Posted on 09/27/2004 9:21:16 PM PDT by Dan from Michigan
Ex-McNamara aide convicted of Detroit Metropolitan Airport corruption
9/27/2004, 10:45 p.m. ET
The Associated Press
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A federal jury on Monday convicted a top aide to former Wayne County Executive Ed McNamara of taking kickbacks from contractors at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
The charges grew out of a two-year federal and state investigation of the McNamara administration.
The jury found Wilbourne Kelley III, 68, and wife Barbara Kelley, 56, guilty of extortion, bribery, conspiracy and lying to the FBI. Barbara Kelley also was convicted of money-laundering.
Wilbourne Kelley was a top county official through the 1990s and served as assistant chief executive for airport operations, overseeing contracts at the airport.
Federal prosecutors say he extorted about $265,000 while a public employee. They say one contractor gave the couple cash, a job for their son, a $40,000 kitchen and a dress to wear to President Clinton's second inauguration in exchange for work.
The charges against the Kelleys carry a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Former County Executive(think County Mayor) Ed "Boss" McNamara ran Wayne County building his own fiefdom. The airport (McNamara terminal) was the biggest piece of his fiefdom. No bid contracts to his buddies were the norm, and it was anything but clean.
He has a well oiled political machine. Two of his proteges were Mike Duggan and Jennifer Granholm. Duggan became prosecutor and now took a lucritive job at Detroit Medical Center. Granholm was county attorney and also US attorney(different times) until she became attorney general and now governor. He's also tied to Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. His dad was McNamara's spokesman.
This could be the start of a snowball effect. :D
Please keep us posted as this unfolds - could get REALLY interesting.....
Regards,
Lenny
The other good news is that the Lions lost Sunday.
Checked your profile page. Figured that comment had to be from a cheesehead, yooper(almost all Green Bay fans North of the bridge), or a bears fan.
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Ex-McNamara aide pleads guilty
Former Wayne assistant prosecutor agrees to misdemeanor in theft of government property
McCann, 43, agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of stealing government property under $1,000; he originally was charged with 11 felony counts that included mail fraud, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
If approved by U.S. District Judge Paul Borman, McCann, of Livonia, faces six to 12 months in prison and up to a $20,000 fine.
McCann was indicted in November on charges of improperly using a federal grant to pay two interns to secretly build a database of Democratic Party donors. They performed an estimated 758 hours of political work while on the county’s payroll in 2001, the county contended.
In November 2002, the FBI and Michigan State Police seized thousands of documents from McNamara’s county office and the campaign office of McCann’s former boss, then-Wayne County Prosecutor Michael Duggan, in a raid. Duggan is now head of the Detroit Medical Center.
This could be the start of a snowball effect. :D
YES.
But another snowball effect is already taking place.....Because of the "greasy" politician at the top of the party, many democrats in Michigan are rethinking their party affiliation (my BIL and his two neighbors to name a few--they REALLY dislike the gov. even before she has been charge with any actual corruption)
DEMOCRAT'S TOP MACHINE
I've lived in Chicago and the metro area all of my life and it's hard to top the Democratic machine in Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois. My state will soon have two democratic senators, a democratic governor, and a democratic mayor of the third largest city in the US and a Republican party that is in total disarray. Even New York, Massachusetts, and California can't match that.
Remember Granholm & Kwame on stage with JFn'K at the DNC ? Both these clowns have a long shady history in Michigan.
Any chance you could send Roy back to Texas? We miss him.
I really miss Bill Lucas.
Not a surprise...
I grew up in Livonia where McNamara was mayor - before becoming Wayne county executive..He was tight with the corrupt mayor of Detroit Coleman Young - Detroit was ruined by Young (and democrat Govenor Blanchard) --they destroyed the great polish community of Hamtramck where they tore down houses, churches, hospitals - to build the a GM plant called 'Poletown' - such a terrible terrible tragedy.
slick democrat machine...
WAYNE COUNTY
Bush 223021 29.02%
Gore 530414 69.01%
Nader 11287
Brown 3905
Detroit
Bush 15688 5.22%
Gore 282111 93.88%
Nader 1951
Brown 750
I think Lucas is running again. Sheriff I think.
You have my sympathy. At least in Chicago they try to make it look there's a Republican opposition. And they call this democracy.
We used to live in Beverly Hills. A tornado hit Hamtramick one July. They were showing the damage on the TV. Only problem was we couldn't decide what was damage and what was the norm. Sad. Enjoyed taking a walking tour of the Boston Edison Historic District in Detroit once.
There is a thread going by hoosiermama that chronicles DemocRAT voter fraud, do you think this could qualify as general Rat fraud?
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