car7858's Blog

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Records: Mayor Kilpatrick paid $170K to two involved in FBI probe David Josar and Paul Egan / The Detroit News

DETROIT - Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's campaign finance records show he has paid more than $170,000 for "consulting" and "reimbursements" to two figures involved in the federal public corruption probe of City Hall: Michael Tardif and Bernard Kilpatrick, the mayor's father.

Bernard Kilpatrick received "reimbursements" on Dec. 12, 2005, for $5,000 and $2,000 on Dec. 16, 2005. Last year his firm, Maestro & Associates, with an office address on the disclosure forms that was the same as Bernard Kilpatrick's apartment, was paid $25,000 for work as a "consultant" on Dec. 20, 2007.

Tardif, who had been on the City Hall payroll until 2004, has been paid $138,500 from Feb. 17, 2005, through Dec. 20, 2007. He has been paid as much as $12,000 in a single month for his work as a "consultant."

Tardif, whose last name was misspelled on the disclosure forms, is seen on a weekly basis in the mayor's suite of offices in City Hall.

Sources say Tardif -- a political consultant and member of the Democratic National Committee -- has attracted the interest of FBI agents as they investigate whether city officials took money to approve a $47 million sludge-hauling contract last year. Agents also have asked about Bernard Kilpatrick's relationship with Rayford Jackson, who was hired as a minority contractor by Synagro Technologies Inc.

Jackson is not cooperating with the FBI and his lawyer said he believes agents are targeting Jackson for bribery. The attorney, Richard H. Morgan Jr., said Jackson is innocent.

Campaign finance records show Jackson gave a total of $5,400 to Councilwomen Barbara-Rose Collins and Martha Reeves, starting with a $1,000 donation to Collins in 2005. FBI agents made a surprise visit to her home on Tuesday and told her that she is a subject of the investigation.

A vice president for Synagro, James Rosendall, is cooperating with the feds. Sources say he was taped this year giving money to John Clark, who recently resigned as Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr.'s chief of staff.

Campaign records show Rosendall gave annual donations of $1,000 to several city council members starting in 2004, more than three years before the Synagro deal came up for a vote. The proposal had lingered for years. At the time of the donation, Rosendall's occupation was listed simply as "businessman" on campaign forms.

Other City Council members who received donations from Rosendall include JoAnn Watson, who received $1,250 in July 2005; Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers, who received $1,000; and Martha Reeves, who received $1,000 in May 2007. Rosendall also gave $1,000 donations in 2004 to Council members Sheila Cockrel and Kenneth V. Cockrel Jr.

The only council members who did not receive donations from either Rosendall or Jackson were Kwame Kenyatta and Brenda Jones.

The mayor's spokeswoman, Denise Tolliver, said Tardif remains a consultant to the mayor, and that he does "political work" for the mayor not related to city business.

She initially said Bernard Kilpatrick has never been paid to work for the mayor's. When she was handed a copy of the campaign disclosure firm listing Bernard Kilpatrick's business as a consultant, she said she needed to check for further information.

Kilpatrick does not have to file a campaign finance disclosure fund for any money raised or spent in 2008 until January 2009.

You can reach David Josar at (313) 222-2073 or djosar@detnews.com.