KingKwame.com - Kwame Kilpatrick

Yatooma Files Appeal in Tamara Greene Murder Case

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 19:54:21 -0400

#JusticeForTamaraGreene

Originally Posted on ClickOnDetroit.com »

Tamara Greene’s attorney files appeal challenging case dismissal
Attorney Norman Yatooma says he is not giving up search for Detroit dancer’s killer

DETROIT -Attorney Norman Yatooma says he’s not giving up the search for Greene’s killer even though the case was previously thrown out.

On Tuesday, Yatooma filed an appeal challenging a judge’s decision to dismiss the case against the city of Detroit and former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

“Everything, for these young kids, as it relates to finding out what happened to mom, everything rides on this appeal,” Yatooma said.

He said the evidence speaks for itself: Police were demoted or fired, computer files were destroyed and witnesses are terrified to testify. He calls it a cover up.

“What is undeniable, what even Kwame Kilpatrick can’t deny, is the party investigation happened. in two days, after the fruits of that party investigation were leaked to Kwame Kilpatrick, tampering occurred,” Yatooma said.

However, insiders say the appeal is a waste of time and the decision will not be overturned, pointing out that Kilpatrick has already been questioned and few new pieces of evidence will be revealed.

Kwame releases trailer for upcoming movie about HIMSELF

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:18:00 -0400

Kwame continues to try and find ways to bilk even more money out of the people that he stole millions from. This time, it’s by releasing a movie about himself. No doubt, the movie will be about how he is innocent of the 14 thousand charges that he’s been hit with over the years, and how whitey is out to get him. This man will never change. He has proven this throughout the years leading up to and since his first couple of jail/prison sentences. Oh well. His biggest prison sentences are yet to come.

To top it off, it’s billed as an “Ayanna Kilpatrick” film. That’s right, Ayanna Kilpatrick, the felon. Kwame’s sister, the felon. A felon making a film about a felon. Touching.

——-

March 13, 2012 at 9:22 am
Kwame Kilpatrick releases trailer of upcoming movie

By Tom Greenwood | The Detroit News

Story originally posted on DetroitNews.com »

Detroit— Mayor, defendant, prisoner, author, radio personality and now future movie star: Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is the subject of a soon-to-be-released docu-film titled “The Real Kwame Kilpatrick” by his sister, Ayanna Kilpatrick Ferguson.

A trailer teaser just released on YouTube features a third-person monologue by the former mayor saying, “I know you’ve heard so many stories about Kwame Kilpatrick. I’ve heard so many of those stories myself.

“Today, I want you to sit back and relax, open your mind because I am the real Kwame Kilpatrick.”

The teaser for the film, which has no release date provided, also shows the former mayor signing autographs, appearing on radio talk shows and smiling broadly while riding in the back of an SUV.

“Everyone assumes they know me,” Kilpatrick tweeted Tuesday. “Here’s the beginning of me telling my own story…the real story!”

A videographer could be seen following Kilpatrick in August when he was released from the front doors of the old State Prison of Southern Michigan near Jackson after completing the adjusted minimum of an 18-month to five-year sentence for violating probation on felony charges stemming from the infamous text-message scandal.

The teaser also contains a somber interview with Kilpatrick’s wife, Carlita:

“After he was sent to prison, they mailed me his suit,” Carlita Kilpatrick says to the camera. “I was sad…he was gone. His suit still had his cologne on it…but I knew he’d be home.”

Home for the Kilpatrick’s is now in a spacious house in Texas as he faces federal racketeering charges this fall. The state of Michigan earlier this month hiked Kilpatrick’s monthly restitution amount from $160 to $500 and ordered him to perform community service every month. It will take Kilpatrick more than 143 years to pay off the restitution.

The new figure and parole conditions follow a review prompted by concerns he is hiding assets and living beyond his means. Kilpatrick owes the city $859,723. Kilpatrick also must perform 16 hours of community service every month and submit monthly accountings of expenses and income.

He also must provide a full accounting of gross sales and proceeds from sales of his new book, “Surrendered: The Rise, Fall & Revelation of Kwame Kilpatrick.”

That is a particularly important condition because Kilpatrick is selling the books at speaking engagements across the country, but has not forwarded any money to an escrow account. A Wayne County judge created the account in June to capture Kilpatrick’s book profits for use toward his criminal restitution.

The $500 monthly figure puts Kilpatrick on par with his former mistress and chief of staff, Christine Beatty.

She agreed to pay $100,000 as part of her 2008 plea to criminal charges stemming from lies she and Kilpatrick told under oath. She also served 69 days in the Wayne County Jail and agreed to stop taking law school classes.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has urged the state to increase the monthly payments to $1,000. Worthy also had asked Michigan Corrections officials to review and modify his restitution payments after a November report in The News about Kilpatrick’s move into a $372,000 home in Grand Prairie, Texas.

The 5,000-square-foot home is larger and more expensive than the family’s last rental, but Kilpatrick is claiming poverty to qualify for taxpayer-funded criminal defense lawyers and low restitution payments.

Kilpatrick says Carlita Kilpatrick is leasing the home.

Kilpatrick also must disclose money from book sales received by Aktion Enterprises, a company founded by Kilpatrick’s sister Ayanna Ferguson.

Aktion Enterprises’ deal with the Murfreesboro, Tenn., book publisher, Creative Publishing Consultants Inc., calls for 50 percent of the profits.

Kilpatrick also must disclose if he assigns rights to his intellectual property.

Last month, The Detroit News reported that Kilpatrick said he is so broke he had to borrow money to pay his $160 restitution to the city in January and hasn’t repaid $240,000 in loans from Compuware co-founder Peter Karmanos Jr. and businessmen Roger Penske, Dan Gilbert and James Nicholson.

tgreenwood@detnews.com
(313) 222-2023

Staff writer Robert Snell contributed.

Kwame ordered to triple his restitution payments

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 16:15:55 -0500

Original Story Posted on Freep.com »

Kwame Kilpatrick ordered to triple his restitution payments
1:26 PM, March 1, 2012

Ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s pocketbook just took a hit as the Michigan parole board today increased his restitution by more than 200 percent, from $160 a month to $500 a month, concluding he can afford to pay a lot more than he has been.

Kilpatrick, for example, had been paying more than $314 a month for cable – more than double his restitution payment, which raised eyebrows on the parole board.

According to Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Russ Marlan, Kilpatrick also has been ordered to perform community service every month for 16 hours. He also has to provide the parole board a monthly list of his expenses and income. And when the expenses exceed his income, he has to explain why.

His book sales are also being scrutinized. Under the new parole conditions, Kilpatrick is required to disclose the gross sales and any proceeds from his new book.

Marlan said that Kilpatrick, in seeking parole, had said during his interview with the parole board that paying his restitution was a top priority. The state is now holding him to that, he said.

“I sat in on that interview, and the one thing (Kilpatrick) said repeatedly during the interview was that he wanted to get out and pay his restitution, and that paying his restitution was one of the most important things that he would focus on,” Marlan recalled.

According to Marlan, one of the most significant issues that impacted the parole board’s decision to hike Kilpatrick’s restitution was that his codefendant and former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, is paying $500 a month in restitution.

“They were like, ‘If she can pay $500 a month, then he can certainly pay $500 a month,’ ” Marlan said.

The new restitution figure and parole conditions came amidst concerns that Kilpatrick was hiding assets and living large.

In December, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy had asked Kilpatrick’s restitution be increased from $160 a month to $1,000, citing his lavish lifestyle.

In August, Kilpatrick, his wife and three sons moved into a 5,016-square-foot home valued at $338,400 in Grand Prairie, Texas. The home is bigger than the Manoogian mansion, and an upgrade from the Texas home that the Kilpatricks were previously living in: a 3,588-square-foot home valued at $235,000.

In a December letter to the parole board, Worthy wrote that Kilpatrick is paying cash for food at stores like Sam’s Club, Costco and Kroger, “most likely to avoid the paper trail.” It also said that Kilpatrick claims to earn $3,750 a month, pays $2,600 a month in rent and more than $800 a month for a car. Worthy also wrote that Kilpatrick is spending almost $2,000 more than he’s making

“What’s more likely true is he is again hiding assets,” Worthy wrote.

Kilpatrick still owes $859,222.80 in restitution for a probation violation stemming from the text message scandal that drove him from office. At $500 a month, it will take him more than 143 years to pay it off.

Kilpatrick’s lawyer James Thomas was not readily available for comment.

Another Kwame appointee indicted yawn

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:28:47 -0500

Original Story Posted On Freep.com »

Detroit corruption probe: Ex-treasurer indicted, the Kilpatrick appointee accused of taking bribes, kickbacks

February 29, 2012
By Tresa Baldas and Jennifer Dixon

Now it’s about dirty pension deals.

The federal government’s public-corruption probe, which has targeted everything from contract bid-rigging schemes to dirty sludge and water deals, tapped a deeper vein Tuesday when prosecutors announced the first indictment stemming from a years-long investigation into Detroit’s pension funds.

The indictment charged ex-Detroit Treasurer Jeffrey Beasley, a onetime fraternity brother and appointee of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, with taking bribes and kickbacks in a scheme that cost two Detroit pension funds $84 million in investment losses.

Tuesday’s indictment also follows a yearlong Free Press investigation of the city’s pension funds in 2009 that revealed lavish travel by trustees and staff, questionable dealings by secretive middlemen and repeated incidents in which the funds’ investment adviser failed to detect potential problems in the backgrounds of several businessmen pushing deals.

Legal experts say the Beasley indictment is a sign of what’s to come: more indictments from the government’s ever-widening public-corruption probe.

“It was another pool of money,” former federal prosecutor Peter Henning said of the pensions, noting: “It sounds like it’s not just Beasley alone on the inside.”
Ex-Detroit treasurer plans to fight pension fund corruption indictment

A long-running investigation involving City of Detroit pension funds came to fruition Tuesday in the form of a six-count indictment against one man: former Detroit Treasurer Jeffrey Beasley, a fraternity brother and appointee of ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

Wally Piszczatowski, Beasley’s lawyer, said he was baffled: Why, after years of probing, he asked, was no one else charged? A federal grand jury handed up the indictment Jan. 18, although it wasn’t unsealed until Tuesday.

“To me, that’s the most amazing thing — that they would only charge one person,” said Piszczatowski, noting that roughly a dozen other members sat on pension boards with his client. “I haven’t seen the witness list, but I can bet that everybody who was testifying against Jeffrey before the grand jury is looking for, or has gotten, some kind of deal.”

As for Beasley: “Jeffrey has always maintained his innocence, and there will be a number of witnesses who line up with him at trial to prove his innocence,” Piszczatowski said.

Beasley, who lives in Chicago, was indicted on charges he and unnamed others took bribes and kickbacks in a scheme that cost two Detroit pension funds $84 million in losses. He took the bribes in exchange for approving more than $200 million in pension fund investments, the indictment said.

The bribes, the indictment said, came in all forms: cash, travel, meals, golf clubs, drinks, gambling money, hotel stays, entertainment, Las Vegas concert tickets, limos and private plane flights.

Tuesday’s indictment follows a series of Free Press investigations that showed $480 million in pension fund losses between February 2008 and late 2010 from bad investments.

The Free Press also reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission had widened its investigation of the funds, requesting as many as 1 million pages of records on more than 150 investments.

According to longtime police and fire pension trustee George Orzech, the funds are suing to recover money lost in at least a half-dozen deals.

As for Beasley’s indictment, Orzech said Beasley’s tenure marked a time when the board had “gone bad for a small period of time.”

According to the indictment, the bribes, which were paid to Beasley and his co-conspirators, came from individuals who had business before the General Retirement System and the Police and Fire Retirement System of the City of Detroit.

As city treasurer, Beasley sat on the boards of the two pension systems and helped decide on investments, authorities said.

The indictment alleges Beasley personally pocketed more than $100,000 in cash. Beasley and others also demanded that individuals having business before the pension funds contribute tens of thousands of dollars to the Kilpatrick Civic Fund in order to receive approval for their investment requests, the indictment said.

“This is another example of a once-trusted public official abusing their power for personal gain,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Andrew Arena, who warned that public corruption remains a high priority for the federal agency.

Beasley also is charged with five counts of extortion or attempted extortion, accused of extorting more than $10,000 in cash from persons doing business before the two pension funds at what was called a “birthday party” in his honor.

Specifically, the indictment said, Beasley demanded $250,000 from the owner of an investment company in exchange for Beasley’s support of $44 million in investment funds from the two pension funds. Beasley also demanded and received $20,000 from Marc Andre Cunningham, a former Kilpatrick aide who acted as a consultant for a communications company that received $30 million in investment funds from the two pension funds, the indictment said.

Cunningham pleaded guilty to bribery last year and is awaiting sentencing.

If convicted, Beasley faces up to 20 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine on each of the six extortion counts.

The indictment also seeks forfeiture of more than $225,000 in unlawful payments received by Beasley and his co-conspirators.

Meanwhile, the city’s General Retirement System said it will continue to cooperate with the government in its ongoing probe.

“Although we respect the rights of anyone who is the subject of an indictment, as well as their presumption of innocence, the General Retirement System of the City of Detroit unequivocally supports all efforts by federal officials to uncover any and all criminal wrongdoing associated with the pension fund,” the pension fund said in a statement.

Staff writer M.L. Elrick contributed to this report.

Brand New KingKwame.com LIKE page on Facebook

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 16:03:58 -0500

LIKE our new page on facebook, and we will reeeaaaallly like YOU!

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Disgusting Racist Email We Received Today

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:49:05 -0500

Unfortunately, allowing people to email you means that you’re going to take the worst along with the best. Here’s what we received today, from a Mr. Martin Damskov, who used a fake name. Here is Mr. Martin Damskov’s facebook page, which we found by searching the email address that he used to send this. Please visit and tell him how you feel about his emails. Or, just email him.

——-

From: Cazm Barchetta <cazzbaa@yahoo.com>

Real Name: Martin Damskov (http://www.facebook.com/LucShadowcat)

Date: Thu, Feb 23, 2012 at 8:30 PM

“This guy is the case in point illustrating the reason Africa will ALWAYS be a failed Continent, what he does is what niggers in Africa
do all day long to one another. Kilpatrick was handed every advantage in life but he cannot help his natural proclivity to be a thug and a bully.. Kwame Kilpatrick is the archetypal nigger, (he lies where the truth will do, he steals when someone would give to him what he seeks, and he cheats the people who elected him to the seat of power?) He’s a lying, Fucking fat ass Nigger!”

Texas tells Kwame to Get A Job

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 02:48:15 -0500

Story from DetNews.com »

February 20, 2012 at 1:00 am
Texas to Kwame Kilpatrick: Get a job
Emails ex-mayor wrote to say he’s broke also reveal he hasn’t filed taxes since 2008

By Robert Snell | The Detroit News

Detroit— Texas parole officials have a message for former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick: Get a job.

The message was revealed in Kilpatrick’s personal emails to Texas and Michigan prison officials, which were obtained by The Detroit News. Kilpatrick said he is so broke he had to borrow money to pay his $160 restitution to the city last month and hasn’t repaid $240,000 in loans from Compuware co-founder Peter Karmanos Jr. and businessmen Roger Penske, Dan Gilbert and James Nicholson.

“The money is gone,” Kilpatrick said, adding he has not made a single loan payment.

The emails — along with news that Kilpatrick has not filed his tax return since 2008 — are surfacing as officials in Michigan are poised to increase his court-ordered restitution to about $500 a month. The review was prompted by concerns he is hiding assets and living beyond his means.

Michigan Corrections officials have made a decision on the restitution and instituted new parole conditions and are mailing them to him Tuesday. They won’t announce what they are until he gets the letter in the mail, said Corrections spokesman Russ Marlan. Kilpatrick owes $860,222.

In a Feb. 3 email to a Texas parole official, sent from his personal account “The Real KMK!” Kilpatrick complained about being told to look for a job. He said Texas officials have rejected appearances and trips to New York and Cleveland and that he earned no money in January.

“I understand that I am a ‘high-profile’ parolee, but I am incredibly confused as to why I’m being treated differently than ANYONE else,” he wrote. “I have never asked for any special treatment, nor do I want to be treated especially bad.”

The emails were obtained by The Detroit News from the Michigan Department of Corrections through the Freedom of Information Act.

The ex-con, who resigned in disgrace in 2008 amid a text message scandal and who faces racketeering conspiracy charges in federal court, complained the Corrections crackdown and canceled appearances are hurting his reputation.

“This has not only hurt my ability to earn income, but has begun a conversation in this industry that I am unable to commit in a timely fashion,” Kilpatrick wrote.

He said he was confused about being ordered to report to the Texas Workforce Commission earlier this month to register for a job. Kilpatrick insists he has a job giving speeches and making public appearances.

“We would not consider occasional speaking engagements to be steady employment,” Texas Criminal Justice Department spokesman Jason Clark told The News.

Kilpatrick was making $120,000 a year as a salesman for a division of Detroit computer software giant Compuware until 2010. He was fired after Wayne County Judge David Groner put him back behind bars for violating probation by hiding assets that could have been applied to the $1 million restitution he agreed to pay the city.

“He had a job,” Kilpatrick attorney James C. Thomas said Friday. “They took it away from him.”

The emails also shed light on Kilpatrick’s controversial move last year to Grand Prairie, Texas.

In a Feb. 3 email, Kilpatrick said his wife, Carlita, is leasing the $372,000 home.

The 5,000-square-foot home is larger and more expensive than the family’s last rental, but Kilpatrick is claiming poverty to qualify for taxpayer-funded criminal defense lawyers and low restitution payments.

“I HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE,” he wrote.

Wayne County prosecutors disagree. Prosecutor Kym Worthy wants Kilpatrick to pay at least $1,000 a month toward the $860,000 restitution balance.

The job demand is appropriate, Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Maria Miller said Sunday.

“Although long overdue, requiring Kilpatrick to seek gainful employment to pay his restitution obligation is certainly a step in the right direction,” she said.

Worthy had asked Michigan Corrections officials to review and modify his restitution payments after a November report in The News about Kilpatrick’s move into the larger home.

Following media reports, Texas parole officials made “abrupt sweeping changes,” Kilpatrick complained in an email.

Those changes include increasing the number of times he has to check in with parole officials.

“This has caused severe harm, in my ability to earn income, pay my court ordered restitution and even the overall scheduling of my professional, personal and family obligations,” he wrote.

Kilpatrick’s parole conditions have not changed, Clark said.

In the Feb. 3 email, Kilpatrick said the travel restrictions are a concern because he has $11,000 worth of appearances and book signings lined up this winter, including stops in Chicago, Detroit and a cruise to Jamaica and the Bahamas.

Kilpatrick was offered $1,500 to appear at a six-day Caribbean cruise and sign books during the Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage in late March.

Along with his appearance fee, Kilpatrick gets a free cabin and can sell copies of his autobiography during the nationally syndicated radio host’s cruise.

Kilpatrick also was offered $5,000 to participate in an “ethics workshop” in April at a forum in Virginia for black public administrators.

“I don’t believe that there are ANY jobs at the Texas Work Commission, where I could earn as much income as I could from what I am doing now,” Kilpatrick wrote. Clark denied that Texas officials rejected Kilpatrick’s request earlier this month to travel to Cleveland.

The emails reveal new demands placed on Kilpatrick by Michigan prison officials.

They recently requested copies of tax returns for 2008-10.

Kilpatrick submitted his 2008 tax return but said he didn’t file in 2009 or 2010 because he was incarcerated for violating probation on felony charges from the text message scandal.

He said he will file for those years and 2011 by April 15.

Michigan prison officials also wanted a list of all bank and credit union accounts he accessed last year. They also demanded an update on the personal loans he received from Karmanos and the other businessmen in February 2009.

He was supposed to start repaying those loans in November 2010. As of last month, he hadn’t made a single payment.

Michigan prison officials didn’t ask about a second mysterious loan, however.

During a November 2009 court hearing, Kilpatrick testified he received a $150,000 loan after being released from jail. He refused to talk about the loan during the hearing.

“I’m going to take the Fifth,” he said.

rsnell@detnews.com

(313) 222-2028

Kwame could pay $1 million in fines for campaign violation

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:18:49 -0500

Original Story on ClickOnDetroit.com »

Kwame Kilpatrick ordered to pay fine for campaign finance violation
Former Detroit mayor ordered to pay $11,000 fine
Author: Roger Weber, Local 4 Reporter
Published On: Feb 17 2012 12:35:03 PM EST

DETROIT - Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has been ordered to pay an $11,000 fine for using campaign funds to pay his legal expenses. But he could have been on the hook for much more.

Secretary of State Ruth Johnson had argued that Kilpatrick should pay back $976,000 , plus fines. She said campaign finance laws prohibited him from using campaign dollars to defend himself against felony charges, including perjury.

However, Kilpatrick’s lawyer Jim Thomas has convinced an administrative law judge that the payments were proper.

“It was our position that if he was convicted of a felony he would automatically lose his job, so to keep his job he had to fight the case,” said Thomas.

The administrative law judge ruled against Kilpatrick for using campaign funds to defend himself against a charge of assaulting a public officer.

He must pay the $11,000 fine within 30 days, or the matter will be turned over either to a circuit court or to the Michigan Department of Treasury.

“This decision illustrates why we need laws that will allow us to uphold the integrity of our elections system,” said Johnson. “Re-election campaign funds should never be used to pay legal fees associated with a criminal case nor should candidates or elected officials be allowed to ignore reporting requirements.”

READ: Fine order for Kilpatrick

Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and resigned from office in 2008 after he lied at a civil trial to cover up an extramarital affair with his chief of staff, which was exposed through a series of graphic text messages. That lawsuit cost Detroit $8.4 million.

Kilpatrick was imprisoned in May 2010 for failing to disclose assets and surrender sufficient funds that could have reduced his $1 million restitution to Detroit. He was released Aug. 2, 2011, and has moved to Texas with his wife and three sons.

Kwame fined $11k for campaign finance violation

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:17:45 -0500

Original Story from DetNews.com »

Kilpatrick mayoral campaign fined $11K for finance violation

By Robert Snell | The Detroit News

Detroit— Kwame Kilpatrick’s mayoral campaign must pay an $11,000 fine for campaign finance violations, far less than the nearly $1 million sought by the state.

A Michigan State Department hearing officer said Friday a $10,000 payment to Detroit lawyer Gerald Evelyn in 2008 was an unauthorized incidental expense. The $11,000 fine includes a $1,000 penalty for violating state law.

The campaign paid Evelyn the money to defend Kilpatrick on assault charges in September 2008. Kilpatrick pleaded no-contest to the assault of two investigators who tried to serve a subpoena on a friend at his sister’s home.

“This decision illustrates why we need laws that will allow us to uphold the integrity of our elections system,” Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said in a prepared statement. “Re-election campaign funds should never be used to pay legal fees associated with a criminal case nor should candidates or elected officials be allowed to ignore reporting requirements.”

The $976,000 fine sought by the Secretary of State was equal to the amount Kilpatrick drew from the fund to pay lawyers.

The $11,000 fine stems from a complaint filed by former Wayne State University law professor Maurice Kelman who claims Kilpatrick improperly used his campaign fund to pay lawyers who defended him during the text message scandal.

Kilpatrick admitted to lying when he testified in 2007 in a whistle-blower lawsuit brought by former Detroit police officers who said they were expected to facilitate and cover up Kilpatrick’s extramarital affairs.

Later releases of text messages sent between Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, showed both lied when they denied under oath they had a sexual relationship.

Two years ago, former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land offered to settle the campaign finance complaint if Kilpatrick paid a $1,000 fine and reimbursed the state $10,000. The offer was never acted upon.

rsnell@detnews.com

(313) 222-2028

New Extortion Charge for Kwame & Ferguson

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:59:00 -0500

*yawn*

Original Story on Freep.com »

Kwame Kilpatrick, pal Bobby Ferguson face new extortion charge in corruption probe
4:59 PM, February 15, 2012

Ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and longtime pal Bobby Ferguson got hit today a new criminal charge, this one involving extortion, the Free Press has learned.

According to a second superseding indictment returned today by a federal grand jury investigation public corruption, Kilpatrick and Ferguson obtained more than $90,000 from an unnamed towing contractor that was doing business with the Detroit Police Department from 2003 to 2008.

According to the indictment, during February 2003, at the direction of members of the Kilpatrick Enterprise, an associate of Kilpatrick’s obtained about $9,000 cash from the towing contractor. Around July 2004, the towing contractor gave $25,000 to a political action committee, instructing the PAC to give the money to Kilpatrick’s campaign.

The PAC and Kilpatrick’s associate were not named in the indictment.

According to the indictment, that same month, the PAC gave the towing contractor’s $25,000 to Kilpatrick’s campaign.

Around 2005, Ferguson directed the towing contractor to give $9,500 cash to Ferguson; the contractor complied in order to prevent Ferguson from using his influence with Kilpatrick to adversely affect the towing contractor’s business with the Detroit Police Department, the indictment charges.

The indictment also said that around May 25, 2005, Kilpatrick directed a high-level member of the Detroit Police Department to meet with the towing contractor to review the contractor’s proposal to manage all the towing for the Police Department.

Kilpatrick and Ferguson will be arraigned on the new charge at a later date.

Kwame tries to sue SkyTel for $1 billion

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:27:00 -0500

In case you didn’t already know, Kwame Kilpatrick is a loser. A big one. He now believes that, after having his ridiculous case against SkyTel thrown out, that he can file the same case in Mississippi and sue them for literally the largest payout in the history of lawsuits, $1 billion.

Story [with Video] from ClickOnDetroit.com »

Will former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick soon be a billionaire?
Florida attorney Willie Gary says he can make it happen

Author: Kevin Dietz, Local 4 Defenders

DETROIT -Make no mistake, Kwame Kilpatrick wants to be rich – filthy rich. Meet the man who says he will make it happen.

Florida attorney Willie Gary says in the next 10 days he will file a lawsuit in Mississippi that could set the record for the largest award in history. He says kwame Kilpatrick will be a multi-millionaire: not $10 million or $20 million not $100 million or even $500 million. He says he will deliver a $ 1 billion dollar verdict to Kwame Kilpatrick.

Willie Gary knows a lot about money. He lives in this incredible $10 million 25,000 square foot waterfront mansion in Florida.

He knows a lot about making other people money. The last time he was in Mississippi he won an anti trust case worth $500 million. Now he’s going back to Mississippi to sue Skytel on behalf of Kwame Kilpatrick.

Recently a Federal Court sent the Kilpatrick case to State Court. Gary says it could increase Kilpatrick’s payday ten-fold

Kwame Kilpatrick was convicted of perjury, forced to resign as mayor of Detroit. Right now he is charged in a 38 count federal racketeering indictment; Gary says that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve millions of dollars from Skytel.

Skytel released thousands of Kilpatrick’s messages, including dozens of sex messages to his secret lover Christine Beatty, to an attorney who gave them to the media.

Kilpatrick Civic Fund paid for racist "Lynching" ad

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:18:10 -0500

Originally posted on freep.com »

Consultant: Kwame Kilpatrick’s civic fund paid for controversial ‘lynching’ ad
January 20, 2012

A new report has emerged about fibbing by former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

In 2005, a controversial campaign ad targeting black voters turned up in the Michigan Chronicle, portraying the then-Detroit mayor as the victim of a “lynching” by the news media. The full-page ad featured an old photo of an actual lynching of a black man, alongside photos of members of the local news media, including Free Press columnist Brian Dickerson.

At the time, no one could be found who would claim credit for the attack, which some said helped Kilpatrick’s come-from-behind re-election over Freman Hendrix. Kilpatrick did his best to distance himself, issuing a public statement saying his campaign had nothing to do with it.

But now comes veteran Detroit political consultant Adolph Mongo, who this week told WDIV-TV’s Kevin Dietz that he orchestrated the creation and publication of the ad. Furthermore, Mongo said, not only did Kilpatrick know about his efforts, but Kilpatrick’s nonprofit Kilpatrick Civic Fund paid for the ad. The fund was supposed to be used for charity.

The issue comes up now because Mongo said he recently testified before a federal grand jury that has charged Kilpatrick and others with multiple counts of racketeering, bid-rigging and conspiracy. Grand jurors are investigating whether the civic fund was used properly, and they asked Mongo about the ad.

For what it’s worth, Mongo told Dietz that, six years later, the advertisement was probably over the top.

Contact Jim Schaefer at 313-223-4542 or jschaefer@freepress.com.

Kwame's racist "Lynching" campaign ad may put him back in prison

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:15:08 -0500

Originally posted on here »

2005 ‘Lynching’ Ad May Help Send Kilpatrick Back to Prison

Published : Thursday, 19 Jan 2012, 6:40 PM EST
By ROBIN SCHWARTZ
WJBK | myFOXDetroit.com

DETROIT (WJBK) — The feds continue to build their corruption case against Detroit’s former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and they’re looking at a controversial political ad. The so-called “lynching” ad helped get Kilpatrick re-elected, but it could also help send him back to prison.

It ran in the Michigan Chronicle just days after the death of civil rights icon Rosa Parks. A racially charged ad with a photo of three men hanging from ropes accused the media of lynching Kilpatrick.

Political consultant Adolph Mongo says Kilpatrick paid him to create it and he’s proud of it.

“It got [people’s] attention. That’s what it was all about,” he said.

The 2005 message was credited with helping Kilpatrick get re-elected, but now it’s also part of the federal case against him.

Mongo was called to testify before a grand jury about who paid for the ad and where the money came from. At the time, Kilpatrick said it wasn’t him and he didn’t condone it, but Mongo says Kilpatrick did pay for it out of his civic fund.

“The issue is did the money go for the intended purpose? If I am a donor to the civic fund, I want that money to be used for civic purposes,” said FOX 2 legal analyst Charlie Langton.

“That was something that the mayor’s people should have been aware of that you can’t spend money out of that account on ads, consultants,” Mongo said. “When a mayor gives you a check, you don’t think about where it came from. You take it.”

Mongo’s not in any legal trouble, but Kilpatrick faces a federal indictment accusing him of misusing the money in the civic fund like a slush fund for personal gain. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

Kilpatrick’s racketeering trial is set to begin in September. The former mayor has said he’s looking forward to clearing his name, but Langton says that may be easier said than done.

“There’s a money trail. There’s a paper trail. You make deposits, and we’re talking millions of dollars, and all the feds have to do is just get one or two little connections where the money went to someplace improperly and that’s going to be bad for Kwame Kilpatrick,” he explained.

Consultant: Kwame lied about racist campaign attack ad

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:13:10 -0500

Original posted on free.com »

Consultant: Kilpatrick lied in 2005 by disavowing campaign attack ad
3:08 PM, January 19, 2012

A new story has emerged about fibbing by former Detroit Kwame Kilpatrick, a convicted liar.

The latest is from the mouth of veteran Detroit political consultant Adolph Mongo, who admitted to WDIV-TV’s Kevin Dietz that, back in 2005, the Kilpatrick Civic Fund paid for a very controversial newspaper advertisement some credited with helping Kilpatrick win re-election.

This despite Kilpatrick’s statements at the time that he had nothing to do with it.

The full-page ad, which ran in the Michigan Chronicle, proclaimed that Kilpatrick was the victim of a “media lynching” in Detroit, and prominently featured an historic photo of an actual lynching. No one could be found who would claim credit for launching the attack ad.

But now Mongo, while admitting the advertisement was over the top, has told Dietz he created the ad to help Kilpatrick’s 11th-hour comeback bid against Freman Hendrix.

Mongo said he already has testified about the ad to a federal grand jury that has charged Kilpatrick and others with multiple counts of racketeering, bid-rigging and conspiracy. Grand jurors wanted to know whether Kilpatrick’s nonprofit civic fund, which was supposed to benefit children in Detroit, paid for that ad.

Back in 2005, Kilpatrick issued a public statement, saying his campaign had nothing to do with it. “Detroiters are very passionate people, and while I appreciate the spirit of some of the content, I do not condone the images in this advertisement,” his statement said.

But Mongo told Dietz, in a story that aired Wednesday, that not only did Kilpatrick OK the ad, he financed production of it with money from his civic fund.

Contact Jim Schaefer at 313-223-4542 or jschaefer@freepress.com.

Judge dismisses Kwame's suit against Skytel

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:09:03 -0500

Teehee.

—————

Originally posted on freep.com »

Judge dismisses Kwame Kilpatrick’s text message lawsuit against Skytel
9:28 PM, Jan. 10, 2012

A federal judge in Mississippi today dismissed ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s lawsuit against Skytel, the City of Detroit’s former communications provider, for releasing the text messages that brought about his downfall.

U.S. District Judge William Barbour Jr. of Jackson, Miss., said Kilpatrick filed an amended lawsuit there in March 2010 without first getting court approval to do so, as required by Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure.

Barbour kicked the case back to a state court in Hinds County, where Kilpatrick could fight the legal battle. The case conceivably could wind up back in federal court.

The case was scheduled to go to trial Jan. 30 trial in federal court.

There was no immediate comment from lawyers for Kilpatrick or Skytel.

Kilpatrick sued Skytel for invasion of privacy and violation of the federal Stored Communications Act for releasing text messages to Royal Oak attorney Michael Stefani in response to a subpoena in a police whistleblower lawsuit.

Stefani requested the messages after a Wayne County Circuit Court jury in 2007 awarded a $6.5-million judgment to two cops who said Kilpatrick and his chief of staff, Christine Beatty, ruined their careers for asking questions about a rumored wild party at the mayoral Manoogian mansion in the fall of 2002.

Stefani used the messages to leverage an $8.4-million settlement of the case in question and a second lawsuit involving another cop.

In January 2008, the Free Press published excerpts from text messages that showed Kilpatrick and Beatty lied at the whistleblower trial about their intimate relationship and misled jurors about the firing of one of the cops. The newspaper has never said how it obtained text messages.

Kilpatrick and Beatty subsequently were charged with perjury, pleaded guilty in the case and served time in jail. Beatty resigned shortly after the scandal broke. Kilpatrick’s plea deal required him to resign.

Contact DAVID ASHENFELTER: dashenfelter@freepress.com.

Kwame makes comment about Killing Strippers getting less prison time

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:20:28 -0500

Yes, you heard that right. Kwame, in reference to Blago (blowjobovich)’s prison term, sent out THIS tweet, which I’ve screen capped in case of deletion, about KILLING STRIPPERS and getting less time in prison. How far have we fallen from the truth? Not very, in Kwame’s case.

Full Story With Kwame’s Support for Blowjobovich Here »

Kwame Kilpatrick Stands Up For Blago
By Edward McClelland

One of Rod Blagojevich’s stoutest defenders — literally and figuratively — is a fellow disgraced Midwestern politician, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

Kilpatrick, who was forced to resign after lying under oath about having an affair with his chief of staff, took to Twitter on Wednesday. Using the #FreeBlago hashtag, he tweeted “PRAY for my dude #Blago, the Feds trying to lock him up for a long bid today.”

After Judge James Zagel handed Blagojevich a 14-year sentence, Kilpatrick pointed out, in a poorly worded tweet that referred to a personal legal matter, that many murderers serve less time than the governor will.

I’m not exactly a fan of Kilpatrick, but we did go to the same junior high school in Lansing, Michigan, while his mother, former Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, was serving in the Michigan State House of Representatives. Kilpatrick and Magic Johnson are the school’s two most famous alumni. So there’s a connection. Also, I agreed with him that Blagojevich’s sentence was too harsh. So I tweeted “@KwameKilpatrick I know a murderer who got less than #Blago. Guy in Lansing killed his gay lover, did 7 for 2nd degree.”

A few hours later, Kilpatrick tweeted back, “smh.” Shaking My Head.

Kilpatrick has good reason to be concerned about long federal prison sentences. He’s already served a year in prison for violating his probation on an obstruction of justice charge. Next year, he’s going on trial in federal court for allegedly taking $1 million in kickbacks on water and sewer contracts.

Kwame restitution payments getting raised

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:03:51 -0500

Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy believes that Kwame’s ridiculously low $160/month restitution payment (toward $860,000) should be raised to at LEAST $1,000/month, given that he appears to be hiding assets while living lavishly in a 5,000 square foot mansion in Texas, which is larger than the mayoral Manoogian mansion that he lived in while mayor of Detroit. It looks like the judge is raising his payments, but only to $500. Not enough, judge.

Original story posted on DetNews.com »

Last Updated: December 08. 2011 12:02PM
State will hike Kilpatrick restitution payments
Robert Snell/ The Detroit News

Detroit— State prison officials will force Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to make higher restitution payments amid concerns he is hiding assets and living beyond his means.

A state prison official told The Detroit News on Wednesday that Kilpatrick’s monthly payment probably will rise from $160 to about $500 — a 212-percent increase.

The development is emerging as new figures indicate Kilpatrick’s nationwide tour in support of his recently released autobiography is a financial failure.

Despite visiting several cities and giving a speech at Eastern Michigan University, Kilpatrick, 41, reported no income in November, Michigan Corrections Department spokesman Russ Marlan said.

“We’re going to require him to make increased payments,” Marlan told The News. “He has a sizeable amount to pay and he’s been making pretty small payments.”

In an email Thursday, Kilpatrick said he was not surprised and hoped state and county officials could move on.

“I will continue my work with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials, and follow all rules, regulations and conditions of my parole,” he said. “I am currently in complete and full compliance with all parole conditions, and I fully intend to continue to do so.”

The restitution review was prompted by a report in The Detroit News last month that Kilpatrick, his wife and three children had moved into a $372,000 home in Grand Prairie, Texas. The 5,000-square-foot home is larger and more expensive than their last rental.

Kilpatrick defended the move, saying his costs declined.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy is concerned because Kilpatrick’s monthly expenses exceed his income by almost $2,000, according to financial records submitted by the former mayor.

She wants Kilpatrick to pay at least $1,000 per month.

“What’s more likely true is he is again hiding assets,” Worthy wrote in a Dec. 2 letter requesting the state review and modify Kilpatrick’s restitution payment. “A restitution payment in the amount of $160 per month is laughable.”

Kilpatrick claimed his monthly income is $3,750, according to Worthy.

He pays $2,600 a month in rent, more than $800 for a vehicle and almost $315 for cable television — almost double his restitution amount.

“Moving out of the house into a cheaper, less costly residence — I don’t know how achievable that is. I don’t know what kind of lease he has,” Marlan said. “One thing he can do is cancel the cable. That’s not an essential life function.”

In 2008, Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, resigned as mayor and promised the city $1 million restitution in a deal that avoided trial on multiple charges, including lying under oath during the text message scandal.

He went to prison in May 2010 for failing to make payments based on a finding that Kilpatrick hid or squandered hundreds of thousands of dollars.

He still owes $860,000 in restitution.

Kilpatrick’s monthly expenses indicate he is paying cash for food at stores “most likely to avoid the paper trail of a bank account,” Worthy wrote in the letter.

“Mr. Kilpatrick’s lifestyle would suggest he has assets far beyond those he is reporting to the (Texas parole) field agent,” Worthy wrote. “He is once again making a mockery of the judicial system …”

Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Maria Miller said Wednesday it is premature to comment on the state’s willingness to increase Kilpatrick’s restitution payment.

Kilpatrick negotiated the lower restitution figure with Texas officials in October. That figure was based on an alleged agreement between the former mayor and an unidentified person in the Wayne County Clerk’s Office, Worthy said.

Worthy’s office investigated and learned there was no agreement.

rsnell@detnews.com
(313) 222-2028

[video] WDIV goes to Texas to question Kwame, pt. 1

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:11:00 -0500

Watch Video here »

WDIV, local channel 4 in Detroit, decided to go to Texas themselves to take a look at Kwame’s lavish lifestyle in his 5000 square foot mansion (larger than the mayoral Manoogian mansion), and to question him. Per usual, he denies doing everything that got him put in prison to begin with, denies all allegations of his upcoming federal trial which will land him up to 30 years in prison, and blames everyone else for what he’s done. Yes, he even continues to blame and insult wayne county’s rock star prosecutor Kym Worthy (whose hand I’d love to shake one day).

Greene family appeals lawsuit dismissal

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 22:08:58 -0500

Original posting on freep.com »

Family of Tamara Greene appeals dismissal of lawsuit against Kilpatrick, Detroit
1:06 PM, Nov. 23, 2011

By David Ashenfelter
Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

The family of a slain stripper said to have danced at a rumored wild party at the mayoral Manoogian Mansion in 2002 has appealed a judge’s recent decision to dismiss a lawsuit against ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and the city of Detroit.

The family of Tamara Greene filed notice to appeal today in U.S. District Court in Detroit. Their lawyer, Norman Yatooma of Bloomfield Township, indicated he plans to appeal the judge’s decision to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnatti.

Greene, 27, was killed in a drive-by shooting in April 2003, some eight months after supposedly dancing at the party. Her children charged in a lawsuit that Kilpatrick and city officials sabotaged her murder probe to prevent her killers from being brought to justice and sued for her death.

Chief U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen dismissed the lawsuit Nov. 1, saying there is no evidence that Kilpatrick or other city officials derailed her murder investigation.

There was no immediate comment from Yatooma, the city or Kilpatrick.

Contact David Ashenfelter: dashenfelter@freepress.com

Facebook Page: Stand Up Against Kwame at EMU

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:20:52 -0500

Some Eastern Michigan University students have created this facebook page to hopefully do something about the group from EMU who decided it was a good idea to pay Kwame to speak at EMU. Many students are outraged. Help out by clicking “Like”.

Facebook page: Stand Up Against Kwame Kilpatrick at EMU »