Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Kwame Kilpatrick continued....

I came across some Internet based sources of Info on some of the Detroit Mayor's past alleged indiscretions. All I can say is that if true, he certainly made RichardDaley look good, which takes some doing.
"He was criticized for using city funds to lease a car for use by his family and using his city issued credit card to charge thousands of dollars worth of spa massages, extravagant dining, and expensive Moët et Chandon champagne. Kilpatrick would later pay back $9000 of the $210,000 credit card charges"
"In January, 2006, the Detroit News reported that, “… Kilpatrick used his special administrator authority to bypass the water board and City Council on three controversial contracts: • A $131 million radio system that will be used mostly by Detroit police and fire departments. • A $21.3 million security upgrade performed by a company tied to the mayor's friend, Bobby Ferguson. • A $38,000 no-bid public relations contract awarded to Bob Berg, the spokesman for Kilpatrick's re-election campaign"
"Kilpatrick's first controversy started as rumors of a wild party in the fall of 2002 involving strippers at the official residence of the mayor—the city-owned Manoogian Mansion. It is alleged by former members of the mayor's Executive Protection Unit that the mayor's wife, Carlita Kilpatrick, came home unexpectedly and upon discovering Kwame with the strippers began to attack one of the women."
"Tamara Greene was a 27-year-old exotic dancer who went by the name "Strawberry" and who claimed to have performed at the Manoogian Mansion party. While sitting in her car with her boyfriend, Greene was shot 3 times with a .40 caliber Glock handgun. Her boyfriend was wounded, but he was not shot after the white Chevrolet TrailBlazer driven by the shooter(s) turned around and drove by a second time. This fact led Bowman to conclude that Greene was the intended target and not her 32-year-old boyfriend"
"In 2005, WXYZ-TV reporter Steve Wilson reported that the city had entered an expensive one year lease for a luxury SUV. It was to be used to chauffeur the mayor's family. The lease was for $24,995; five dollars under the amount that would have required the approval of city council. Kilpatrick, chief of staff Christine Beatty, police chief Ella Bully-Cummings, and other members of the mayor's staff all denied that the red Lincoln Navigator was intended to be used by the mayor's wife and children. Eventually, Kilpatrick admitted the Navigator was for his family, claiming he had told the police chief that it was "too much" and to take it back"
"On May 8, 2007, WXYZ reported that Kilpatrick used $8,600 from his secret Kilpatrick Civic Fund to take his wife, three sons and babysitter on a week long vacation to a five-star California resort, the La Costa Resort and Spa. The fund, controlled by Kilpatrick's sister and friends, was created to improve the city of Detroit through voter education, economic empowerment and crime prevention. Tax and accounting experts said Kilpatrick's use of the fund was a violation of IRS regulations. The story was also compounded after WXYZ's cameras caught Kilpatrick in a fit of rage grabbing the microphone out of the hand of reporter Ray Sayah and throwing it hard across the room such that it hit a wall, while Sayah tried to question him about the situation."- Wikipedia

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