Special Report: Kwame Kilpatrick under fire

Judge: 'Lying in court has a price tag'; Beatty gets 120 days

Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny has castigated Christine Beatty for "misusing" her many talents and participating in a cover-up with former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick that cost the city millions of dollars. Beatty declined to address the court. - 01/06/2009

Worthy says Kilpatrick lawyers asked her to destroy text messages

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy revealed this morning that former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's attorneys tried to make sure that text-messages at the heart of his downfall would be destroyed if they resolved the case. - 01/06/2009

Beatty: No way to prepare for jail

Christine Beatty sat at the counter of downtown Detroit's Lafayette Coney Island with her two children, wondering how she would face going to jail for her part in the tawdry text message scandal. - 01/06/2009

Beatty's jail time won't be isolated

Christine Beatty will serve her jail sentence in the general population area with other inmates, county officials said -- a decision that has upset at least one of her supporters. - 01/01/2009

Beatty won't be near Kilpatrick when she goes to jail

DETROIT -- Christine Beatty will have her own cell when she begins her 120-day jail sentence next week -- but she won't be housed anywhere near her former boss. - 12/31/2008

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick shamed by text messages

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick testifies in August in the whistleblower lawsuit brought by two police officers. The officers won and received $8 million. Another ex-cop, in a separate but related case, was paid $400,000

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick says text messages indicating he had a sexual affair with his chief of staff in 2002 and 2003 were "profoundly embarrassing" and "reflect a very difficult period in my personal life." - 12/29/2008

City Hall corruption probe may be coming to a head

A long-running and wide-ranging federal investigation focusing on City Hall corruption during the administration of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is plodding toward a conclusion. - 12/16/2008

Kwame Kilpatrick's jail stay: Long johns, granola and 32 visits

DETROIT -- Details about life in jail for former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick were released today that ranged from how often he had visitors, how much money he had in his commissary account to what property he turned in when he was first incarcerated Oct. 28. - 12/12/2008

Kilpatricks sell Florida property

The loss on the sale means former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick probably won't be able to tap the home to help pay his restitution to the city.

Unlike many struggling to sell their homes, jailed former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has unloaded his vacation house in Florida. But like many, it went for a big loss. - 12/11/2008

Worthy: Kilpatrick broke deal

Kwame Kilpatrick has broken the deal he made to avoid trial in the text message scandal by attempting to undo the revocation of his law license, said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. - 12/03/2008

Special report: Kwame Kilpatrick under fire

Detroit council OKs legal bills in whistle-blower case

DETROIT -- The City Council approved a host of legal contracts Tuesday for city lawyers embroiled in the $8.4 million whistle-blower scandal. - 12/03/2008

Commentary

Detroit plea deals serve justice

Christine Beatty, with attorney Jeffrey Morganroth, takes the oath Monday to tell the truth before pleading guilty to lying in court.

Now that both former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, have publicly admitted their guilt to multiple felony counts, has justice been served? - 12/03/2008

Tearful, repentant Beatty pleads guilty

Christine Beatty, former chief of staff for ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, wipes away tears as she pleads guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice in Wayne County Circuit Court on Monday.

For almost a year, her attorneys were defiant, saying they would get the infamous text messages thrown out of court and Christine Beatty would be vindicated by a trial. - 12/02/2008

Cell open on Kilpatrick's block

Christine Beatty, like Kwame Kilpatrick, may be assigned to an isolated cell.

When Christine Beatty begins serving her 120-day jail sentence on Jan. 5, she could end up in an isolated cell next to her former boss, ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who also is serving a 120-day sentence in the Wayne County Jail. - 12/02/2008

Editorial: Fleeting power bred Beatty's arrogance

Christine Beatty, right, pleaded guilty to lying under oath in the police whistleblower trial.

Political power can be fleeting -- especially if that power is derived from serving the interests of another political figure. Former mayoral aide Christine Beatty was, for a time, one of the most powerful people in Detroit. - 12/02/2008

Kilpatrick files to get law license suspended, not revoked

DETROIT -- An attorney for former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick late today filed a petition with the state Attorney Discipline Board to have the revocation of Kilpatrick's law license downgraded to a suspension. - 12/01/2008

PDF: Petition to set aside revocation of Kilpatrick's law license

Jail cell options for Beatty include one next to Kilpatrick

DETROIT -- When Christine Beatty begins serving her 120-day jail sentence on Jan. 5, she could end up in a cell next to her former boss. - 12/01/2008

Tearful Beatty apologizes in text message scandal

Christine Beatty with her attorney Mayer Morganroth.

She famously rolled her eyes and struck a defiant pose throughout the whistleblower lawsuit against her and her former boss. But Christine Beatty broke into tears and spoke of contrition today during a press conference at her attorney�s office. - 12/01/2008

Beatty takes plea deal in text message scandal

Wiping tears from her eyes, former Detroit mayoral chief of staff Christine Beatty pleaded guilty today to two felonies that will have her serve 120 days in jail and pay $100,000 in restitution to the city of Detroit for lying to a jury. Beatty, was ordered to serve the same amount of jail time but pay one-tenth the restitution imposed upon her ex-boss and lover, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. - 12/01/2008

Beatty to speak publicly for first time about text message scandal

DETROIT -- Christine Beatty is expected today to comment publicly about the text message scandal for the first time, according to her attorney, Mayer Morganroth. She will speak at 3 p.m., he said. - 12/01/2008

Beatty plea agreement in the works

DETROIT -- Christine Beatty, chief of staff to former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, is considering pleading guilty instead of proceeding with hearings set to begin today on whether text messages will be allowed as evidence at her criminal trial. - 12/01/2008

Kilpatrick mounts bid to save law license

An attorney for Kwame Kilpatrick will file arguments Monday in hopes of changing the revocation of his law license to a suspension. - 11/28/2008

Special report: Kwame Kilpatrick under fire

Kilpatrick, Cox on Beatty witness lists

There are few surprises and one big mystery among the city officials, judges, lawyers, friends and family of Kwame Kilpatrick on witness lists submitted this week for the trial of his onetime lover and former chief of staff. - 11/26/2008

Detroit

Building official defended

DETROIT -- An attorney for a longtime city of Detroit building official denied Tuesday that his client shook down owners of a Detroit nightclub for campaign donations to former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. - 11/26/2008

Detroit

Judges review text messages

DETROIT -- Federal magistrate judges on Wednesday began poring through hundreds of thousands of city of Detroit text messages to see if they shed light on the 2003 shooting death of a Detroit exotic dancer. - 11/20/2008

Texts turned over in Tamara Greene suit

DETROIT -- A communications company has turned over text messages from Detroit employees as part of a civil lawsuit filed by the family of a slain stripper. - 11/19/2008

Worthy wants some Beatty texts allowed

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has asked a judge for a special exception to court rules to allow certain text messages into evidence. - 11/19/2008

Another Kilpatrick aide subpoenaed

DETROIT -- Add political consultant Adolph Mongo to the list of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick associates whom federal authorities are questioning about the disbursement of money Kilpatrick controlled in political and social nonprofit funds. - 11/13/2008

Detroit City Council votes to withdraw from FOIA suit

DETROIT -- The City Council unanimously voted Wednesday to withdraw as a party from a Freedom of Information lawsuit brought by The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press on the $8.4 million whistle-blower scandal and to end its contract with its outside attorney, William Goodman. - 11/12/2008

Kilpatrick fights disbarment

DETROIT -- Less than two weeks after he went to jail, Kwame Kilpatrick's attorneys are preparing an appeal they hope will allow him to keep his law license. - 11/11/2008

Special report: Kwame Kilpatrick under fire

Beatty lawyers: Discard texts

Elimination of the infamous text messages from her felony trial early next year was the aim of most of the motions filed Friday in Wayne County Circuit Court by lawyers representing Christine Beatty. - 11/08/2008

Hearing set over text messages

A hearing is set for federal court Monday related to the volume of city text messages sought as possible evidence in a lawsuit brought by the family of slain exotic dancer Tamara "Strawberry" Greene. - 10/25/2008

Judge to release Kilpatrick, Beatty texts

More than 500 pages containing copies of several hundred of the infamous text messages that led to the fall of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick are scheduled to be released at noon today. - 10/23/2008

Judge orders release of texts in Beatty trial

A sample of the infamous text messages that brought down former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will be released at noon Thursday, barring a stay from a higher court. - 10/21/2008

Detroit

Kilpatrick travel records found

The city's new chief financial officer, Joe Harris, says he's found long-sought credit card records related to former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's travels, but it remains unclear when -- or if -- they will be made public. - 10/17/2008

Judge may reveal more text messages

Christine Beatty, right, listens as Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Robert Moran argues for the release of text messages in front of Wayne Circuit Judge Timothy M. Kenny on Wednesday. Prosecutors want to unseal 200 messages in the case.

A judge overseeing the criminal trial of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's top aide, Christine Beatty, will decide Monday whether to reveal some of the infamous text messages in the case. Wayne Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny must weigh Beatty's right to a fair trial against the public's right to know details about the corruption case that already brought down the mayor. - 10/16/2008

Judge wants Detroit newspapers, City Hall to settle records suit over whistle-blower case

DETROIT -- Lawyers in the text message lawsuit between City Hall and Detroit's two daily newspapers are working on a settlement, spurred on by a change in the Mayor's Office and strong words Friday from a Wayne County judge. - 10/11/2008

Target of city pension suit alleges vendetta

Donald Watkins' allegations emerged in a court filing Thursday in a U.S. District Court suit.

A member of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's legal defense fund is claiming the city pension fund is suing him over a failed investment in his airline because he refused to "participate in a pay to play" culture at City Hall. - 10/03/2008

$10M Detroit copier contract probed

The administration of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and the Detroit City Council gave a $10 million photocopier contract to a former Democratic state House colleague of Kilpatrick's who is not authorized to sell or service the copiers involved. - 09/25/2008

Prep work starts for Beatty's trial

Kwame Kilpatrick's former chief of staff Christine Beatty, right, confers with one of her attorneys, Jeffrey Morganroth, in court on Friday. The judge set a schedule for motions and hearings to handle anticipated legal issues.

The text-message scandal trial begins early next year for Kwame Kilpatrick's former chief of staff, but prosecutors and lawyers for Christine Beatty began preparing Friday for what could be a contentious pretrial run-up. Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy M. Kenny on Friday set Jan. 5 as the tentative date to begin selection of jurors from a special pool of up to 300 residents. Meeting for the first time with prosecutors and defense lawyers in the case that brought an end to Kilpatrick's city administration, Kenny said he expects the trial to start about a week later. - 09/20/2008

Photos: Judge sets January trial date for Beatty

SkyTel turns over messages to court

Pager text messages sent and received by city and police employees on the day of the killing of an exotic dancer rumored to have performed at a party at the Manoogian Mansion were delivered to the federal courthouse in Detroit on Friday. - 09/20/2008

Recovered pistol found to be clean

DETROIT -- The service pistol that was lost last year by Kwame Kilpatrick's former bodyguard and recently recovered from a violent convicted felon was not fired after it was lost, law enforcement officials said Friday. - 09/20/2008

Brought down by scandal, Kilpatrick quietly leaves office

Kwame Kilpatrick leaves City Hall at noon Thursday after a morning of wrapping up his office tenure with rote details. He secured a judge's OK to take a vacation before he is sentenced next month.

He came into office full of glitz, monogrammed French cuffs that read "Mayor" and a gift for gab that made other politicians jealous. He left City Hall for the last time Thursday, forced out by scandal and facing jail time, wearing a sweatsuit. He said nothing and flashed a "V" sign. - 09/19/2008

Daniel Howes: Commentary

Reality, Kilpatrick's hubris clash

Forget all this talk about "a comeback." Kwame Kilpatrick ends his tenure as Detroit's mayor today -- a convicted felon heading to jail, five years of probation and a legacy defined far more by his towering mistakes than a meaningful set of accomplishments. - 09/18/2008

Kilpatrick's day in the slammer

Kwame Kilpatrick may not have known it at the time, but his day in jail last month could be a harbinger for what's to come for the mayor who is resigning Thursday and heading behind bars for 120 days on Oct. 28. - 09/17/2008

Complete coverage: Kwame Kilpatrick under fire

Mayor takes Fifth -- 84 times

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick took the Fifth more often than former chief of staff Christine Beatty did.

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick took the Fifth so many times during a civil deposition Tuesday that his attorney suggested using a system of sign language to expedite matters. - 09/17/2008

No deal: Beatty heading to trial

Christine Beatty and her attorneys turned down a plea deal last week that would have put her behind bars, and another one Monday.

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's former top aide, Christine Beatty, will take her chances in court after rejecting a plea deal Monday in her criminal case stemming from the text message scandal. - 09/16/2008

Detroit

'Reasonable' judge to preside over Beatty trial

DETROIT -- Christine Beatty will have a judge who is fair and will present her with a "level playing field," says one of Metro Detroit's top defense attorneys about the judge whose name was drawn to preside over the trial for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's former chief of staff. - 09/16/2008

Neal Rubin

Detroit Zoo's water tower breaks loose from mayor

Assuming the weather cooperates, we'll see the last of Kwame M. Kilpatrick late today -- on the Detroit Zoo water tower, anyway. - 09/16/2008

Plea deal talks for Beatty stall

Christine Beatty, with her attorneys Mayer Morganroth and Jeffrey Morganroth, appears in court Thursday. After an hour of negotiating with prosecutors, no deal was reached.

The stakes are getting higher for Christine Beatty after Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy withdrew a plea deal and talks between the prosecutor and Beatty's lawyers stalled Thursday. - 09/12/2008

Council-led Kilpatrick probes go on

The City Council is questioning letting Sharon McPhail, the outgoing mayor's counsel, sweeten her pension with credits from her Wayne County work.

City Council members Thursday said they are moving ahead with probes into how Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick spent taxpayer money running his office as well as whether raises given last month to 16 of his top appointees are valid. - 09/12/2008

Editorial: Kilpatrick crisis shows need for charter reform

The crisis foisted on Detroit by Kwame Kilpatrick revealed a number of weaknesses in the City Charter. Amending the charter should be on the council's agenda as it considers the scheduling of special elections to replace Kilpatrick. - 09/12/2008

Prosecutor insists on jail, restitution for Beatty

Jail time and restitution are the key elements Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy insists be in any plea deal with Christine Beatty in the text message case. - 09/11/2008

Complete coverage: Kwame Kilpatrick under fire

Powder sparks scare at City Hall

The Hazardous Materials Unit of the Detroit Fire Department was called to City Hall after about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday "after an envelop of suspicious powder" was found in the mayor's office.

City officials cleared the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center to open today after a suspicious envelope was found in outgoing Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's offices Wednesday night. - 09/11/2008

Forum: Join the discussion in News Talk

Cockrel meets with Granholm, Worthy

DETROIT -- City Council President Kenneth V. Cockrel Jr. spent Wednesday shoring up relationships with the two leaders instrumental in Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's downfall: Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. - 09/11/2008

Beatty's case gets nearer to a trial

It appears that the case against Christine Beatty is heading for a trial where her already confessed co-defendant, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, could be presented as a witness against her. - 09/10/2008

Cockrel jumps into mayoral race

Kenneth Cockrel Jr. is the only announced candidate to fill the mayor's term.

Days after Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick quit midterm, the campaign season to succeed him has begun -- and early indications are it could be a humdinger: four contests in 14 months. - 09/10/2008

Council favoring special election

Council President Kenneth Cockrel on Monday began mapping plans for a transition of power as interim mayor, a day before the City Council was expected to call for a special election that could limit his time on the job. - 09/09/2008

Daniel Howes: Commentary

Business, labor jockey for city influence

Who might run to replace Kwame Kilpatrick as Detroit's chief executive -- besides Dave Bing and interim Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. -- who'll be the next police chief and who gets plum appointments may be the main attraction right now. - 09/09/2008

Neal Rubin

No reason for NYC panhandlers to pity us now

The guy seemed too young and too fit to be panhandling for a living, but I was about to spend $17 at a Starbucks in New York City, and I don't even drink coffee, so I gave him a buck. - 09/09/2008

Move Detroit ahead with special mayoral election

There is some ambiguity about the timing of the next election for the mayor of Detroit. In the wake of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's resignation, fairness requires that it be held as soon as possible. - 09/07/2008

Cockrel prepares for transfer of power

City Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr. is poised to name the head of his transitional team and said he'll spend the early days of his administration revamping the Police Department, studying city finances and reinvigorating Cobo Center expansion talks. - 09/06/2008

Council to consider special mayoral election

DETROIT -- One week, the mayor announces his resignation. Next week, city officials could decide to elect two more next year. - 09/06/2008

Kilpatrick to serve all of his jail time, officials say

DETROIT -- Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will serve his entire jail sentence, despite rumors to the contrary, court and sheriff's officials said. - 09/06/2008

County to review assets of mayor

How will the city get $1 million from Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick? - 09/06/2008

POWER TRANSFER

Cockrel won't take city's reins from Kilpatrick until Sept. 19

The city breathed a collective sigh of relief when Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick announced his resignation Thursday, but soon could face the anxiety of the unknown. Among the questions: How will power be transferred over the next two weeks from Kilpatrick to Council President Kenneth V. Cockrel Jr.? - 09/05/2008

For Beatty, scandal lingers

With the mayor accepting a deal, Christine Beatty has little to offer prosecutors in exchange for a lighter sentence. - 09/05/2008

Work of Kilpatrick's defense team questioned after deal

Kilpatrick attorney Dan K. Webb speaks Thursday in front of the rest of the mayor's defense team.

DETROIT -- The sentence Kwame Kilpatrick will receive next month is close to what he might have gotten had he gone to trial and been convicted, according to experts and one of his former lawyers. - 09/05/2008

Detroit 'set me up for a comeback'

Carlita Kilpatrick stands by her husband, Kwame Kilpatrick, during his press conference Thursday evening at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit.

Let there be no doubt: Kwame Kilpatrick intends to return. On a day when his childhood dreams of being mayor ended with guilty pleas and his resignation, Kilpatrick let everyone know that, at age 38, he wholeheartedly expects to be a leader again. - 09/05/2008

Kilpatrick pleads guilty and resigns

Kwame Kilpatrick confers with attorney James C. Thomas before entering his pleas. The youngest mayor in Detroit's history will be sentenced Oct. 28 and report directly to jail, where he'll serve at least 100 days of his sentence.

After six turbulent years and six months of criminal charges, after the destruction of careers and the squandering of more than $10 million in city funds, Kwame Kilpatrick's career as mayor is over. - 09/05/2008

Daniel Howes

Commentary: Detroit's doubts don't end here

The resignation of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his agreement to spend four months in a Wayne County jail are supposed to end Detroit's lengthening nightmare, to remove the instability that business hates and investors abhor. - 09/05/2008

Laura Berman

Commentary: Beatty, the woman left behind

The mayor breezed by Christine Beatty as if she wasn't there, too, in Courtroom 303. Once she was powerful, exciting, important. Now she is the invisible woman, the shamed woman, the woman left behind. - 09/05/2008

Metro Detroit heaves sigh of relief over resolution of charges

Demonstrators mingle with the merely curious while inside Mayor Kilpatrick had his day in court.

Sadness, relief and anger rippled through Metro Detroit Thursday as residents, business officials and political leaders tried to make sense of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's quick rise to fame and tragic fall after he pleaded guilty to two felonies and agreed to resign from office. - 09/05/2008

Video: Reaction to Kwame Kilpatrick's plea deal

Cockrel fulfills dad's legacy

Between Ken Cockrel Jr. and his dad, the elder Cockrel was the one who seemed destined to become mayor of Detroit. - 09/05/2008

Police chief retires on historic day

DETROIT -- On the day Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to two felonies and agreed to leave office, the city's top cop announced her retirement. - 09/05/2008

Meteoric rise ends in dramatic crash for Kilpatrick

9-10-07 Whistle-blower lawyer Mike Stefani

DETROIT -- His reputation in tatters, Kwame Kilpatrick leaves the mayor's office with an uncertain future and an inescapable legacy. - 09/05/2008

Video: The rise and fall of Kwame Kilpatrick

Nolan Finley

Commentary: Lamentable fall of gifted leader leaves city with need to rally

The story of Kwame Kilpatrick is more complex than just another corrupt politician fading away into the criminal justice system. - 09/05/2008

'This didn't have to go this way,' cops' lawyer says

DETROIT -- Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty's decision on May 5, 2003, to remove Deputy Chief Gary Brown from the helm of internal affairs typically might have yielded little more than a few days of bad press and a rather routine lawsuit settlement. - 09/05/2008

Deal finalized just before hearing

DETROIT -- The plea deal that was revealed Thursday in Wayne Circuit Court still was not finalized less than two hours before the mayor's scheduled court appearance, according to those involved in the talks. - 09/05/2008

Experts: Worthy was tough

Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy beams during the hearing of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's plea deals, including resignation, in court Thursday.

DETROIT -- Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy showed courage when she went toe-to-toe with one of the region's most powerful leaders, legal experts said. - 09/05/2008

Mayor's legal woes persist

DETROIT -- The plea deal announced Thursday to settle perjury and other felony charges against Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick does not automatically resolve all of the mayor's legal woes. - 09/05/2008

Gov: Scandal 'affects us all'

If there can be any real winners in a case where the mayor of the state's largest city is compelled to resign his office in shame, Gov. Jennifer Granholm is among them. - 09/05/2008

Editorial: Kilpatrick plea bargain sets city on new course

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick agrees Thursday to plead guilty to three felonies and resign his office by Sept. 18. City Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr. will become the interim mayor.

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's agreement to resign allows the city to get beyond a damaging period of paralysis and move forward to confront its still daunting problems. - 09/05/2008

Mayor's exit, future raise questions

Thursday's plea deal by Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick leaves many secondary questions awaiting answers. Among them: - 09/05/2008

Special report: Kwame Kilpatrick under fire

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POWER TRANSFER

Daniel Howes

Laura Berman

Nolan Finley

Frank Beckmann: Commentary