You know, we Detroiters just love our public fundraising efforts on the Internet. It's why we have a RoboCop statue coming! The latest ploy for handouts comes at the hands of corrupt former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his mother, a now-former Michigan congresswoman.
Kilpatrick is serving a 28-year federal bid for being a greedy dick racketeering, extortion, bribery and a laundry list of other convictions. Supporters are looking for another way to spring him from the joint.
Life was once grand for the Kilpatrick family before the feds swooped in. With Kilpatrick in office and his mother, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, in the House of Representatives, they were pulling in lots of public money while building a political dynasty.
Now, the money's gone, and Cheeks Kilpatrick is now the "trustee" for the "Freedom and Justice Trust" to raise money for her son's legal fees. What they'll do with the money is...not quite clear.
From the website:
The Freedom and Justice Trust is a trust established to raise funds to help defray the legal expenses of former Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick.
The Trustee of the Trust is former US Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick(D-MI).
Under the terms of the Trust, the funds raised can be used only for expenses(including attorneys fees and costs) incurred in connection with the legal representation of Kwame Kilpatrick. There is no legal limit on the source or amount of contributions that the Trust can accept.
Contributions to the Trust are not subject to public disclosure. The Trust is not required to file any disclosure reports with any government agency or authority.
Contributions to the Trust are legally gifts to Mayor Kilpatrick. Accordingly, such contributions are not tax-deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.
Yeah...no. It's time for the Kilpatricks to suck it up and realize what's done is done, and there are consequences for actions. Too bad like Indiegogo or any other site, we can't see how much money has actually been raised. But since Kilpatrick still has some die-hards out there, there's probably a few coins in the pot.
Ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Wants Your Cash To Get Out Of Prison