Bob Carmack, who went after Mayor Duggan and corruption, dies at 65

A man who would not miss an opportunity to criticize Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and who exposed a city councilman for bribery has died.

His family Wednesday confirmed the death of Bob Carmack, 65, known for revealing that former Councilman Gabe Leland took a $7,500 bribe in exchange for a vote and battling with Duggan about a piece of property he claimed to own.

FBI agents wired Carmack to record a conversation with Leland, who asked for $15,000 to block the city from selling the property. Leland pleaded guilty to felony misconduct in office and resigned from the Detroit City Council.

The family requested privacy as they mourn.

Steve Haney, Carmack's attorney who represented him on multiple cases, described Carmack as a fighter.

“Bob was a great father, friend and fought all his battles with relentless passion. He will be missed by those who truly knew what was in his heart," Haney said in a statement.

State Rep. James DeSana, who is friends with Carmack's son, said Carmack lived in Woodhaven and leaves behind a wife and children. DeSana said Carmack had pancreatic cancer that had moved into his spine.

Henry Mayers, who runs the Madness Films production company, met Carmack while working on videos about ex-Mayor Coleman Young's political campaign. Through his work, he met Carmack, and said the two hit it off through their support for Detroit's longest-serving mayor. Mayers said he was shocked when he found out his friend died earlier this week.

"It became a friendship, but it really was a business arrangement between us and as time went on … him and I became friends after that. As we became friends, he got sick and, unfortunately, I saw his health deteriorate rapidly. It was kind of disturbing," Mayers said. "It happened so quick. Two months ago, he was OK ... next thing you know, he's not responding or talking anymore. It was quick."

Despite Carmack's public feud with political figures, Mayers described him as a generous and funny guy who fought against corruption.

"He just wouldn’t take s--- from anybody, and I think that’s one of the things that kind of attracted me to him as a friend. I saw a guy who was willing to fight against wrongs that were done to him. Especially some of these things that he would do, the stunts that he would do were sort of a big middle finger to the establishment. That was kind of an endearing thing to see, is somebody who wasn’t afraid to take on power. I think that eventually led to his demise physically and mentally. It was a rough fight for him. I think it affected his health. They did a lot of things to mess with him," Mayers said.

Carmack was a collision shop owner who frequented City Council and public meetings with the mayor. He often slammed Duggan , claiming he orchestrated criminal charges against him for pointing out abuses of power among public officials.

"People took vengeance out on him," Mayers said. "He was a political prisoner of the system."

For years, Carmack honed his focus on the mayor's whereabouts, pulling off a bold act of airing surveillance footage of Duggan outside of city hall in an attempt to publicly shame him. Carmack said he hired private investigators to follow Duggan after hours and capture footage, which appeared to show him visiting a woman’s house. It prompted the mayor and his then-wife, now divorced, to issue a statement defending their marriage.

Duggan's office offered condolences to the family.

Carmack has blamed Duggan for attempts to evict him from his collision shop , the demolition of a building he said he owned and for ignoring his plans to build a development on the riverfront. He later faced multiple felony charges on claims that he sold a piece of property he didn't own, though charges were dismissed. In those years waiting for the dismissal, Carmack said he was tethered by an ankle monitor, which prevented him from leaving his home.

"Things that I helped him put together were videos showing how City Council had screwed with him on his land deals. And I have a number of videos I've done for him, taking City Council meetings and taking parts that he was involved in, people like Gabe Leland and others that made statements about his situation, and his fight with Mayor Duggan. It became really, really personal," Mayers said.

'You can stand up no matter what'

Former state Rep. Cynthia Johnson, D-Detroit, said she had known Carmack for about five years, and “our relationship was trying to inform the people about the corruption that’s going on in the city of Detroit specifically by Mike Duggan.”

“I’ll tell you this man had a heart of gold and he truly believed in exposing corruption,” she said.

Johnson said that even after he faced charges stemming from the land deal, “he continued to go before the City Council and he continued to try to shine a light on Mike Duggan.”

“I think what he really … wanted to do is to show people, hey, you can stand up no matter what.”

Free Press reporter Violet Ikonomova contributed to this story.

Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@freepress.com. Follow her: @DanaAfana .

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Bob Carmack, who went after Mayor Duggan and corruption, dies at 65