Detroit thread. Post Kwame, Monica, and $1 houses here.

[Iormlund]

So, it looks like I might work in Farmington Hills from February to April.  How is that neighbourhood?

You're picking Detroit over Singapore?

Heh, I'm glad I'm not the only one flabbergasted at that.

[Admiral Yi]

For the record Detroit has some pretty nice suburbs.

[MadImmortalMan]

For the record Detroit has some pretty nice suburbs.

Toledo?

[Caliga]

Heh, I'm glad I'm not the only one flabbergasted at that.

My guess is that he enjoys peeing in elevators.  Singapore has a problem with that sort of thing.  Detroit, not so much. 

[stjaba]

Time did a story about the last white city council member in Detroit:

Sheila Murphy Cockrel, a member of the Detroit city council, has never been afraid to swim against the tide. She opposed proposals to create "Africa Town," a district exclusively for black-owned businesses in the heart of downtown. She regularly sparred with the city's former mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, who resigned in 2008 amid enormous legal problems. Just last month, she drew headlines for abruptly leaving the council's chambers to protest a rushed measure, backed by Christian conservatives, to restrict alcohol sales at Detroit's strip clubs. "It was an act of democracy to walk out and not let the process be hijacked by people with a narrow interest," she said later.

But in some ways, Cockrel is a relic of Detroit's past. She is the only white member of the city council and, when her term ends in late December, she could well be its last. Even though she is personally popular, she is leaving the council partly because she is tired of the scandals that have rocked the city lately. Her departure is a significant moment in the history of Detroit, the largest majority-black city in America. In the 1950s, when Detroit's population reached its 2 million peak, nearly 1.6 million white people lived here. In 1990, though whites were still represented in several major elected posts, they comprised only about 20% of the population. Now, whites make up barely 8% of the city's estimated 912,000 residents. (See pictures of the remains of Detroit.)

Demographer William H. Frey of the Brookings Institute projects that whites may account for only 5% of Detroit's population by 2020. If those trends persist, it is unlikely that Detroit will ever again elect a white person to a major citywide post. But Cockrel, 63, may try to buck that trend. She is now studying whether she has the kind of crossover appeal to win a congressional seat out of Detroit.

Cockrel is aware that much of her potential bid's appeal and challenge lies in her personal narrative. She grew up in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood in the 1950s and '60s — a period when, she recalls, it was populated largely with Irish and Maltese immigrants as well as Puerto Ricans. Her parents managed a soup kitchen. As a student at Wayne State University in the late 1960s, she had a front-row seat to one of the defining moments in Detroit's history: the 1967 riots — or "rebellion," as she recalls it. On the morning of July 23 of that year, Detroit police officers raided an unlicensed bar in a black neighborhood, triggering nearly a week of mayhem in which 43 people died. Hundreds of buildings across the city burned. Military tanks rolled through the streets. "It was horrifying to sit on your front porch, feeling completely impotent," Cockrel recalled one recent afternoon. She defied her parents and left their home to help move many of the injured to hospitals. Within months, many whites fled Detroit — accelerating an exodus to the suburbs that had begun with the post–World War II auto-industry boom. But Cockrel's family stayed. (See the top 10 news stories of 2009.)

Much of Cockrel's attention shifted to various social-justice causes, particularly the fight against police brutality. That's how she met Ken Cockrel Sr., an African-American attorney whom she eventually married. In the early 1970s, the couple supported the efforts of Detroit's first black mayor, Coleman Young, to integrate the city's police force. That led to the appointment of Detroit's first black police chief and, eventually, the suspension of a unit known for harassing young black men. Cockrel helped her husband win a city-council seat, and he was viewed as a leading potential successor to Young. But in 1989, Ken had a heart attack and died. For a while, Sheila stayed home to care for her young daughter. Four years later, she successfully ran for a city-council seat of her own, hoping to be an advocate for the kind of policies her husband had championed, like making literacy classes mandatory for all pregnant teenagers. "That, in our mind, was the way you're going to create opportunities for people," she says.

Cockrel quickly became known as one of the council's most astute political observers and best-prepared members. She regularly sparred with a fellow city councilmember, Monica Conyers — wife of Democratic Congressman John Conyers Jr. — who recently pleaded guilty to bribery charges. She's also had her differences with the current city-council president — Ken Cockrel Jr., her own stepson. He recently called her walkout from the city council's chambers during the strip-club debate "the height of irresponsibility" and said it "shows a high level of disrespect for the people that put elected officials in office." (See TIME's 2009 Person of the Year: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.)

Cockrel says race and ethnicity did not factor into her decision to leave Detroit's city council. Ultimately, she says, residents will elect "people they believe are authentically going to represent their interests — and get their lights on." But race remains an unavoidable theme in this region's narrative. Some blacks have called Cockrel a racist, despite her background, while whites have questioned her racial authenticity. During a dinner at a downtown Cuban restaurant recently, a white suburbanite told her, "You're one of my black friends." Cockrel wasn't amused.

In November, voters elected Dave Bing, the steel magnate and former NBA star, and five new city councilmembers. They face daunting challenges, starting with a budget deficit of at least $275 million and a nearly 30% unemployment rate. Detroit also needs to attract and retain a sizable middle class — of any hue — which is difficult given the sorry state of schools, public security and business. The situation is so dire, the state of Michigan may seize control of Detroit in the coming months. "With the kind of challenges the city is going to face," Cockrel says, "I can make a better contribution not at that table but from another place."

Officially, Cockrel says she will teach public policy at Wayne State University. But many political observers expect her to be a formidable candidate for the congressional seat currently held by Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, a Democrat and the former mayor's mother. Kilpatrick is vulnerable, observers say, mainly because of her son's persistent legal problems. Still, if Cockrel decides to run for the 13th congressional district seat, she will face an uphill battle: the district was gerrymandered mainly to ensure an African-American majority.

She says she may make up her mind in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, she is carefully planning the curriculum for her Wayne State classes and working on a book exploring Detroit's history and future. "I'm not interested in this sort of blind optimism," she said recently when asked to consider what's needed to revive Detroit. Government's fundamental functions must be reconsidered, she said, so citizens can regain confidence that it will provide basic services. She added, "There's huge potential here."

[Syt]

(See pictures of the remains of Detroit.)

[LaCroix]

a few weeks ago i visited west baltimore. i hope to see the great city of detroit someday

[Savonarola]

And it looks like Detroit's number one couple may be heading to splitsville:

Police: Caught with woman, Riddle pulls gun on Waters
Cops arrest the political consultant, seize firearms
BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER


Police responded at 4:25 p.m. to a town house on Navarre, said police spokesman John Roach.

Riddle had been living there with former state Rep. Mary Waters.

Two guns were recovered, including the shotgun, Roach said.

The police source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Waters found Riddle with another woman in a compromised position. The source said Waters retrieved a camera and Riddle got a shotgun and pointed it at her. Waters called police, who arrested Riddle. They also arrested the unidentified woman for possession of a small amount of marijuana and outstanding traffic warrants, Roach said.

Riddle could face felonious assault charges, though late Monday, none had been filed, Roach said.

Riddle and Waters both face federal charges that they spread bribes to Southfield officials to help a pawnshop win city approval to relocate there.

Riddle also faces unrelated federal charges in the Synagro sludge-hauling contract scandal with the City of Detroit.

Riddle's arrest could jeopardize personal bond
Riddle's arrest Monday in a reported domestic altercation had lawyers on both sides of his federal cases wondering whether his freedom on a personal bond could be yanked by a judge.

Riddle, who is facing federal charges in two separate bribery cases, has been free on a $10,000 personal bond. But he has pushed the limits with U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn, who has been upset with Riddle's comments about the cases on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

The latest allegation against Riddle is that he pointed a shotgun Monday at Waters during a domestic dispute over a love triangle at her Detroit home, according to a police source familiar with the investigation.

Riddle was arrested and taken to the Detroit Police Northeastern District for questioning. Police said that shortly after 7 p.m., Riddle complained of feeling ill and said he didn't have his heart medication. They transported him to Detroit Receiving Hospital for evaluation.

Riddle's lawyer John Minock said he expected Riddle to be arraigned today on new charges but was unsure whether they would affect Riddle's bond in the federal cases.

"Potentially, it could, but I'm hopeful it does not, because it really has nothing to do with the federal case," Minock said.

Gina Balaya, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said it was too early to tell how her office would respond.

Riddle faces trial along with Waters on federal charges that they spread bribes to some Southfield officials to help a pawnshop win city approval to relocate there.

Riddle also is facing unrelated federal charges in connection with the Synagro Technologies scandal in Detroit. He is accused of hand-delivering a bribe to former Detroit Councilwoman Monica Conyers for her vote to give a $1.2-billion sludge disposal contract to Synagro. Conyers pleaded guilty to bribery and is scheduled to be sentenced next year.

Riddle's previous lawyer, David Steingold, said one of the conditions of bond is to not incur any additional criminal charges.

"Could it be the basis for a bond review? Absolutely," Steingold said. "For bond, you have two considerations: Risk of flight is one. The other is to prevent a danger to the community. If the court perceives this as him being a threat to the community, that could have some bearing.

"But I doubt it because this is connected to one person, not the entire community. There could be a no-contact order with the alleged victim."

On Friday, Cohn ordered Riddle to stop posting comments about his criminal cases on social networking Web sites. Riddle fired back outside the federal courthouse, challenging the judge's right to infringe on his free speech.

Cohn had said he would not delay the Jan. 5 jury selection date for Riddle's trial in the Synagro case. But he said he would consider pushing back the actual trial for a week after a jury is seated.

I thought they were going to make it; I really did. 

[Savonarola]

Another Travel With Charlie; this time about Sam Riddle:

Riddle's stream of hot air stifled by arrest
Charlie LeDuff / The Detroit News
Detroit

Sam Riddle, the besieged political consultant, called me last weekend. He hadn't called in a long time, not since I called him a "rat" on a political talk show after he failed to appear as promised.

The last time I spoke to Riddle, he questioned my sexual orientation, hung up the phone and promptly un-friended me from Facebook. That left him with only 4,194 others.

I didn't take it personally. Riddle is like that. Riddle talks big. He is the Technicolor side plot in the Kabuki theater of Detroit politics.

Even with the feds barking at his heels -- Silk Pajama Sam was always bulletproof cool, freshly pressed, always good for a quote. He gave me an interview while showering at the YMCA. He said things that have been reprinted far and wide: For instance: "The only difference between Detroit and the Third World, in terms of corruption, is that there are no goats in the streets of Detroit."

While other all-stars of the corrupt city political scene cut deals with federal prosecutors, Riddle stayed true to the "no-snitch" culture of Detroit. The FBI asked him to wear a wire; he refused, saying: "You wear a wire in this town, you're done."

Instead, he dared the feds to "indict my black a--."

They did. And now Riddle faces two federal trials: One on extortion-related charges stemming from his time as a top aide to former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers and a second for allegedly bribing a Southfield city councilman.

The feds apparently have 20,000 recorded phone calls of Riddle, his lawyer said. The feds have Conyers. They have the Southfield councilman.

By the look of things, they've got Riddle cornered. Still, Riddle yammered on.

But it was a quiet and introspective Riddle to whom I was speaking on the telephone, not the brash and profane man that I know.

"If they take away my First Amendment right, what will they do with yours?" he asked me after some small talk. He was making reference to a federal judge who forbade him last Friday to post anymore musings on Facebook or Twitter for fear that he would bias the jury pool.

"If a nobody little black man from Detroit is a threat to the Constitution, I think we've got bigger problems in this country than Sam Riddle."

But it wasn't disagreement over the First Amendment that got Riddle into his latest trouble this week. It was the Second Amendment.

The night after we spoke, Riddle was found in bed, the police said, with a 30-year-old woman, which is normally not a problem.

The trouble is, he was found in the bed by former state Rep. Mary Waters, his live-in girlfriend. Waters, in fact, owns the townhouse. Waters is also a co-defendant in the Southfield bribery case.

Theirs is a complicated relationship.

Upset, Waters went to get a camera. Riddle, got a shotgun, trained it on Waters and cocked it. That's what Waters told police when they arrived, anyway. According to the police, she said Riddle and the girl were naked. She has since recanted that detail.

Theirs is a complicated relationship.

Nevertheless, Riddle and the other woman were chauffeured off to jail.

So now Riddle has a third trial, with the magistrate calling him "a danger to society" on Tuesday. She ordered Riddle to stay 1,000 feet from Waters and released him on $2,500 bond for felonious assault with a deadly weapon. Riddle, a political consultant who once charged $250 an hour, is destitute. This is according to his court-appointed lawyer, John Minock.

Riddle spent Tuesday night in the Wayne County Jail -- in Kwame Kilpatrick's old cell, he said.

Then Wednesday came more humiliation. A federal court judge sentenced Riddle to Flint. That is, the judge let Riddle out of jail with the caveat that Riddle stay at his mama's house in Flint at least through Christmas and undergo daily alcohol testing and a psychological screening.

His lawyer Minock may have said it best. "(Riddle) and Mary Waters still care deeply for each other," said Minock. "I can only imagine the pressure they're under."

So Sam Riddle crumbles under the weight of being Sam Riddle. And suddenly he's not so entertaining anymore. He's pitiable. Broke and homeless and pointing guns at a 54-year-old woman.

It was his James Brown moment: guns, liquor, cops and mug shots.

I followed Riddle Monday night to the police station. When police pulled him out of the squad car, he was not dressed in the woolen suits and power ties you see him in on TV. He was wearing sweats and handcuffs. He looked elderly and in bad repair.

"Any thing I can do for you Sam?" I shouted.

For the first time since I'd met him, Sam Riddle had nothing to say.

This does look like it's the end for Sam.

[Savonarola]

Earlier this week it was reported that the real unemployment rate in Detroit may be 45%, rather than the official rate of 27%.  However as the Detroit News "Living in the D" blogger explains that number doesn't grasp the true scope of economic activity in Motown:

The unemployed, underemployed and underground
This week came the shocking news that Detroit's official jobless rate of 27 percent was likely underestimated by nearly half. Really, 50 percent unemployment? The idea that half of all Detroiters spend their days scouring monster.com, filling out applications and sending out resumes is unthinkable.

As with everything in Detroit, I suspect it's more complicated than that.

It reminded me of one of the first posts I wrote for this blog, about Detroiters who work in the "underground economy." These are people who, on the books, are unemployed - but they've got jobs (sort of) and income. They're the grandmas baking cakes to sell at church, the hair braiders operating from their living rooms, the mechanic who fixes your car in his driveway. They don't pay taxes and may be collecting government aid, and it adds up to some sort of living.

There are plenty of unsavory types - drug dealers, dog fighters, thieves, hookers, scrappers who'll do thousands of dollars in damage to buildings to steal a few bucks' worth of resellable material. Detroit's hustlers can be very entrepreneurial. Only in Detroit have I heard of guys for hire who will hook up your house to steal utilities or a young punk who rented out his assault rifle for armed robberies. Once while I was involved with some filming near McNichols and Hayes, a guy approached our crew and offered to let us use his candy-painted, spinning-rimmed, pimped-out '80s hooptie in the video for $1,000. We laughed, but he was dead serious. Want to bet whether he would've filed income taxes on that $1,000?

It's complicated, but any way you look at it, Detroit's economy is seriously broken. Imagine how much better off the city would be if these people were paying taxes, like the half who are legitimately employed. Imagine how much safer we'd be without the hustlers wandering around, always looking for a way to make a buck at someone else's expense. Imagine if they could settle their "business" disputes in a courtroom instead of with a bullet.

Fifty percent unemployment. It's yet another statistic that's nearly impossible to comprehend, and to figure out how to fix, until you've been here.

[Savonarola]

Personally I blame the rap music:

A look at Detroit's unsolved homicide cases
By AMBER HUNT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Unsolved homicides abound in Detroit, where only about 30% of homicides are closed and witnesses are often reluctant to step forward for fear of retaliation. Here is a sampling of some unsolved homicide cases.

Store owner shot down at his shop
Henderson Bowman, 66, was fatally shot outside his Detroit convenience store June 10. Bowman, a Vietnam veteran, had owned the Bowman's party store, where he held family fun days and passed out free hot dogs. He had recently bought Mrs. D's Place on Broad Street with plans to fix up the building and change the name. He was closing shop with two employees of the former owner when two men ran from the side of the building and opened fire.

2 young lives lost in botched carjacking
By all accounts, 22-year-old Brandan Rogers and 19-year-old Melynda Goodwin were in the wrong place at the wrong time when they were gunned down April 9. Detroit police say they believe the two were shot as part of a botched carjacking. Rogers and Goodwin were with a group of friends about 2:40 a.m. when two men approached and demanded the keys to Goodwin's black 2008 Dodge Charger parked outside Off Broadway East, a nightclub on Harper near Norcross. Police said the group was trying to cooperate with the armed men when Rogers and Goodwin were shot.

'Superman' found shot and burned
His real name was Wilburn Coakley III, but his friends knew him as Superman. Coakley, 38, was found dead March 11 in an abandoned warehouse at Atwater and Orleans streets. He had been shot and burned. His body was found 15 feet from his burned-out Ford Explorer. Police have no suspects. Community donations have increased the reward offered by Crime Stoppers in this case to $11,000.

Teen killed over a diamond necklace
Seventeen-year-old KeAndre Johnson refused to hand over his diamond cross necklace to an armed robber at a Marathon gas station June 28, where he had stopped with two cousins about 11:45 a.m. The robber opened fire, striking Johnson and one of the cousins. While the injured cousin survived, Johnson -- who had just completed his junior year of high school -- died outside the gas station at East Warren Avenue and Anderdon.

Here are some unsolved cases predating 2009:

Father of 2 found dead in his home
Antwine Robinson's body was discovered in his home Nov. 15, 2008, on Liberal Street near Gratiot and 7 Mile. Robinson, 32, was a construction worker and father of two who studied heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems at Wayne County Community College District.

4 years later, and still no answers
Skip Layne Jr., 23, was killed just after midnight Aug. 11, 2005, outside of his girlfriend's mother's home near 8 Mile and John R in Detroit. Witnesses told police that a man who appeared to be about 18 years old had called Layne to a nearby fence and asked for a cigarette. As the teen bent down to tie his shoe, Layne was shot dead. The teen was questioned and released; there are no known suspects in the case. Layne was a construction worker and father of a 1-year-old daughter.

Teen shot 10 times at friend's house
Otis (To-To) Waller was just 18 when someone broke into a friend's house on the 18000 block of Pierson near 7 Mile and Evergreen about 6 a.m. April 8, 2008, and shot him in the chest. The suspect fired about 10 shots. Police say there were two or three other people in the house, but none said they saw the slaying. Waller had recently gotten a certificate from Job Corps in Grand Rapids, a no-cost education and career training program designed for economically disadvantaged youths.

19-year-old killed over Cartier glasses
Detroit police said 19-year-old Clifford Terry likely was gunned down by thieves who wanted his Cartier glasses. Terry was walking home from a bus stop on Detroit's west side March 21, 2007, when two men approached and robbed him near Grand River and West Grand Boulevard. Terry was shot in the back of the head. He was a student at Oakland Community College who worked two jobs to save for a car so he wouldn't have to depend on public transportation, Crime Stoppers said.

Father bludgeoned in club parking lot
Stephen Clark, a 26-year-old father of three, was killed Jan. 12, 2007, when someone bashed in his head and stole his van as he stood in the parking lot of an adult club talking to patrons. Clark had been out celebrating a friend's birthday at All Stars on 8 Mile. He was readying to leave about 2:20 a.m. when he was attacked with an unknown blunt object. Clark, who worked at Kmart, had one daughter and two sons between the ages of 3 and 7.

[Savonarola]

And it wouldn't be Detroit if we didn't ring in the New Year with a new scandal:

Feds probe Detroit's pensions
SEC, grand jury seeking records on deals, adviser
BY JENNIFER DIXON
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Share Federal authorities are investigating several deals connected with Detroit's two public pensions, including some investments chronicled by the Free Press during the past year.
 
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a federal grand jury have requested records on at least two pension deals totaling $40 million.

Authorities also are asking questions about the pensions' investment adviser, Adrian Anderson of North Point Advisors, whose vetting of several deals that lost millions of dollars was the subject of a Free Press report in April.

Anderson's lawyer said he can't discuss what investigators are asking about.

"Obviously, there is an investigation relative to the pension boards and some of the investments that Mr. Anderson has been involved with," said attorney Anthony Chambers of Detroit. "Obviously, there is an interest in North Point Advisors and Mr. Anderson in his professional capacity."

City pension officials could not be reached for comment. But they clearly have been following the investigation.

In May, meeting minutes from the police and fire pension board show pension trustees voted to reimburse Anderson's defense lawyer $15,000 for legal work relating to grand jury proceedings involving Anderson and his company.

U.S. probe into pension funds connects to City Hall scandals

These developments, among others, have prompted federal authorities to investigate the dealings of the city's pensions -- one for the police and fire departments, another for general city workers.

Although the reach of the probes remains uncertain, Detroit political consultant Sam Riddle's trials on bribery and extortion charges, expected to begin this month in federal court, may provide some clues. The government's witness list is packed with people connected with the pension funds -- including former trustees, employees, money managers and middlemen. Investment adviser Adrian Anderson also is listed.

Pension officials did not return calls or respond to e-mails seeking comment on the investigations.

Potential for abuse
Peter Henning, a Wayne State University law professor and former federal prosecutor, said federal investigators likely are looking at potential securities fraud and the controversial practice of making payments to middlemen, which the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission wants to ban because of its potential for abuse, such as kickbacks.

The Free Press reported in August that Detroit's pensions routinely ignored their own rules and invested millions with companies that refused to disclose when they pay middlemen to broker deals. In some cases, political insiders -- such as ex-pension trustee Steven B. Pankake -- obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars for helping companies secure money from the pensions.

"The middlemen payments are an issue the government is spending more time looking at" in general, Henning said, "especially in the pay-to-play area." Federal and state officials are "very concerned about these middlemen and how they're funneling pension assets."

A wider investigation
The pension inquiries appear to be part of the wide-ranging investigation of City Hall corruption that has led to bribery pleas or convictions for several people, including former Detroit City Council president and general pension board trustee Monica Conyers. So far, the pleas and convictions involve a $1.2-billion sludge-hauling contract with Houston-based Synagro Technologies and kickbacks to Cobo Center officials.

Conyers is to be sentenced in March, but that will not necessarily end the federal scrutiny. The Detroit News reported in June that federal agents also are looking into whether Conyers enriched herself while serving on the general retirement board and are seeking records and expense reports relating to a 2007 investment recommended by Conyers.

Riddle, Conyers' former chief of staff, faces the first of two scheduled trials this month, with jury selection set for Jan. 12. Among the allegations are that Riddle, and Conyers, demanded money from a technology company, and from a second business that sought financing from the general retirement board.

Requests for records
The Free Press has learned the SEC asked the pensions in October for records on a $20-million investment with Onyx Capital Advisors of Detroit.

The Free Press reported in April that Onyx's Roy Dixon Jr. promised 20% returns in his 2006 investment pitch to the pensions. He also touted his partner, Elliot Fullen, an executive with Hexion Specialty Chemicals, a multibillion-dollar company based in Ohio. Fullen, however, denied any official role in Dixon's company.

Dixon did not return repeated calls from the Free Press.

A federal grand jury, meanwhile, has requested information from Oracle Capital Partners, which also received $20 million in city pension money.

A spokeswoman for Oracle said the company was advised "that it is neither a target nor a subject of the investigation."

The feds' interest in transactions involving adviser Adrian Anderson follows a Free Press report in April that raised questions about how carefully Anderson vetted the people and firms seeking pension investment money, including three failed deals that cost the public pensions $90 million.

The newspaper found that he wrote approvingly of people and businesses with well-documented histories of failing to pay bills; that had been sued for cheating other investors, or with unsubstantiated claims of sizable wealth or revenue.

Asian Village and TradeWinds
Another investment under federal scrutiny is Asian Village, a failed restaurant complex on the Detroit River that received $2.75 million from the general retirement board.

Donald Watkins, an Alabama businessman who persuaded the funds in 2007 to invest $30 million in TradeWinds Airlines, a North Carolina air cargo company, has said he testified before a federal grand jury in February.

Watkins contends trustees asked him for favors such as a flight on his jet and campaign contributions. TradeWinds declared bankruptcy after receiving the pension funds' money. The pension boards have sued Watkins and his company in federal court over the airline's demise.

Many of the pension board trustees are either city council members or well connected members of the city bureaucracy; so this has the potential to be a big scandal.

[Zanza]

So, it looks like I might work in Farmington Hills from February to April.  How is that neighbourhood?

You're picking Detroit over Singapore?

Just saw this quoted. No, I picked Singapore. If the visa works out, I'll start working there for three month in February. 

[Savonarola]

Prosecutors want $225,000, checks on Kilpatricks' big spending
Restitution should come in month, they say, but jail is OK, too
BY M.L. ELRICK
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

One reason former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick may have been able to spare only $6 a month could be the thousands of dollars he and his wife spent on maid service, limousines, car washes and a Dallas art school, a Free Press analysis of spending from the Kilpatricks' checking accounts shows.


The Kilpatricks also paid more than $17,000 to a Texas mega-church and its pastor, $5,000 to their church in Detroit and $2,500 to the Nation of Islam, according to the records, which the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office released Tuesday.



The checking account details were attached to a motion accusing Kilpatrick of violating his probation. It says he and his wife, Carlita Kilpatrick, spent nearly $630,000 between October 2008 and October 2009.


Kwame Kilpatrick's annual salary as a Texas-based software salesman is $120,000. He has accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans and gifts since he was convicted of obstruction of justice in late 2008.



Prosecutors accuse Kilpatrick of hiding assets while claiming he was struggling to make court-ordered payments on the $1 million he owes the City of Detroit.



Kilpatrick attorney Michael Alan Schwartz said Tuesday he had not had a chance to review the records.



"The motivation is to destroy Mr. Kilpatrick," he said. "He's out of politics. Apparently, that's not enough for the prosecutor."

Checking account details where money went
Kilpatrick should be required to make a $225,000 restitution payment in the next month and adhere to strict new spending guidelines, prosecutors argued Tuesday during the wrap-up of Kilpatrick's protracted restitution hearing.

Schwartz urged Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner not to make any changes to the terms of Kilpatrick's probation, which includes repayment of $1 million to the City of Detroit stemming from his plea in the text message scandal. Schwartz said prosecutors didn't prove that Kilpatrick had done anything wrong since his release from jail in February.

Groner, who started by saying he would not rule on a last-minute prosecution motion asking him to find Kilpatrick in violation of his probation, said he would announce his decision on Kilpatrick's restitution at 3 p.m. next Wednesday.

Kilpatrick didn't attend Tuesday's hearing.

He didn't need to; he'd heard it all before.

Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Athina Siringas accused him of being a liar, claiming he didn't know anything about the lease of his million-dollar suburban Texas home when he was really the one who negotiated the deal. She said he hid his money -- including hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans from business executives -- while crying poor when it came time to make restitution payments. And she said he was arrogant, taking the privilege of being on probation for granted, ignoring court orders until he felt like complying.

"He thinks he can get away with anything," Siringas said. "He thinks he's the victim."

Schwartz countered that Siringas and her colleagues were more persecutors than prosecutors, out to humiliate a man who already had left office in disgrace -- but who also was trying to rebuild his life and provide for his family.

Despite prosecutors' assertion that a $240,000 loan was really a gift from metro Detroit businessmen, prosecutors couldn't prove it, Schwartz said.

"No one testified it was anything other than a loan," he said. "There is no evidence of any kind from any witness that this was not a loan. This is nothing more than a prosecutor's belief. And again, beliefs don't substitute for any evidence."

Kilpatrick, Schwartz said, has complied with all of the court's orders.

The hearings over Kilpatrick's restitution began in October and were held off-and-on over the next three months to accommodate Kilpatrick's work schedule in suburban Dallas, where he lives with his wife and children.


Siringas said that prosecutors most want to see Kilpatrick pay the $1 million in restitution, but she indicated that they would not object if the judge jailed him.

"We're not here asking the court to throw Mr. Kilpatrick in jail -- not yet, anyway," she said.

In addition to asking Groner to order Kilpatrick to pay $225,000 within 30 days, Siringas said prosecutors want him to:

• Continue Kilpatrick's probation.

• Require that his employer, Covisint, a subsidiary of Compuware, send 30% of his wages directly to the probation department.

• Provide probation officials and the court with a monthly report on all money spent and received by Kilpatrick or his wife, Carlita Kilpatrick, or on behalf of his family.

• Require court approval for any expenditure of more than $2,500 by Kilpatrick or his wife.

• Continue to require the Kilpatricks to report to the court gifts they receive.

• Require the Kilpatricks to get court approval for any contract or lease costing more than $500 per month.

Schwartz urged Groner to stand pat -- at least for now.

"I think that leaving the situation as it exists now, with perhaps a review of this matter in a year-and-a-half ... would be a reasonable way to deal with this," Schwartz said.

I doubt that the judge will do anything to Kwame, but at least we can all chuckle at what Kwame has been spending his money on:

Living large in Texas

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has accused Kwame and Carlita Kilpatrick of spending nearly $630,000 from four checking accounts over a 12-month period as part of her effort to show that the ex-mayor is living large in Texas while claiming he is struggling to make court-ordered restitution payments to the City of Detroit. A Free Press analysis of the disbursements provided by Worthy shows that between October 2008 and October 2009, the Kilpatricks spent:

$19,050: On Michael Alan Schwartz, Kilpatrick's attorney for restitution matters

$5,000: On Greater Emmanuel Institutional C.O.G.I.C., the Kilpatricks' Detroit church, where Kwame Kilpatrick famously offered a televised apology after the Free Press exposed his lies in the text message scandal

$2,880: On the Art Institute of Dallas, an arts and design school

$2,676: On Maid Pro maid service

$2,500: On the Nation of Islam

$2,000: On Jeff Beasley, a Kilpatrick friend who later became the City of Detroit's treasurer and a pension board trustee under Kilpatrick

$1,000: On Parks & Crump, a personal injury and civil rights law firm in Tallahassee, Fla., where the Kilpatricks owned a home until recently

$782: On car washes

$485: On Chick-fil-A

$444: On Victoria's Secret

$330: On weight-loss center

$303: On cheesecake

$150: For the Southlake Red Light Photo Enforcement Program, which collects civil penalties for people running red lights

$145: On Team Beachbody fitness programs

$98: At Smoothie King

$80: At Sunshine Massage

[Ed Anger]

500 bucks on chick-fil-a in a year? delicious.