Most of us who don’t live in Detroit first became aware of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s legal troubles after his affair with his Chief of Staff was exposed in the Detroit Free Press. Like me, some of you probably don’t know the entire sordid soap opera that is Kwame Kilpatrick’s life.
So JBaker over at Parlourmagazine.com wrote a condensed time line of the events leading up to Kilpatrick’s eventual downfall.
- The Life & Times of Kwame Kilpatrick!
2002
– Kwame is elected mayor of Detroit to much acclaim and fanfare (we admit it, we loved him).
– After being elected mayor of Detroit, Kwame allegedly throws a party, with strippers, at his state-owned official residence, the Manoogian Mansion. According to former members of his Executive Protection Unit (EPU), his wife Carlita comes home to find Kwame with the strippers and attacks one of the girls.
– Kilpatrick is found out to have charged over $210,000 in credit card bills. What was he buying? Spa massages, Moët, etc. He ended up paying the city back $9,000.
2003
– Detroit Officer Harold C. Nelthrope contacts the internal affairs unit of the Detroit Police, about the party and other abuses committed by Kilpatricks’s EPU members.
– Kilpatrick denies all allegations and dismisses the party as a rumor. He went on to say that he does not have”‘lewd parties,” “I don’t whore around on my wife” and “I want people to understand that I would never disrespect my God, my wife or my children”.
– Nelthrope and Gary A. Brown, head of the internal affairs unit are fired. They allege they got the axe for their participation in Kilpatrick’s investigation. Then the pair sue the city of Detroit, in what is known as the Whistleblower Trial, eventually winning an $8.4 million settlement.
– Two additional officers come forth with claims of retaliation: Walt Harris and Alvin Bowman. Harris was a former EPU member who was identified as cooperating with the Manoogian investigation, which resulted in Harris suffering a smear campaign by Kilpatrick administration.
– Tamara “Strawberry” Greene, 27, an exotic dancer who claims to have been a performer at the Manoogian Mansion party is found dead after being shot 18 times. Witnesses describe it as a targeted hit. The bullets are found to have belonged to the same types of guns issued by the Detroit Police Department. Bowman, (listed above) who was working this case, was transferred out of the homicide unit after discovering these facts and attempting to connect the dots. The Greene family is currently suing the city of Detroit for about $150 million. READ MORE…
Thanks to Hillary Crosley of Billboard magazine for the link!
