Defense of Kilpatrick's high lifestyle rings hollow

Living well isn't only the best revenge. It's also a snappy legal defense.

More than a half-million dollars slithered through the porous bank accounts of Kwame and Carlita Kilpatrick last year, cash largely dispensed -- it now turns out, in legal filings -- to "keep up appearances."

Kilpatrick's new lawyer, Daniel D. Hajji, is the latest in a long line of Kilpatrick excuse generators, pleading with the state Appeals Court to understand that Detroit's deposed mayor, now living in lavish Dallas exile, is suffering from harsh treatment.

What unreasonable cruelty has Wayne Circuit Court Judge David Groner imposed? He has the audacity to suggest that Kilpatrick "live a middle class existence."

Says Hajji: "Such an existence is inconsistent with earning a sufficient amount to (pay back the city)."

As we all know by now, the concept of an existence actually in keeping with his income is beyond Kilpatrick's ken. Instead, his lawyers continue to portray the former public servant as misunderstood latter-day royalty.

A mansion bigger than the Manoogian is what he and Carlita have become accustomed to. And, heck, he has a sense of entitlement bigger than the Ritz.

He scooted out of the Manoogian Mansion, landing in even more spacious digs in tony Southlake, as he plied his new trade as a software salesman for Covisint, a subsidiary of Compuware, earning $120,000 a year.

But who knew -- before reading Hajji's pleadings on behalf of his client -- that a $120,000 a year salesperson must "function in the upper echelons of society."

Uh, not exactly, say industry executives. Chad Rowden, a senior executive recruiter in Dallas, who works with technology companies, says. Sure, there's entertaining.

"But most of the entertaining done in the sales environment is taking someone out to lunch or out to dinner," Rowden says. "The company would reimburse for that or any normal business expenses."

Rowden says that Kilpatrick's salary would be typical of someone in his position -- with the expectation that he could double his salary with commissions. "You have to be a hunter to succeed," he said.

A former Compuware executive says: "Right now, no company wants to see diamonds or a fancy house or what you flew in on. They know that will be reflected in the price of the product."

"As I was doing a deal, any multimillion dollar deals, nobody ever asked me what I was driving, how much money I made, or where my kids went to school," he added. "They wanted to know they could trust me."

More than a year since he began his new career, Kilpatrick has yet to close a deal. He blames his lack of success on the media, the judge and the prosecutor, as he lives beyond his means and lies to the court.

The saddest part of this endless -- and sometimes ridiculous -- saga is that Kilpatrick's business future hinges on qualities that his disingenuous legal defense undercuts.

It's the content of Kilpatrick's character, not his wallet, that's at issue.

lberman@detnews.com">lberman@detnews.com (313) 222-2032