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Former Detroit Lead Inspector Sentenced for Fraud
Lead hazard ignored: construction debris improperly stored near a play area.
View from the living room looking into the kitchen. The deteriorated lead paint on the casings, jambs and baseboards is the result of stripping activities performed by the tenant after being "trained" by Patterson.
Construction debris, including a door suspected of contributing to the lead poisoning of the child. It also shows toys mixed in with the waste.
February 2011
On Feb. 8, Donald Patterson, a former lead inspector for the city of Detroit's Health Department, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison on wire fraud charges stemming from an EPA investigation. Patterson admitted that between October 2008 and August 2009 he solicited $1,350 in bribes for fraudulent abatement of lead hazards.
Patterson's job was to ensure that all paint-based lead hazards were safely removed from the homes he inspected. Instead, he used his position to obtain cash from owners or renters in exchange for falsely certifying their homes were free of lead or for providing fraudulent lead-removal training. At four of these residences, children were actually being exposed to lead.
Donald Patterson
"The protection of public health depends on governmental health officials doing their jobs in an honest and competent manner," said Randall Ashe, special agent in charge of EPA's criminal enforcement program in the Midwest. "It is reprehensible that a city health inspector solicited tenants and landlords to pay him bribes. Actual harm was done as witnessed by a child who suffered elevated blood-lead levels. The sentence serves notice to anyone who knowingly places the public at risk: you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
The Patterson case was investigated by EPA and the FBI, with assistance from the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan.
Lead is a serious public health issue causing a range of health effects from behavioral problems and learning disabilities, to seizures and death. Children six years old and under are most at risk.
Michigan residents who have concerns about possible lead hazards in their homes should call the Michigan Department of Community Health Hotline at 800-648-6942.