Anyone following the Kwame saga?

Kelki

It looks like he might be spending a long time on prison, since he was indicted on 19 charges.  What do you think? Does anyone even care if he gets more time at this point? I used to obsess over the details because I was genuinely interested.  At this point I am kind of tired of it.  All of his dirty deals are really causing Detroit a lot of grief.  I hope they put him away and we don't have to read about it anymore.

boogerbearoriginal

I certainly wasn't shocked - I think the writing was on the wall for a while and the feds began their investigation some time ago.

He's a douche who's sole interest was his own wellbeing. He ran for office, and truly every thing he did (IMO) was self serving. Even the improvements he made in Detroit were only so that he would continue to be in a position of power. If he felt he could've stayed Mayor without doing anything good I seriously doubt he would have - unless it was for his own neighborhood, again for himself. He is irresponsible, immature and deserves every minute of punishment he gets.

When people like him are in the news, it only serves to perpetuate the sterotype of Detroit and the entire metro area being this godawful place filled with corrupt and self-serving politicians who do nothing but squeeze what they can out of the people. What business wants to locate in a place like that? What person wants to live in an area like that?

/rant.

culbycheese

If I was Bernard Kilpatrick, I'd be very nervous right now, because the house that Detroit built is about to come crashing down around all the Kilpatrick's!

I follow because I love a good train wreck.

Kelki

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_anyone-following-kwame-saga?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:88Discussion:0725c394-f4c0-4371-b4b7-aa64ff89be94Post:e6e5f3f9-bc6e-4a2d-ab17-7c20d5c1ba4f">Re: Anyone following the Kwame saga?</a>:
[QUOTE] I follow because I love a good train wreck. :)
Posted by culbycheese[/QUOTE]

This exactly!  It actually depresses me to see the way Detroit is portrayed, because more bad press is all they need, you know? 

My own hometown has become super corrupt over the last few years and it's another train wreck to follow, but since I actually grew up there and see what the place is becoming it stings a little more.

Sue-n-Kevin

I also was not shocked that the feds would find something.
 
I grew up in the city, lived there until I moved out of state at 21. It pains me terribly to see the city portrayed as it is. But I do separate the perception of the city from what happened during Kwame's tenure. I loved Dennis Archer as mayor, he and his entire family seemed to want what was best for the city. Kwame took a lot of credit for the enlivening of downtown Detroit, but Ford Field and Comerica, as well as the improvement at Fox Theater were all planned or completed during Mayor Archer's administration. I would have liked to have seen Freeman Hendrix elected mayor, because he was a very educated and active person in the city (plus I graduated from high school with his wife Elaine, LOL)

However, I cannot forgive former mayor Kilpatrick. I watched the "train wreck" like a lot of other people, with his galpal Christine Beatty, the "sext" messages, everything else. It was a pathetic abuse of power, and like many of the things we see in similar cases, it was the lies that brought him down on that front, not the actual things he did. It unnerves me no end to see athletes, politicians, wealthy people think that their sh*t doesn't stink like other people's....... that they deserve to be able to break the law, and then they fall from the pedestals that "fans" put them up on.

Regarding the federal investigation, I guess I always thought that if someone were so comfortable lying to their spouse, lying to a judge, and hiding finances from a probation department, it wasn't much of a stretch to assume there was more going on. Considering how much his suits must have cost him alone (he's a big guy, wears tailored clothes), the stories of high living, entertainment, and his wife's and kid's needs, I always figured there was another source of income aside from his salary.

I don't think he's evil. I think he grew up feeling overly privileged instead of working for what he had, and he was elected as a young man to a position of power. What's the saying? "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely"?

If his wife doesn't divorce him now, she really needs her head examined. NO woman, regardless of how much she loves and repeatedly has to forgive her husband, should continue in a sham of a marriage with someone who will be a prisoner for a very long time, and expect her children to have any respect for her.

culbycheese

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_anyone-following-kwame-saga?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:88Discussion:0725c394-f4c0-4371-b4b7-aa64ff89be94Post:b288cea2-dd68-422f-aae1-0c5dfd56f521">Re: Anyone following the Kwame saga?</a>:
[QUOTE]If his wife doesn't divorce him now, she really needs her head examined. NO woman, regardless of how much she loves and repeatedly has to forgive her husband, should continue in a sham of a marriage with someone who will be a prisoner for a very long time, and expect her children to have any respect for her.
Posted by Sue-n-Kevin[/QUOTE]

She'll never divorce him because then she could be forced to testify about "allegedly" beating up Tamara Greene. Unless it comes out on it's own, she's staying put. Well, until she gets booted out of that mansion in Texas.

The only people I feel bad for in this whole debacle are Kwame's kids. No way are they not completely messed up with the family they have.

boogerbearoriginal

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_anyone-following-kwame-saga?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:88Discussion:0725c394-f4c0-4371-b4b7-aa64ff89be94Post:1ff875cf-8660-4ca4-bfa9-fca697ee837c">Re: Anyone following the Kwame saga?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Anyone following the Kwame saga? : She'll never divorce him because then she could be forced to testify about "allegedly" beating up Tamara Greene. Unless it comes out on it's own, she's staying put. Well, until she gets booted out of that mansion in Texas. The only people I feel bad for in this whole debacle are Kwame's kids. No way are they not completely messed up with the family they have.
Posted by culbycheese[/QUOTE]

I feel really bad for his kids too - what a messed up world they grew  up in. In a large way I blame Kwame's parents for the way he turned out - granted a parent can be perfect and have a kid that does horrible things, but from what I can tell and the few things that have come out about his Dad, that apple didn't fall far from the tree.

I don't think Carlita is going to ever divorce him - I have a sneaking suspicion she knows a lot about where all those nice things/cash came from and will stay loyal for her own sake as much as anything else.