Now it's On..............Get Ready to Rumble..............

Now that the charges have finally officially come down against the Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty, I was impressed by Prosecutor Kym Worthy and the Mayor's attorney Dan Webb. This morning I listened to both of them on several radio programs, and both lawyers are presenting a strong front. However I am a bit worried with Dan Webb's assertion during the press conference that the text messages were illegally obtained during the civil whistle blower trial. Today's Free Press article indicates:

“Dan Webb, former U.S. attorney in Chicago, said he will attack Prosecutor Kym Worthy's case on at least three fronts: that the telltale text messages should be excluded from evidence because they were obtained in violation of federal Stored Communications Act; that Worthy's office rarely -- if ever -- charges anyone with perjury resulting from a civil case, and that the evidence of perjury is vague.”

If Mr. Webb's argument is successful in excluding the text messages from the trial, I hope that Prosecutor Worthy is capable in having other documentation and proof that will successfully prove her case. However I doubt the citizens of Detroit and Michigan are looking forward to the potential of some long term legal proceedings that will keep the current Mayoral stalemate going.

I found the below interesting article at the Chicago Tribune's website (chicagotribune.com). It is also listed on the WWJ Radio site also. (wwj.com)

Some US mayors who have faced criminal charges

By The Associated Press 10:45 AM CDT, March 24, 2008

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was charged Monday with conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice, misconduct in office, perjury in a court proceeding and two counts of perjury other than in a court proceeding.

Some other U.S. mayors charged while in office or after they left, include:

Former Newark, N.J., Mayor Sharpe James is accused of steering nine city contracts to a girlfriend when he was in office. The federal corruption trial is under way. James has pleaded not guilty. After this trial, which is expected to last several months, James is to be tried on charges he used city-issued credit cards to pay for $58,000 worth of personal expenses while he was mayor, including trips with several women other than his wife.

-- Austin, Texas, Mayor Will Wynn pleaded no contest earlier this month to a misdemeanor assault charge stemming from a 2006 incident. Wynn was ordered to pay $68 in court costs and perform 20 hours of community service or receive private counseling.

-- Collins, Mo., Mayor Allen Kauffman was charged in January with soliciting sex over the Internet from a police detective posing as a 13-year-old girl. Kauffman, 63, is charged with three counts of felony enticement of a child. He has resigned from office. His lawyer has said the 62-year-old expects to plead not guilty at an arraignment set for April 14.

-- Former Syracuse, N.Y., Mayor Lee Alexander was indicted in 1987 and spent six years in prison after his conviction for racketeering, tax evasion and conspiracy to obstruct a federal investigation in a scheme that brought him $1.5 million from city contractors.

-- San Diego Mayor Roger Hedgecock was forced to resign following a 1985 conviction for perjury and concealing illegal campaign contributions.

SOURCE: Associated Press research