AverageBro: Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick: Cheater, Seedy Politician, and Murderer!??

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick: Cheater, Seedy Politician, and Murderer!??

I'm sure you folks are pretty tired of the Saga Of The Hip Hop Mayor, but it seems like Kwame Kilpatrick is nearing the end of his rope. The charges were finally filed today, and it looks like ya' boy better start practicing the fine art of soap holding.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy charged Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and former chief of staff Christine Beatty today with perjury, obstruction, conspiracy and misconduct. Kilpatrick said that he expects "full and complete vindication."

The mayor's attorney, Dan Webb, said the mayor will be found innocent of the charges and will not resign. Webb said he has instructed Kilpatrick to not respond to reporters’ questions. It wasn't immediately clear when the mayor and Beatty would turn themselves in to be booked and later arraigned on the charges in 36th District Court in Detroit. They could be arraigned as early as 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Kilpatrick, 38, serving his seventh year in office, is the first Detroit mayor to face criminal charges while still in office. The perjury charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

Kwame Kilpatrick, a true debit to his race.

But Hizzoner's problems are only beginning.

I'm no conspiracy theorist, so I haven't bothered trying to make any connection between the Kilpatrick's current issues and the now-deceased stripper Strawberry (pictured above), whom the mayor's wife famously assaulted after a (rumored) wild party at the Mayoral Manoogian Mansion. Apparently, the journalistic integrity of the Detroit Free Press is a bit more liberal. The last thing you'd catch me doing is implying that a public official put a hit out on an exotic dancer. This article from late last week seems to do just that, but doesn't go all the way and connect the dots. It's damn close though.

Fearing for her life, Tamara Greene turned to the man she knew affectionately as “Dad” and told him: “Some people are out to kill me.”

The man she confided in was the Rev. Ken Hampton, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Detroit, in a conversation six months before her April 30, 2003 death. If true, Hampton’s statements in an affidavit could discredit a theory that Greene was killed as a result of a hotel party and fight about two weeks before she was gunned down.

Greene is the stripper known as Strawberry rumored to have danced at the never-proven Manoogian Mansion party in the fall of 2002. According to most versions of the rumor, the party occurred around Labor Day in 2002. Hampton said he and Greene spoke a month or two later, but he has no knowledge of her connection to the rumored party.

Greene, 27, was shot three times and died April 30, 2003, as she was parking her Buick Skylark on Roselawn near West Outer Drive.

Last week Joyce Rogers, a retired Detroit police clerk, came forward in an affidavit to say she saw a police report Greene had filed in 2002. In the report, which has not surfaced, Rogers said, Greene alleged that the mayor’s wife, Carlita Kilpatrick, assaulted her with a wooden object at the Manoogian after seeing Greene improperly touch the mayor and that Greene was sent to a hospital for treatment.

Let's keep it real; there's little redeeming about Kilpatrick. He was given the world on a platter (simply by virtue of being born with the right last name) and he handed it back covered in chicken grease and loose singles. By lying about a simple affair (not excusing his behavior of course), and firing the wrong person to cover it up, he cost the ailing city of Detroit $9M. He is obviously a bonehead who deserves to do time for his misdeeds.

On the other hand, trying to tie the man (or possibly his wife) to a murder strikes me a downright callous for a semi-reputable newspaper.

Question: Assuming you read the article first, do you get the impression that the Detroit Free Press is implying Kilpatrick had something to do with Strawberry's murder, or is my third eye just blind today? If you're from The "D", and know something I don't, please chime in you-know-where.

Tamara Greene feared for her life, reverend says in affidavit [FreeP]

Mayor, Beatty charged with perjury, conspiracy, misconduct [FreeP]

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy charged Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and former chief of staff Christine Beatty today with perjury, obstruction, conspiracy and misconduct. Kilpatrick said that he expects "full and complete vindication."

The mayor's attorney, Dan Webb, said the mayor will be found innocent of the charges and will not resign. Webb said he has instructed Kilpatrick to not respond to reporters’ questions. It wasn't immediately clear when the mayor and Beatty would turn themselves in to be booked and later arraigned on the charges in 36th District Court in Detroit. They could be arraigned as early as 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Kilpatrick, 38, serving his seventh year in office, is the first Detroit mayor to face criminal charges while still in office. The perjury charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

Fearing for her life, Tamara Greene turned to the man she knew affectionately as “Dad” and told him: “Some people are out to kill me.”

The man she confided in was the Rev. Ken Hampton, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Detroit, in a conversation six months before her April 30, 2003 death. If true, Hampton’s statements in an affidavit could discredit a theory that Greene was killed as a result of a hotel party and fight about two weeks before she was gunned down.

Greene is the stripper known as Strawberry rumored to have danced at the never-proven Manoogian Mansion party in the fall of 2002. According to most versions of the rumor, the party occurred around Labor Day in 2002. Hampton said he and Greene spoke a month or two later, but he has no knowledge of her connection to the rumored party.

Greene, 27, was shot three times and died April 30, 2003, as she was parking her Buick Skylark on Roselawn near West Outer Drive.

Last week Joyce Rogers, a retired Detroit police clerk, came forward in an affidavit to say she saw a police report Greene had filed in 2002. In the report, which has not surfaced, Rogers said, Greene alleged that the mayor’s wife, Carlita Kilpatrick, assaulted her with a wooden object at the Manoogian after seeing Greene improperly touch the mayor and that Greene was sent to a hospital for treatment.