Baltimore’s mayor resigned today. Resigned as in left before they threw her out.
“Dixon, 56, was convicted last month of misappropriating about $500 in gift cards donated to the city for distribution to needy families during her time as City Council president”
That’s right… she stole money meant for poor people. SHe’s also been convicted of perjury and fraudulent appropriation by a fiduciary. She was facing another trial next month regarding "perjury charges stemming from accusations she did not report gifts from Ronald H. Lipscomb, a developer with whom she had a brief romance. "
That’s pretty bad but there are plenty of corrupt mayors out there.
Hartford’s mayor, Eddie Perez, was arrested twice in 2009, on two unrelated corruption charges, and there hasn’t even been talk of him resigning. I’m not sure what he could do to actually get kicked out of office. Hit a pedestrian with a car, maybe.
Having recently moved to the area, I’ve been kinda sorta following this story.
While, yes, it’s despicable that she stole the gift cards (or misplaced them, or whatever), what really bugs me is that this case has been going on for something like two years. We’re talking a theft of a grand total of about six hundred bucks- an amount which has been grossly eclipsed by the money, effort, and publicity spent trying to prosecute her for the theft.
I just wish the state had gone to her and said, “Look, we’re pretty sure you stole the cards. Can you save us all the trouble and just pay it back, even if you didn’t take it? This is chump change.”
Hell, for all I know, they did, and she turned 'em down. It’s a crummy situation all around.
It’s hard to compete with Detroit’s Kwame Kilpatrick. Apart from personal use of city funds, he fired a couple of police officers who were investigating his conduct. The officers filed a wrongful termination lawsuit and were awarded several million dollars. During the trial he denied, under oath, having an affair with his chief of staff. The Detroit Free Press uncovered a slew of text messages (and a related secret confidentiality agreement that came out of the trial) that solidly confirmed an affair was taking place. Kilpatrick was charged with perjury, and several times prior to and during the trial he violated the travel restrictions in his bail agreement. He was ultimately convicted of obstruction of justice, removed from office, served four months in jail, and lost his law license.
He has been under court order to pay restitution to the city for all the trouble he’s caused. Last fall under oath he claimed not to have as much money as the city thinks he has, after which evidence promptly surfaced showing that, um, yeah, he’s got plenty of money:
Kwame Kilpatrick (son of US Representative Carolyn Cheeks Kirkpatrick) is indeed the scummiest of the scummy mayors. Or ex-mayors.
Unfortunately, after spending an acceptable probationary period in suburban Dallas, he will undoubtedly move back to Detroit, where the good citizens will grant forgiveness, he will again portray himself as victim, and he will be re-elected.
There. Now I will return my crystal ball to the closet. It has spoken.
Isn’t that the woman Nerese Campbell on “The Wire” as based on?
If so, what would you expect from someone in cahoots with Clay “Sheeeeiiiiiiittt” Davis?
Come on - how could he manage that? Sure, people knowingly elect corrupt politicians from time to time - but that’s only when they’re otherwise effective, competent people. Buddy Cianci, of Providence, would be a good case in point - notoriously corrupt, violent, a genuinely unpleasant person. But he turned Providence’s economy around even whilst skimming like mad - and if he ran for office tomorrow, he’d probably win, because he delivered. Killpatrick didn’t.
I like to think that Peter Cammarano (Hoboken, NJ) could have been a contender if he wasn’t arrested by the FBI in a money laundering sting a month after taking office.
DC’s former mayor. Took care of all the little people, ran the city into the ground, got arrested (and did jail time) for doing crack cocaine, and got re-elected after he got out of jail.
Anyone who dissed the man was considered a racist for daring to speak against Saint Marion.
As a city councilman, he routinely ignores the law too (at least in his personal life… tax returns are for chumps anyway, right?).
Sorry, Bawlmer, your now-ex mayor’s got nothin on Uncle Marion.
Barry and Kilpatrick were pretty bad, it’s true. And this violent, corrupt ex-mayor of Providence, R.I. has a fair chance of being returned to office for a third stint in 2012: Buddy Cianci - Wikipedia
The FBI’s not done with EX-mayor, “I’m out, I’m back in, I’m out again” Willie Herenton of Memphis. Can’t wait til the FBI is done in that dirty litterbox.
The jury may be out on that one – there have been some questions raised about the lavish house she had built there. IIRC, it was built by the same people who built a new civic or sports center for the town, and it’s been suggested that the house may have been a quid pro quo to get the municipal contract, or that the builders may have given Palin a break on the costs.
However, as far as I know, there are no official investigations on this as yet – just a couple of newpaper & blog stories.