"Your failure to begin construction...and to discharge the lien placed on the premises are material breaches of the lease," says Matthew C Keck, attorney for the state in a letter of eviction to Nederlander.

Penny Davis, a spokesman for the state department of management and budget,says Nederlander had many chances to develop the property. "We have worked with him," Davis insists. "We've given him a lot of extensions. This eviction was the best decision for the fairgrounds and the state."

Phone calls to Nederlander for comment on the allegations were not returned.

A large sticking point was a seemingly traitorous switch of plans to sell the 36-acre hotel property to the Detroit School District for a profit.

The state attorney general's office halted completion of the purchase agreement of the 36 acres, claiming he defrauded the government in plans for Detroit land.

The attorney general's office says Nederlander indicated he intended to build hotels on the property. Instead, the developer sold it to a friend, who then in turn sold it to the Detroit public schools for $11 million more than what it was originally purchased.

Nederlander was to purchase the land for $6.1 million as part of his lease of the fairgrounds.

He says he sold it to a real estate investment trust, headed by a former business partner, for $10.5 million after local residents and four cities, including Detroit, Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge and Huntington Woods, filed a lawsuit to prevent the construction of a Grand Prix racetrack at the fairgrounds.

The suit is still in discovery.

Nederlander also has sued the state to allow him to buy the 36 acres, claiming the loss of the hotel deal was not his fault.