Union Members Weigh In On Detroit Corruption
They want the money back. A day after indictments were handed down against ex-Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his father, friends and the former head of the city's water department, members of AFSCME Local 207 say the city should try to recoup some cash.
AFSCME Local 207 President John Reihl said folks in his office cheered when they heard of the indictments against ex-mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and others.
"I know there's been corruption. I know there's been fraud and overly-built contracts which helped the companies, the outside companies, and it's about time that somebody pays for what they've done," Reihl told WWJ's Stephanie Davis.
The indictment alleges that companies who wanted to do business in the water department in 13 different instances were forced to hire Kilpatrick's friend in order to secure the multimillion dollar contract.
Reihl says those contractors who gave this money should also be banned from future contracts with the city of Detroit.
"The may claim to be victims and they may testify in the legal action. But they're culpable because they went on with this corruption for years," he said.
