Detroit: The McDonalds of Corruption

Corrupted third world cronies have nothing over on their counterparts selflessly serving the fine citizens of Detroit. While the highly publicized shenanigans of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick still resonate around the country, it is clear to see that the Detroit City Council and its subordinates have been learning through Kwame's masterful example.

If it wasn't such a tragedy it would be pure comedy. If it didn't add to the squalor, we could giggle in delight.

The FBI is now conducting a far-reaching investigation into activities surrounding the awarding of a huge city contract for a sludge treatment facility. After being confronted by the FBI over payoffs he was making to Detroit officials in pursuit of the contract, an executive of Synagro Technologies, the company that was ultimately awarded the contract, continued his bribing efforts with one small twist--the FBI was now on board and taping the transactions.

I guess the lesson here is that if you want to do business with the city, you had better have a wallet full of cash, and if you work for the city, maybe you should get yourself one of those full faced ski masks. Apparently, public office in Detroit pays too little and offers no anonymity.

How reluctant were city officials to accept the bribes? According to comments given to the Detroit Free Press, officials were nearly falling all over themselves to get themselves a piece of cheese.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the probe's sensitive nature, said they were surprised how cheaply some public officials could be bought.

"If you're going to trade your vote, you'd think it would be for a lot of money," one said. "Four figures is not a lot of money. ... They were selling their votes in volume."

What is Detroit? The McDonalds of the corruption industry?

Reached at home late Tuesday, Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. said: "It's not surprising, but it's very disappointing and very disturbing," adding that he got a hint of the probe's scope last week in talking to the FBI.

Things are so bad in Detroit that the council president is not even surprised by the allegations.

So, another chapter is opened in the true-crime story that is Detroit city politics. Only time will tell how wide the net is cast.

One thing is for certain. Until the citizens of Detroit start to take their local elections seriously and elect candidates based on their love of the city rather than name recognition and party loyalty, we can expect Detroit to continue down into the sinkhole.

What is Keith Butler doing these days?