The Detroit Board of Ethics voted Wednesday, Aug. 19 to investigate whether top City Hall attorney Conrad Mallett violated the city’s ethics ordinance by serving as a paid director of Lear Corp., an auto supplier receiving city tax breaks.
The investigation comes after the Free Press reported in August that Mallett received $1.8 million in cash and stock from Lear while holding top city government posts. The company opened a large plant near City Airport in 2022 and is receiving an approximately $4 million, 12-year tax abatement approved by the Detroit City Council in October that year.
At the ethics board’s meeting, Executive Director Christal Phillips said Mallett has failed to respond to recent requests from ethics board staff to disclose his
position at Lear.
The meeting also produced a new allegation: Phillips said Mallett never disclosed that his son had applied for or accepted a job with the City of Detroit, in potential violation of an ethics ordinance provision requiring officials exercising significant authority to identify immediate family members employed by the city "or making an application to the city for employment."
Mallett’s son works in the Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department, and the two share an address, according to records obtained by the ethics office, Phillips said.
Board members also voiced concern that Mallett’s position as corporation counsel – where he helms the city’s Law Department – could complicate the investigation.
The Board of Ethics relies on Law Department attorneys for legal advice, but those attorneys report to Mallett.
"We’re going to poke a bear," board member Raymond Card said of going after a top city official appointed by the mayor with city council approval. "And we’ve got to get a clear path, because I’m a firm believer – I only trap things I can kill."
In a statement issued to the Free Press after the board's meeting, Mallett said, “I will address BOE concerns about its disclosure process when I have an opportunity to speak to it during the course of their investigation. I am confident that I have operated in an ethical and transparent manner and that if there were any oversights, they were unintentional.”
Mallett previously told the Free Press that he disclosed his Lear board position to former Mayor Mike Duggan and Mayor Mary Sheffield. He said he was not involved in the Lear plant deal in either of his roles with the city or the company.
Detroit’s ethics ordinance bars public servants who exercise “significant authority” from taking a loan or payment from individuals receiving city tax abatements, credits or exemptions. The Board of Ethics has previously determined that city employees may not accept compensation for board service from entities receiving city tax breaks or doing business with the city.
Mallett has served on Lear’s board since 2002, and earned $335,000 in cash and stock awards last year, as first reported by the Free Press June 1. He returned to City Hall in 2020 as deputy mayor and became corporation counsel in 2022. As corporation counsel, he earns approximately $180,000 per year and represents City Council, the mayor’s office, city departments and boards.
In addition to examining whether Mallett violated the ordinance by accepting compensation from an entity receiving city tax breaks, Phillips said the board would probe a handful of other possible violations, including failures to make required disclosures, incompatible employment and the improper use or disclosure of confidential information.
Phillips said Mallett never disclosed his Lear income to the ethics board or in annual mayoral disclosures received by her office in 2024 and 2026. His 2026 mayoral disclosure, she said, indicated that he had no non-city employment income from 2025 through the date of the filing. On a separate question concerning board activities, Phillips said, Mallett listed “N/A.”
Phillips said Mallett’s failure to respond to the board’s June 30, July 20 and July 30 requests also could amount to willful neglect of duty. An investigator told the board that Mallett was among just 10 of 120 senior city employees who had not filed disclosure forms with the board this year.
Ethics-board investigations can result in public admonishments and, in extreme cases, referrals to law enforcement for possible criminal prosecution.
Questions about the investigation’s feasibility dominated Wednesday’s meeting.
Members said they want an independent lawyer to review the matter, but obtaining one could require approval from Mallett’s office. They added that Mallett’s lack of cooperation thus far could also complicate the board’s effort to complete its investigation within the maximum 180-day period provided under the ethics ordinance.
“If we have to subpoena Mr. Mallett — who signs off on that subpoena?” board member Card asked.
Senior Assistant Corporation Counsel James Stump – a Law Department attorney who reports to Mallett and advises the ethics board – said: “Give us time to figure it out and get back to you on that.”
“The bigger issue is that we need independent counsel,” Phillips said. “How can we ignore the fact that Mr. Mallett is Mr. Stump’s boss and yet Mr. Stump is assigned to our board as our attorney? That’s a conflict of interest.”
Phillips said previous board attempts to hire independent counsel had failed, but that the board has money in its budget for an attorney.
She recalled that several years prior, the ethics board sought outside counsel after determining that the Law Department faced a conflict, but that the corporation counsel denied the request.
“I can’t anticipate what roadblocks will be ahead for us,” Phillips said. “I would just like to understand what process the Law Department is planning to have for us as soon as possible so this matter doesn’t just expire because we’re waiting months for an answer from the Law Department.”
Stump said he would determine how to address the issue while the board proceeds with its investigation. He said he did not expect a lengthy process, promising a “thorough, independent, legally sound report.”
Violet Ikonomova is an investigative reporter at the Free Press covering government and police accountability in Detroit. Contact her at vikonomova@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Ethics Board to investigate top city lawyer for side job at Lear
