Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac must be wondering why he bothered in 1701 to found the city. Detroit’s government continues its downward spiral toward collapse with new indictments, criminal allegations, and scandal. The federal prosecutors have introduced a superseding indictment alleging more lies from Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick about past affairs. In the meantime, city council members are now under criminal investigation for other crimes while they also engage in bizarre public arguments.

Not since Chief Pontiac laid siege of Fort Detroit in 1763 has the city been under such locked down conditions. Now, however, the officials are hunkered down with federal investigators and subpoena servers circling around them.

In the very middle is the rather obnoxious character of Kwame Kilpatrick. The refusal of Kilpatrick to resign pending his criminal trial has been a constant source of embarrassment for the city, click here.

The city council itself is now the focus of a federal investigation into a $47 million sludge recycling contract. John Clark, the chief of staff of City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. recently resigned after reportedly being caught on videotape accepting money. Previously, there has been speculation of at least two city council members may be targets of the investigation, which has now expanded to include Monica Conyers, the wife of House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, click here.

The City council has decided, over some opposition, to rescind the contract with Synagro, click here.

For the city council charges, click here.

The council itself has been the scene of bizarre fights lately involving Monica Conyers, click here.

In the meantime, Kilpatrick continues to hold on to his office despite mounting evidence that he and his lover/aide committed perjury. Now, evidence has been cited for additional charges — referencing additional underlying affairs by Kilpatrick.

For the latest story on Kilpatrick, click here.

At some point, the functional definition of a government is thrown into question as officials divide their time between their respective courts and defense counsel. It is difficult to understand why the citizens of Detroit tolerate this level of representation, particularly given the chronic economic conditions of some areas of the city. Perhaps the most outrageous aspect of the Kilpatrick scandal beyond the alleged perjury itself has been the huge amount of money spent by the city on litigation to try to protect his personal interests.