I did not see this coming.
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced today to 28 years in prison for corruption. Wow…. When Kwame was elected at just 31 in 2001, he was America’s sweetheart and became the youngest person to hold the city’s top position. He brought new attractions to the city’s riverfront and much-needed business investment downtown. Too bad the scandals he now’s headed to jail for brought him down in 2008.
I had to refresh my facts on Kwame so let me share. That year Kwame resigned after he lied under oath during a police whistle-blower lawsuit and approved an $8.4 million settlement to try to cover it up. After pleading guilty to charges of obstruction of justice, Kwame served four months in jail and was ordered to pay $1 million to the city. He was soon behind bars again for hiding assets from the court and telling a judge that he could afford to pay only $6 a month in restitution.
All this in addition to fattening his bank account by tens of thousands of dollars, traveling the country in private planes and strong-arming his campaign fundraiser for stacks of cash.
“I’m ready to go so the city can move on,” Kwame told the judge. “The people here are suffering, they’re hurting. A great deal of that hurt I accept responsibility for.”
In March, Kwame was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, fraud, extortion and tax crimes. The government called it the “Kilpatrick enterprise,” a years-long scheme to shake down contractors and reward allies. Sadly, he was doomed by his own text messages, which revealed efforts to fix deals for a pal, Bobby Ferguson, an excavator who got millions of dollars in city work through the water department.
Agents who pored over bank accounts and credit cards said Kilpatrick spent $840,000 beyond his salary during his time as mayor. Defense attorneys tried to portray the money as generous gifts from political supporters who opened their wallets for birthdays or holidays, but obviously this explanation did not fly.
I do recall the sexually explicit text messages which revealed that Kwame had lied during a trial to cover up an affair with his top aide, Christine Beatty. The messages also tried to hide the reasons for demoting or firing police officers who suspected wrongdoing at city hall.
Pretty soon Detroit voters will elect a third mayor since Kilpatrick’s departure. The city is under the control of an emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, for at least another year. Orr, with the blessing of Michigan’s governor, took Detroit into bankruptcy in July, saying there was no other way to solve $18 billion in long-term debt. The case is pending.
Kwame increased the city’s debt obligations to fill budget gaps while he was in office.
A $1.44 billion borrowing deal he brokered in 2005 to restructure the city’s pension liabilities, though applauded by many at the time, added to the city’s estimated $18 billion in long-term liabilities.
Wow… I had NO idea how much damage Kwame had done. Sad. He had so much potential.
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