurer, said in an email.
The surprise development raises the possibility of a drawn-out legal battle over yet another abandoned Detroit automaker headquarters, not unlike what occurred with the derelict Packard Plant on the east side.
The winner of Wayne County's tax foreclosure auction for the old AMC building, Nicholas Casab of Commerce Township, is the son of Oakland County businessman and real estate investor Romel Casab, who once had a purported equity stake in the Packard Plant.
Multiple attempts to reach both the younger and elder Casab for comment were unsuccessful, including through a former family attorney. Nicholas Casab had been given until Monday to pay the $500 and the property's $232,000 in summer taxes.
The AMC building, dates to 1927 and was occupied by about 900 Chrysler employees as late as 2009 when it was the engineering center for all Chrysler and Jeep trucks and SUVs. Following Chrysler's bankruptcy, the property and surrounding parking lots were sold for $2 million in 2010 to a corporate entity called Plymouth Road One, land records show.
The corporation's original president was a James George with a Clinton Township mailing address. It changed hands in 2012 and came under the name of Detroit resident Terry Williams.
Williams, now 50, owned demolition and scrap hauling businesses and set out to clear the 1.4 million-square-foot AMC complex.
In 2013, Williams was charged in U.S. District Court in Detroit with felony firearm possession and violating the Clean Air Act for the improper handling of asbestos when removing pipes from the AMC building for scrap. He pleaded guilty to the environmental charges and sentenced to 2 years, 3 months in prison.
His attorney at the time, Ronnie Cromer, Jr., told the court that Williams bought the auto complex with his life's savings and had the ultimate goal of someday renovating the main building and making it a school for children with autism. Williams' grandmother had worked as a teacher with autistic children and her tender care left an impression on him, his attorney said.
According to a federal prison database, Williams is currently in the Milan Federal Correctional Institution with a March 2017 release date.
Cromer said Friday that he hasn't spoken with Williams since his sentencing last year and was unaware of the claims alleging a botched tax foreclosure of the AMC property.