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Detroit has lost one of its sharpest watchdogs. Jim Mitzelfeld, the Detroit-born investigative reporter turned federal lawyer who helped expose corruption in the Michigan legislature and later served as senior counsel at the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General, has died at 64 after a battle with cancer. He spent his final days in hospice care in northern Virginia with his wife at his side.
The news of his death was first reported by Deadline Detroit, which noted that he retired last fall after a long run in both journalism and federal service. Eric Freedman, his Pulitzer co-winner, told Deadline Detroit, "Jim was an intrepid reporter, and his decision to head to law school deprived Michigan of a top journalist."
Pulitzer-winning reporting
Mitzelfeld and Eric Freedman earned the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting for what the judges called "dogged reporting that disclosed flagrant spending abuses" at the Michigan House Fiscal Agency, work that helped spark federal investigations. The Pulitzer citation is listed on The Pulitzer Prizes.
From Lansing bureau to the Justice Department
After shifting from journalism into the law, Mitzelfeld spent years in federal practice and eventually joined the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General. A 2015 OIG transcript identifies him as "a senior counsel" in that office and captures him introducing himself on an agency podcast; the document is available from the DOJ Office of Inspector General.
Career, family and remembrance
As reported by Deadline Detroit, Mitzelfeld joined The Detroit News staff in 1988 after earning his undergraduate degree and later attended the University of Michigan Law School. He clerked in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, worked as a trial lawyer and served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Detroit's economic crimes unit, then took on investigative counsel duties for NASA's inspector general before becoming senior counsel to the DOJ OIG in 2015; he retired last fall.
He married Lisa Grayson in 1985 and is survived by two children, Paris and Ben. Friends told Deadline Detroit that Ben is due to marry in May, a milestone his father will not see. Colleagues have posted condolences, remembering Mitzelfeld as both a relentless reporter and a generous co-worker.
