Sex scandal threatens career of rising political star.
March 25, 2008
Kwame Kilpatrick, who wore a diamond earring and won election in Detroit in 2001 as the youngest big-city mayor in the United States, has been charged with eight felonies in an obstruction case that could end his once-promising career.
The prosecutor Kym Worthy said Kilpatrick, 37, lied to a jury and settled a whistleblower lawsuit with $US8.4 million ($9.2 million) in tax dollars to hide an affair with his chief of staff. If convicted, the politician once dubbed the “playah mayah”, will lose his job and could face jail.
What about his wife?
The Detroit City Council voted 7-1 last week to demand Kilpatrick’s resignation, but he vowed on Monday to fight on. He predicted a “full and complete vindication” and said he would do the city’s business while awaiting trial.
Kilpatrick apologised on television in January after the Detroit Free Press revealed steamy text messages that contradicted his sworn statements that he had no romantic relationship with Christine Beatty, 37, who resigned in February. He said it was a private matter, something he would work out with his wife.
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