But at least I had a better day than our former mayor.

Kwame Kilpatrick illegally used the nonprofit Kilpatrick Civic Fund like a piggy bank to pay for crisis consultants, a Cadillac, trips -- even summer camp for his kids -- a federal grand jury said Wednesday, charging the former mayor with 19 counts of fraud and tax evasion.

The charges

Mail and wire fraud: Kilpatrick faces 13 counts for allegedly using the mail and telephone to raise money for his tax-exempt Kilpatrick Civic Fund under the false assertion that it would be used for charitable purposes. Authorities allege he actually used fund money for personal and political expenses.

Penalty: Up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Filing false tax returns: Kilpatrick faces five counts for allegedly failing to report taxable income of $470,951 in the form of cash and private jet flights from unspecified sources, and personal expenses paid by the civic fund from 2003 to 2007.

Penalty: Up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Income tax evasion: Kilpatrick faces one count for allegedly failing to report $171,751 in income in the form of cash and private jet flights from unspecified sources, and personal expenses paid by the civic fund in 2008.

Penalty: Up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.


"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives."
Winter is Coming

Now this is the Law of the Jungleā€”as old and as true as the sky; And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.
As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back; For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.