Lorain/Elyria, OH
Detroit mayor agrees to plead guilty, resign
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DETROIT (AP) — Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has agreed to plead guilty to obstruction charges and will step down after more than six years leading the nation’s 11th-largest city.
The plea deal was announced during a court hearing Thursday and brings to an end a seven-months-long sex scandal that led to felony charges against Kilpatrick and plunged the city, region and state into political chaos.
As part of the plea deal, the 38-year-old Democrat is expected to serve jail time.
The married mayor and former top aide Christine Beatty were charged in March with perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice. They’re accused of lying under oath about an affair and their roles in the firing of a deputy police chief.
Beatty did not plead guilty and next will appear in court on Sept. 11.
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I can remember the precise moment that Detroit’s ultimate death was finalized. It was the day Coleman Young was elected mayor. I can see that 40 years later it’s only gotten worse. Voters in large cities have to get smarter about whom they elect to lead them.
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THOMAS - You’re right. Coleman Young was the beginning of the end for Detroit. There is a photo essay of the destruction of the city. Go to Google and type in, ‘the ruins of Detroit’.
The ‘hip hop’ mayor was a failure before he even took office. A joke and a downfall waiting to happen. I’m surprised it took this long.
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He gets a few months in jail, of which he’ll serve very little.A $1 million fine, which he probably will pay for with a personal check with the citizens money. Too bad he’s the Mayor??? of the poorest city in America. What’s he going to do now??. I think we should start a fund for his future so he’s not starving.
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