Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, already jailed for violating his parole, is now facing even more legal troubles.

Federal authorities have charged Kilpatrick with fraud and tax charges for allegedly bilking $640,000 from a charity designed to help improve Detroit and its image.

Instead, authorities say, Kilpatrick used the money for personal gain. Kilpatrick allegedly used the money to pay for "yoga, golf, camp for his kids, travel, a video about his family, cars [and] political polling," the AP reports.

Instead of doing anything to improve Detroit's image, these charges against Kilpatrick only further tarnish an already struggling city.

Kilpatrick's attorney denies the charges and says his client will fight them in court.

It seems there is no end to the disgrace that Kilpatrick has brought to Detroit.



First, Kilpatrick resigned from office after lying under oath about an extramarital affair with his aide. He also allegedly settled an $8 million lawsuit to avoid the accusations about the affair becoming public.

After serving a few months in jail, Kilpatrick was ordered to repay $1 million in restitution to the city of Detroit. He landed a job at a computer company and moved to Dallas. Prosecutors there say Kilpatrick began receiving gifts and loans that he should have used to repay his debt. After ignoring warnings by a judge, Kilpatrick was sent back to jail for one and half to five years for violating his parole.

Now, comes this latest disgrace just as a judge was considering whether Kilpatrick was eligible for early release after completing a boot camp program.

A prominent Detroit pastor said the city is tired of this case: Rev. Horace Sheffield says the "sad saga" about Kilpatrick "needs to end."

He's right. If the once-booming city is ever going to return to its former greatness, Detroiters need to put the Kilpatrick saga behind them once and for all.

The city is in a desperate situation financially and has now begun controversial plans to bulldoze abandoned homes to purposefully shrink the city. The police chief there admits they don't have enough police to properly respond to crime. Middle-class blacks who tried to hang on and work to improve the city have now reached the end of their rope and are leaving.

Federal and state authorities should bring any remaining cases they have against Kilpatrick now so that a new, more successful chapter can be written in this city's story.