Disgraced Ex- Mayor's Claims of Money Trouble Ring Hollow in Detroit
PHILLIPS: Another helping of mystery meat next hour. Pushing forward on low standards for your kids' school lunches. We're going to talk to a guy who basically bought lunch meat on the government's behalf. And following up on a school that we told you about, where hungry kids would load up on ketchup packets and take them home for dinner. It's a "Chicken Soup for the Soul" kind of update. "Well, there's nothing else I want to do more right now than pay the city of Detroit." Those words came out of Kwame Kilpatrick's mouth just last month. Well, apparently, he's not putting his money where his mouth -- and apparently sizable mouth -- is. The disgraced ex-mayor's been in court all week, claiming money issues, trying to get monthly payments on his million-dollar restitution reduced. However, prosecutors say in reality, this guy's living large. Shopping at Gucci, paying for his wife's plastic surgery. Oh, and wait until you hear the explanation on that one. Here's WDIV's Karen Drew.</s>KWAME KILPATRICK, EX-MAYOR OF DETRIOT: She had a very extensive, painful surgery to remove a hernia and to tie her muscles back together in her stomach. And because I wanted to make her feel beautiful. "You could do whatever you want to do, baby." So, that's what that was.</s>KAREN DREW, WDIV-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's the explanation Kwame Kilpatrick offered to why he spent more than 15 grand on plastic surgery for his wife, even though he said he couldn't afford to pay his restitution to the city of Detroit. As far as the high-life living in South Lake, Texas and the million-dollar mansion for his wife and family, Kilpatrick defended the expense, saying that he owed it to his wife.</s>KILPATRICK: I think I embarrassed her, I hurt her. I cheated on her. I lied to her, and I put her through hell, and I think that's the least I can do.</s>DREW: Kilpatrick was grilled on his spending and not following court orders. One example given by the prosecution: that all political funds had to be forfeited, but they were not. The prosecution listed seven political funds related to Kilpatrick.</s>VOICE OF ROBERT SPADA, ASSISTANT WAYNE CO. PROSECUTOR: Kilpatrick Civic Funds, your campaign accounts, the Night Vision Foundation, the Detroit Justice Funds, the Detroit Political Action Group, Generations Past, and the Detroit Police (ph) Foundation.</s>DREW: Kilpatrick also said that he was not aware that he had to turn over his wife's account information, which has $164,000 in three different accounts. At the same time, Kilpatrick said he could not afford to pay his restitution.</s>PHILLIPS: And a refresher in case you blocked it all out. Kilpatrick resigned from office last year, pleading guilty in two felonies in connection with a sex-and-text scandal. Testing times for Detroit on many fronts. The city's public school system is hundreds of millions of dollars in the hole, so folks knew administrators weren't good with numbers. Well, it seems students are having big trouble, too. They've just gotten their worst scores ever on a national math achievement test. Some 70 percent of kids falling below the basic math level. Reading and science scores are due out in the spring. He says he changes lives across the world, but for the better or for the worst? Some say this self-help guru is more about self-harm.