Detroit News this Past Week

A Southwest Detroit restaurant owner is charged with laundering $140 million to Mexican cartels, the Michigan Supreme Court agrees to hear arguments on whether the man acquitted in Samantha Woll's killing can be retried, and Detroit's ethics board reviews candidates to investigate Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett Jr. over an outside board seat. Regionally, DTE Gas wins a $74.5 million rate increase and immediately tells regulators to expect another. Comments are open below.

The Weather: Heat Peaks Near 82 Degrees Sunday

Sunday is the week's warmest day at 82°, 12 degrees above Monday's 70°. Rain falls Tuesday through Thursday — 0.063 inches Tuesday, 0.055 Thursday and 0.047 Wednesday — with each of the three days near a 45% chance. Friday and Saturday are dry and overcast, with highs of 73° and 72°.

The News

Southwest Detroit restaurant owner charged with laundering $140 million to Mexican cartels

Juan Romo-Padilla, 58, owner of La Posada — a Southwest Detroit restaurant, convenience store and money-remitter business — was arrested Sept. 3 and charged with international money laundering, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, laundering of drug proceeds and violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. Prosecutors allege Romo-Padilla sent more than 100,000 structured wire transfers totaling over $140 million to Mexico between 2022 and 2026, and say nearly all of it went to Mexican states associated with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, La Familia Michoacana and the Sinaloa Cartel. Special Agent in Charge Joseph Dixon said in a news release that money laundering is “the financial engine that allows drug traffickers to turn illicit profits into the resources that fuel addiction, violence, and death in cities across America.” Romo-Padilla faces up to 20 years in prison on each count if convicted.

Source: ClickOnDetroit / WDIV Local 4, September 7, 2026

Michigan Supreme Court to weigh retrial for man acquitted in Samantha Woll killing

The Michigan Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments on whether Michael Jackson-Bolanos can be retried in the October 2023 killing of Detroit synagogue president Samantha Woll, 40, who was found stabbed to death outside her home. Jackson-Bolanos was acquitted of first-degree murder in August; jurors deadlocked on separate charges of felony murder and home invasion. The court's move gives the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, which is seeking a retrial, a procedural win that delays his release while the question is litigated. The Detroit News and Deadline Detroit also carried the decision, headline only. Deadline Detroit's headline frames the same ruling the other way — that Jackson-Bolanos “Wins Appeal To Go Free” — and neither outlet's item carries text to test that against. This account follows ClickOnDetroit, the only one of the three with sourced detail.

Source: ClickOnDetroit / WDIV Local 4, September 10, 2026

Detroit ethics board weighs outside counsel to investigate Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett Jr.

Detroit's Board of Ethics is reviewing candidates to lead a conflict-of-interest investigation into Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett Jr., according to ethics board executive director Christal Phillips. Candidates under review include former federal prosecutor Michael Bullotta, who helped convict former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick; former ethics board executive director Alicia Skillman; and the law firm Mogill, Lemanski and Gerometta. At issue is Mallett's board seat at Lear Corp., which he has held since 2002, and whether he properly disclosed that his son works for the city; Mallett was deputy mayor when Lear received a multimillion-dollar tax incentive in 2021 and says he was “shielded from the transaction.” The Detroit News's own article spells his name two ways — “Mallett” in the headline and most references, “Mallet” elsewhere in the body — a discrepancy within that single source, not between outlets.

Source: The Detroit News, September 8, 2026

Beatrice Early Childhood Center opens in Southwest Detroit

Starfish Family Services and Brilliant Detroit partnered on a $1 million renovation of a vacant school building next to the former Saints Andrew and Benedict Church, now open as the Beatrice Early Childhood Center at 2450 Beatrice St., a center for infants, toddlers and their families expected to serve about 76 children. Starfish Family Services CEO Roxanne Brinkerhoff said “nothing was going to be left to blight” and that Detroit lacks childcare providers for children from birth to age 3. Center leader Lyndsey Butts said longtime residents have come by to say they once taught or worked in the building.

Source: ClickOnDetroit / WDIV Local 4, September 10, 2026

Metro Detroit

DTE Gas wins $74.5 million rate hike, then tells regulators to expect another

The Michigan Public Service Commission approved a $74.52 million rate increase for DTE Gas — about 54% less than the $162.7 million in additional revenue the utility sought. DTE Gas's total request was $237.5 million, but $74.8 million of that was for infrastructure costs already reflected in customer rates. The order raises the typical residential bill using 7,500 cubic feet a month by $2.87, or 3.3%, starting Oct. 1. A separate 68-cent infrastructure recovery surcharge takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. The commission also raised its Low-Income Assistance Credit from $40 to $58 and its electric outage credit to $44 a day. Hours after the ruling, DTE Gas notified the commission it will file another rate request in November covering a 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2028; the amount has not been disclosed. Attorney General Dana Nessel said, “Not weeks, not days, but literally hours after securing a multi-million-dollar rate hike from the Commission, all while Michigan families struggle to keep their homes warm, DTE announced its intent to ask its customers for more.” DTE Gas president and COO Renee Tomina said the November notice “does not change anyone's bill” and is a required first step under commission rules requiring at least 60 days' notice before filing a new rate request; she added the approved order “does not include the full level of support we requested for the investments we believe are needed to keep pace with critical system upgrades.” DTE Gas serves 1.4 million customers. A companion Detroit Free Press item reported the same $74.5 million figure but carries no further detail beyond that number.

Source: The Detroit News; Detroit Free Press, September 11, 2026

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