Musical Hot Seats in Detroit, as Lawyers Testify About $8.4M Settlement
As a hearing before the Detroit City Council that has put a number of lawyers in the hot seat continued for a third day today, observers got an unusually detailed behind-the-scenes account of how attorneys on both sides of a controversial $8.4 million settlement reached the agreement.
Plaintiffs attorney Mike Stefani testified Tuesday that he used text messages between Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, that he had obtained to persuade the mayor to agree to settle two police whistle-blower cases for $8.4 million, according to the Associated Press. As discussed in earlier ABAJournal.com coverage, the messages reportedly showed not only that Kilpatrick and Beatty may have committed perjury related to the whistle-blower cases, but revealed an alleged romantic relationship between the two.
Yesterday, Detroit attorney Sam McCargo, who represented Kilpatrick in the settlement, testified that he didn’t fully understand the context of the confidential package of text messages he received from Stefani but saw they created a problem.
“Mr. Stefani said, ‘I have these in this safe, and I’m not going to give them to you until we settle this whole case. And I have another set in a safe at home,’ ” McCargo told the council, which scheduled the hearings after members complained about not being informed of the text messages before they approved the $8.4 million settlement. “Were we going to take the risk that Mr. Stefani was going to do with the documents what he had in the past and go to the press and have them published?”
Meanwhile, chief assistant corporation counsel Valerie Colbert-Osamuede told the council today she didn’t fully understand the messages at the time either, and was unaware, for instance, that they linked Kilpatrick and Beatty in a romantic relationship.
Tomorrow, city corporation counsel John Johnson is expected to testify about his role.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Sex, Lies and Text Messages: Side Deal a Secret in $8.4M Pact, Detroit Lawyer Says”
ABAJournal.com: “Contempt Case: Did Top Detroit City Lawyer Help Destroy Docs?’
New York Times: “Detroit Mayor Is Charged in Scandal”
