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Every country in the world has corrupt people but how they handle them is what makes the difference and determines if corruption would spread or reduce.

DETROIT (AP) — A former Detroit mayor was sent to federal prison for nearly three decades Thursday, after offering little remorse for the widespread corruption under his watch but acknowledging he let down the troubled city during a critical period before it landed in bankruptcy.

Prosecutors argued that Kwame Kilpatrick's "corrupt administration exacerbated the crisis" that Detroit now finds itself in. A judge agreed with the government's recommendation that 28 years in prison was appropriate for rigging contracts, taking bribes and putting his own price on public business.

It is one of the toughest penalties doled out for public corruption in recent U.S. history and seals a dramatic fall for Kilpatrick, who was elected mayor in 2001 at age 31 and is the son of a former senior member of Congress.

While Detroit's finances were eroding, he was getting bags of cash from city contractors, kickbacks hidden in the bra of his political fundraiser and private cross-country travel from businessmen, according to trial evidence.

Kilpatrick, 43, said he was sorry if he let down his hometown but denied ever stealing from the citizens of Detroit.

"I'm ready to go so the city can move on," Kilpatrick said, speaking softly with a few pages of notes before U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds ordered the sentence.

"The people here are suffering, they're hurting. A great deal of that hurt I accept responsibility for," he said.

In March, he was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, fraud, extortion and tax crimes. The government called it the "Kilpatrick enterprise," a yearslong scheme to shake down contractors and reward allies. He was doomed by his own text messages, which revealed efforts to fix deals for a pal, Bobby Ferguson, an excavator.

Prosecutors said $73 million of Ferguson's $127 million in revenue from city work came through extortion. The government alleged that he in turn shared cash with Kilpatrick.

Agents who pored over bank accounts and credit cards said Kilpatrick spent $840,000 beyond his salary during his time as mayor, from 2002 to fall 2008. Defense attorneys tried to portray the money as generous gifts from political supporters who opened their wallets for birthdays or holidays.

"It is difficult to quantify the total cost of the devastating corruption instigated by Kilpatrick. ... But one thing was certain: It was the citizens of Detroit who suffered when they turned over their hard-earned tax dollars but failed to receive the best services," the judge said.

Kilpatrick was convicted in March, just days before Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder sent an emergency manager to Detroit to take control of city operations. The city filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy in July, overloaded with at least $18 billion in long-term debt.

Edmunds said Kilpatrick can't be blamed for the bankruptcy — he's been out of office for five years — but "corruption has its own cost."

View gallery."Detroit's bankruptcy: 'This will not define us,' say …
Detroit' is seen on the top of an iron man-hole cover on a street in Detroit, Michigan July 27, 2013 …
"We're demanding transparency and accountability in our government. We expect it," the judge said. "If there has been corruption in the past, there will be corruption no more. We're done. It's over."

Kilpatrick covered much ground in his 30 minutes of remarks to the judge. He said he hated being mayor after just six months because the job was so difficult. He lamented that his three sons now will grow up without their father, a problem in black families, and said his scandals "killed" the political career of his mother, former U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, a Democrat who lost re-election in 2010.

The former mayor didn't specifically address his crimes, though he said he respected the jury's verdict. An appeal is certain. He said his family wasn't in the courtroom because he didn't want to make them uncomfortable under the media glare.

"I want the city to heal. I want it to prosper. I want the city to be great again," he told the judge. "I want the city to have the same feeling it had in 2006, when the Super Bowl was here."

The sentence was a victory for prosecutors. Defense attorneys argued for no more than 15 years in prison.

The punishment matches the 28-year sentence given to former Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Commissioner James Dimora in 2012. In Illinois, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison for trying to peddle President Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat for personal gain.

Outside court, U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said Kilpatrick seemed to be contrite but not enough.

"At the end of the day, he did not accept responsibility for stealing from the people of Detroit. ... That to me diminished the impact of his words," said McQuade, who noted that public contracts ended up costing more money because the fix was in for Kilpatrick's buddy Ferguson.

Kilpatrick also tapped a nonprofit fund, which was created to help distressed Detroit residents, to pay for yoga, camps for his kids, golf clubs and travel, according to evidence.

Kilpatrick quit office in 2008 in a different scandal. Sexually explicit text messages revealed that he had lied during a trial to cover up an affair with his top aide, Christine Beatty, and to hide the reasons for demoting or firing police officers who suspected wrongdoing at city hall.

After more than three hours in court Thursday, Kilpatrick stood up and stretched by twisting his waist. He looked for friendly faces in the gallery, placed his hands behind his back for handcuffs and was escorted away. He hopes to be assigned to a federal prison near family in Texas.

source: Yahoo news

Can't we have this in Nigeria? FUnny enough, the corrupt mayor is a black man.

kulyie: Lol,the neighbour that wrote the letter is extremely polite.mine will be :must everyone around you know whever you have sex.cant you two behave like adults and be conscious of the fact that there are kids around.the next time such things happen,i will have to inform the cops.full stop.what is the sorry about,why is he putting sorry there.



I wonder why some adults dont like respecting themselves when they are fully aware that there are kids around.hiaaannn!

Your behaviour puts you in the same behavioural class as the loud s.ex couples.

This is better explained on this site with a chart.

http://www.elijahforce..com/2013/07/get-pregnant.html

Being an overreligious christian or muslim is not a guarantee of a person not being an abusive partner, unfortunately a lot of people are deceived by this during courtship years. Here are signs of that your potential spouse is an abusive partner.


http://www.elijahforce..com/2013/02/signs-of-abusive-relationship.html

Very informative thread, but unfortunately nigerians are too rigid and stiff to put a little spark in their relationship.
However if you catch your spouse cheating, here is how to handle a cheater.


http://www.elijahforce..com/2013/10/how-to-handle-cheater.html

For those planning to get pregnant here is how to

http://www.elijahforce..com/2013/07/get-pregnant.html

My mum, she died this year. The last time i saw her was at the airport where she escorted me to as i was leaving the country for studies last year, we talked on phone throughout until she died of a heart attack. She was healthy before then and had even gone for an outing hours to her time of death. My only consolation is that i had a revelation that she made heaven.


Here is a tribute to her,

http://www.elijahforce..com/2013/03/letter-to-my-mother.html

My mother had a tattoo and she is in heaven today with confirmed proof.

I hope she is not marrying for all the wrong reasons. Here are some of the wrong reasons to marry.

http://www.elijahforce..com/2013/04/wrong-reasons-to-get-married.html

congrats

spongeback: Good for her bad for him

You took the words out of my mouth

Well, i just hope she is not marrying for all the wrong reasons.
Here are some of the reasons.


http://www.elijahforce..com/2013/04/wrong-reasons-to-get-married.html

Let me give them the advice, everybody gives to unemployed youths in Nigeria, start a business, become self employed, let money work for you and not you for money.

Why would nigerian pilots be employed, when there is no good aviation school in the country and you cannot train on the job. If they went to the best aviation colleges overseas, they would comeback as expatriates. That is what NIGERIA has turned into now.

Masturbation goes two ways, there are side effects and plus effects.
For side effects see.

http://www.elijahforce..com/2013/06/masturbation-side-effects.html




for plus effects see.

http://www.elijahforce..com/2013/06/masturbation-plus-effects.html

if you are really talented, i dont think you need a reality show to showcase you. Go to the studio

Efemena_xy: I know what your intended story is about. That does not answer the question I asked you though, does it?

Love conquers all.

Efemena_xy: ^^ How so?

Is asking you and your intended posters to look at the broader picture a derailment? If so, kindly educate me.

This is a love story of a man injured while in service to his country and had his girlfriend stand by him through all his travails. They are constantly spending and even had to put up a website for donation. Government cannot handle everything.

Efemena_xy: You're looking at it from one perspective. The American soldier's side of the story and you expect people to go "Awwww....touching!"

What about the story of the people on the opposing side? The Iraqis / Afghanistans / unfortunate civilians caught in the middle? Those that have lost family members leaving behind widows, orphans, and utterly destitute relatives with no hope of surviving?

You give us pictures of an American soldier getting the best health care and physio therapy. What about the others? Do they too not have a story to tell?

Please I beg you, do not derail this thread.

Now you can comment.
Girl's name is Danielle.
Guys name is Taylor.

My blog is http://www.elijahforce..com/2013/07/in-love-with-angel.html

Front Page pls

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'It's been so hard and she's been here the whole time': Amazing love story of bomb disposal expert who lost arms and legs in Afghanistan blast and the girlfriend who has been at his side during remarkable recovery

Looking glamorous in evening dress, the picture of this happy young couple at a friend's wedding is remarkable - when just a few months earlier, the soldier was lying in hospital after having his arms and legs amputated following an explosion in Afghanistan which almost killed him.

The astounding progress of 23-year-old Taylor Morris, a U.S. military bomb disposal expert, is testament to the unwavering support of his family, friends and girlfriend Danielle Kelly - who has been by his side every step of the way.

source: daily mail



Here is a story in pictures.

Don't just post anything you see on the internet. If you google this , it's only nigerian blogs and sites that show up with the message, nasa is in the united states, even the nasa site does not say that. Nigerians are so gullible.

A country where a man pays 200Million to purchase his a piece of land for on which he is to be buried, another seeks for 16M to prevent him from being buried.

This is the original post here. Thanks.


http://www.elijahforce..com/2013/04/wrong-reasons-to-get-married.html