What If You Were Innocent…And No One Knew It?

       What if you were convicted of a crime and you knew you were innocent; but, no one else knew or cared once you were convicted?  Worse yet, what if you were wasting away in prison for a crime you didn’t commit; while the real criminal was free to continue doing what you were accused of doing?  Wouldn’t you want someone to dig until they found proof of your innocence?

       Many people think that is the job of the defense attorneys of the accused; but that is unrealistic.  Oh, they do their job in court to protect your rights, best way that they can…but, for the most part…once you are convicted…you are there until your time is served. They have so many people to represent…unless your case sticks in their craw and they believe in you; and, they have powerful, political connections to movers and shakers…you will sit in prison until your time is up!

        What if someone dared to believe in your innocence and was willing to investigate until irrefutible proof was found that proved your innocence?  That would be a gift…a miracle.    That type of commitment costs money and lots of time.  Most people don’t have an unending supply of wealth.  By the time they have gone through the court system and paid to defend themselves…they have nothing left.  Often, even family and friends have moved on with their lives…not ALWAYS…but, by the time that the person has sat in prison a few years…family and friends have been forced to go back to work, finish growing up, getting married, having children, going off to college; you get the idea…life keeps moving on. 

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Heck No…He Won’t Go!!!

        It should have been a fairly local news story…however, a mayor from a fairly large metropolitan city in America who is being accused of felony charges of perjury and other assorted charges; throw in some secret behind the scene deal, allegedly made with lawyers regarding the officers who had recordings showing alleged proof of his salacious, sexual text messages between him and his alleged former (female) chief of staff; as well as, a formal legal proceedings (initiated by the City Council and signed into motion by Govenor Granholm) trying to forcibly remove him from office…and you have a national news story worthy of a tabloid newspaper.  Still, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is basically saying, Heck No…I won’t Go.

         His basic legal argument is that the council doesn’t have legal standing to remove him from office because he says the law states that the only legal grounds a council has to remove him is a felony conviction or for a lack of qualifications. 

          So, when the council formally asked the Governor to remove Kilpatrick from office and went through the formalities….Mayor Kilpatrick vetoed the Council’s vote requesting his ouster by Governor Granholm. Wow!!!  There is some fancy footwork going on.

          No, I won’t leave office…because I haven’t been “convicted of a felony” even though i am being charged with felony charges…i haven’t been convicted yet…therefore…i don’t have to leave office (yet).   

            Can you imagine having to try to work together effectively to run a city as large as Detroit with such opposite agenda’s?  Is this fair to the citizen’s of Detroit to have this kind of standoff going on in their city’s governing body?  I wonder how long of a process this will take, to get a decision that is definate in whether he will be allowed to stay or forced out of office. 

          Some of the allegations are downright embarassing.  His wife appears to be still standing behind him.  After all, if the texts truly represent that he had an ongoing relationship with his female former chief of staff…that is damaging to a marriage and will take some major time and energy to repair (if the people involved are truly repentent for their actions…which doesn’t appear to be the case based on this ongoing legal defiance). 

           Then you get into the legal stuff and it would seem that his professional hands would be bound so tight that he would not be able to perform his duties as Mayor.   Is he in denial about the situation; or, is it just a delaying technique?  If he is going to end up removed…who is paying for all of this legal wrangling…are our tax dollars going into this legal battle?  Is there such a thing as being sued for political malpractice?  If so, this situation seems to invite such a suit.  Do you think Mayor Kilpatrick should stay or go?

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25 Years To Think-Lou Pearlman-Scam Artist

        Many people may not know who Lou Pearlman is; but, they certainly know about some of the big names he has represented as a music producer.  Lou Pearlman was just sentenced for 25 years in federal prison on four charges.  He has been convicted on charges of  money laundering, conspiracy, and using false statements in bankruptcy court proceedings.

        Going back 10 to 15 years he has allegedly falsified documents; and, employed financial scams that have stolen many people’s finances.  He was touted as a musical producer, of genius status, when he created industry buzz behind bands such as N’Sync, Backstreet Boys, and many other “boy” bands in the midst of the frenzy of such musical groups.  At one time, he even developed a television show for ABC called, The Making Of The Band; that show was capitalizing on the hopes and dreams of those with musical talent.

         He based his lavish life-style on money that was allegedly scammed from other “false” businesses that he claimed to own or have invested in.  Some of them never existed.  There were even long-time employees and acquaintances who’s lives were devastated by his actions.  One man even allegedly took his own life when his true financial reality was revealed. 

       Lou evidently had the ability to “motivate or induce” people to invest their hard earned money in his ideas and business plans.  He was very convincing; this had the devastating effect of plunging many people into despair when they discovered that they had nothing to show for their investments.  The ruthlessness here is hard to understand.

        After his financial misdeeds were documented…some other legal and moral allegations came to light.  He took off and disappeared for quite some time out of country; trying to avoid the legal ramifications here in the US.  He was spotted, photographed, subsequently arrested; and, returned to the United States.

       He was quietly accused of “inappropriate” actions with some of those young men in his groups and other potential musical hopefuls.  Unfortunately, Lou Pearlman’s perceived power was intimidating.  He used that to coerce or intimidated people to backdown legally when they would notify him that he was going to be challenged.  At the heighth of his power, he held a lot of sway in the industry;  people did not follow through on legal action out of fear of retaliation personally and professionally. 

        It was alledged that some of those, for whom Lou Pearlman represented or were hopeful of his representation, “allowed” themselves to be used in an inappropriate way in exchange for representation.  Children can not give consent; that is sexual abuse.  Sexual concerns were whispered about in relation to Lou Pearlman and young men. 

          If any of those allegations are true…Mr. Pearlman will have about 25 years to reflect on how his actions have affected those around him during that time in his life when he held all of the power; the balance of power has now shifted.  Hopefully, that will bring some justice to those he has hurt.

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