Mary Waters, challenger for Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick's congressional seat, talks to the media with her political consultant, Sam Riddle, in Detroit on election night in August 2008. (Elizabeth Conley / The Detroit News)
Detroit --The federal indictment Wednesday of Sam Riddle, the charismatic and often bombastic political consultant, caps a career often punctuated by controversy.
In two decades, Riddle, now 62, has gone from representing a woman dubbed the worst boss in the nation to another considered the worst mother, after her first-grader son took a gun into school and killed a classmate. In between, he has represented two elected officials who were charged with bribery -- former Councilwoman Monica Conyers and deceased Councilwoman Kay Everett -- and one who was under investigation when she died.
"He's known as someone who is flamboyant and outspoken," said Denver City Councilman Doug Linkart, who was a state senator when a probe was launched by state lawmakers into a no-bid contract awarded to Riddle by a former Colorado secretary of state.
When Riddle arrived in Colorado in the late 1990s, he wanted to be that state's version of Al Sharpton, recalled Michael Feeney, a Denver lawyer and former state Senate minority leader.
"The problem is we already had a few people to play that role," said Feeney.
Here is a look at some of Riddle's relationships:
Buckley died of a heart attack as lawmakers launched a probe.
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