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Anti-Gay Former Detroit Mayor Guilty of Corruption, Ordered to Jail

And it couldn't happen to a better person ...

Jurors in a city buffeted by financial crisis convicted former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on corruption charges Monday, capping a five-month trial that exposed a brazen pay-to-play culture during his years in office while the distressed city lost jobs and people and veered toward insolvency.

Kilpatrick [was convicted of] two dozen convictions, from racketeering conspiracy to bribery to tax crimes. Once hailed as a hip, young big-city leader, he was portrayed at trial as an unscrupulous politician who took kickbacks, rigged contracts and lived far beyond his means.

Kilpatrick was "denied bond and ordered to go to prison [to] await sentencing," adds Detroit's NBC 4. "The former mayor could face up to 20 years in prison for the two racketeering convictions alone."

During his scandal-plagued administration, Kilpatrick infamously campaigned for a same-sex marriage ban in Michigan. The former mayor said that he didn't "support equal rights for gays because marriage should be a sacred institution between 'a man and a woman.' "

The anti-gay mayor was later outed as a serial adulterer. Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff faced multiple felonies after "tens of thousands of text messages" surfaced, including many sexually explicit ones, that revealed they were having an affair and attempting to payoff witnesses with city funds. This was Kilpatrick's second publicized extramarital affair.

The former mayor's legal woes undoubtedly helped end the career of his mother, one of the biggest names in Detroit politics and one of the LGBT community's strongest supporters on Capitol Hill. Democratic Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick lost her bid for an eighth term in August 2010.

Another criminal awaits the disgraced former mayor: The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Kilpatrick with accepting $125,000 worth of gifts in an influence-peddling scheme involving pension funds.

#GlassHousesStonesEtc

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Michigan Secretly Collecting HIV Testing Data for Prosecutions?

PHOTO: GETTY

An extensive investigation by veteran HIV/AIDS reporter Todd Heywood at The American Independent has revealed a disturbing decade-long practice by the Michigan Department of Community Health.

Authorities reportedly have been secretly collecting "the names, dates of birth, risk categories, and other demographic information of people submitting for confidential HIV testing" at community health clinics across the state, according to the investigation. Some of this data has reportedly been used to build civil or criminal actions against people living with HIV/AIDS—and those prosecutions have disproportionately targeted Black men. 

The database also includes the coded identities of people who have been identified as sexual and needle-sharing partners of persons living with HIV. The state says this database is necessary to track the number of tests conducted using federal grants, as well as to determine reach and success of targeted testing programs designed to draw in people who are at high risk for HIV infection.

While MDCH claims the database does not contain personally identifiable information, a recent study, published last month in the University of California Press’ journal Social Problems, has found that some Michigan local health departments with access to the database are using it to pursue both civil actions – known as “health threat to others” actions – and criminal prosecutions against people living with HIV.

The study, authored by University of Michigan Ph.D. candidate Trevor Hoppe, found that the database has been used specifically to identify and target sexual or needle-sharing partners of newly diagnosed HIV-positive persons where the infected person may not have disclosed his or her status to partners; women who are HIV-positive and have become pregnant; and HIV-positive persons who have been diagnosed with other sexually transmitted infections.

Michigan's harsh climate of HIV criminalization and University of Michigan Ph.D. candidate Trevor Hoppe's excellent research were reported last August at EBONY. No surprise: Black men have "been overrepresented" in criminal prosecutions.

Michigan has emerged as one of the nation’s harshest landscapes for criminalization. In March 2010, the ACLU of Michigan filed an amicus brief in the outrageous case of a Black, HIV-positive gay man who faced bio-terrorism charges after he allegedly bit another man during a fight. The case was later dropped.

More recently, at AIDS 2012 last month in Washington D.C., data was presented that demonstrated “an overrepresentation” of Black men with female partners “and an underrepresentation of White men with male partners among those convicted” under Michigan’s HIV criminalization laws.  The study was conducted by Trevor Hoppe, a doctoral student in sociology at the University of Michigan.

The United States has reportedly led the world with “thousands of  [HIV exposure] prosecutions”, according to the United Nations-backed Global Commission on HIV and the Law. Thirty-five states and two territories criminalize exposure and/or transmission of HIV. In Michigan, conviction is a four-year felony.

DETROIT: 18 Month Sentence for Brutal Anti-Gay Assault

There is a welcome update to a horrible anti-gay assault that happened almost two years ago in Detroit. Twenty-three-year-old Justin Alesna suffered a shattered eye socket after he says witnesses "gawked and laughed" after he was brutally attacked at a gas station in March 2011.

Everett Dwayne Avery pleaded guilty to a federal hate crimes charge in August 2012. Avery was sentenced yesterday to serve 18 months in prison, the Justice Department reported via email.

Avery used anti-gay slurs toward the victim as Avery and the victim waited in line in the convenience store. Shortly after the first slurs, while still in the store, Avery used another anti-gay slur and punched the victim in the face, fracturing the victim’s eye socket. Avery pled guilty to violating the federal Hate Crimes Protection Act on Aug. 29, 2012.

Hate-fueled incidents like this one have no place in a civilized society," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The Justice Department is committed to using all the tools in our law enforcement arsenal, including the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, to prosecute acts motivated by hate.

"Congress has made it clear that it is a crime to assault people solely on the basis of their sexual orientation. Prosecutions under this law are important to ensure that all people in our community know that they have the full protection of the law," said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara McQuade.

The FBI and Justice Department intervened in the investigation because Michigan is one of six states that does not have a hate crime statute, Alesna recorded a video and uploaded it to YouTube. Watch that video AFTER YOU JUMP ...

VIDEO: Detroit Pastor's Ordination Criticized as "Sexual" "Offensive"

The video of a prominent Detroit pastor's ordination ceremony has been criticized as "sexual" and "offensive." The internet buzz has become so loud that Bishop Wayne T. Jackson of Impact Ministries International Church claims that he is being "bullied" and has attempted to have the video removed from YouTube, reports The Detroit News.

Watch the video AFTER THE JUMP ...

The clip shows Jackson praying and laying on top of the new bishops. The men are shrouded in red and white cloths during the ceremony. Jackson claims the ordination is similar to the ordination of Catholic priests. The video of the August 2012 ceremony has gone viral in the past week and now has 62,000+ views.

"I have done nothing wrong," said Jackson, a grandfather and married father of nine, said Tuesday. "This was done in front of a thousand people. It was not done in secret."

Jackson said detractors "took over" his Facebook page and posted insulting remarks about the ceremony. "This was really Internet bullying," said Jackson.

He said his attorney is seeking a cease-and-desist order to pull the video from YouTube. "They are using my likeness to spew hate," said Jackson, senior pastor of the church and founder of The Impact Network, a Christian broadcasting network solely owned by African-Americans. "This has been a main attack on homosexuals. If [the ministers] call themselves Christians, they should be leading people with love."

The Rev. Anthony Evans, president of the Washington, D.C.-based National Black Church Initiative, said Jackson "has a right to develop any ceremony he chooses" — but the practice is unusual, offensive and seems to promote homosexuality, a taboo in the black church.

Jackson's analogy to "bullying" is a disservice to the many, many people—especially LGBT—who have been bullied and harassed in the Black church. And it doesn't appear that Jackson or his ministry are inclusive or LGBT-affirming, so that comparison is just a smoke screen.

Carry on, bishop. Watch the grinding—oops, ordination "ceremony"— AFTER THE JUMP ...

DETROIT: Guilty Plea in Brutal Federal Hate Crimes Case

Excellent news. There is a guilty plea in the federal hate crimes case of the Detroit man targeted in a horrible anti-gay assault in March 2011. Twenty-three-year-old Justin Alesna suffered a shattered eye socket after he says witnesses "gawked and laughed" after he was brutally attacked at a gas station.

Thirty-six-year-old Everett Dwayne Avery pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to a federal hate crimes charge, reports the Justice Department and the Detroit Free Press.

Avery faces up to 10 years in prison when he’s sentenced in November. ... Justin Alesna, who spoke to the Free Press after the assault, went to the BP to buy cigarettes and was standing in line behind Avery. Avery used an anti-gay slur and told him to move back because he believed Alesna was gay, the plea deal stated.

Avery hurled profanities and other homosexual slurs before punching Alesna in the face, the document stated. The two had never met before, and Avery knew nothing about the victim except that he assumed Alesna was gay, the document indicated.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Foley, whose Detroit office investigated Avery, said this case should send a message to the community. "The FBI is committed to protecting the community from those who are motivated by hate to victimize anyone as the result of their sexual orientation," Foley said.

To add insult to the already very serious injuries, the store owner reportedly told Alesna "to leave the store" when he asked for help.

Michigan is one of six states that does not have a hate crime statute, according to the Movement Advancement Project. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Justice Department indicated they would investigate the case last June.

Avery faces a maximum of 10 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 28, 2012.

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VIDEO: Mitt Romney Makes "Joke" About "Birth Certificate"

PHOTO: Getty

Mitt Romney channels his BFF Donald "Birther" Trump and makes a "joke" ...

"I love being home, in this place where Ann and I were raised, where both of us were born,” Romney said in Commerce, Michigan, standing next to wife Ann and his running mate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). "Ann was born in Henry Ford Hospital, I was born in Harper Hospital. No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place where both of us were born and raised," he added.

But we have repeatedly asked to see your tax returns and you've refused. Cute trick to try to change the conversation from Rep. Todd Akin and a woman's right to choose ...

Romney strategist Kevin Madden claimed that the candidate was "only referencing that Michigan is the state where he himself was born and raised."

Of course. Watch Romney's "joke" AFTER THE JUMP ...

DETROIT: Rep. Hansen Clarke Claims "Race-Baiting" in Campaign

Detroit's Democratic Congressman Hansen Clarke has announced that he will no longer participate in primary debates because he has been targeted with "racist" phone calls and e-mails. Questions have been raised about his ethnicity, particularly whether his mother was Black as he said, reports the Detroit News and Free Press.

Clarke skipped Sunday afternoon's debate. ... While some candidates opted to avoid the subject, former state representative Mary Waters dove right in. "Congressman Clarke is an American and he deserves to run for office, just like anyone else," she said. "My question is … you also have to be honest with those who elected you. That means if your ethnicity is in question then come forward and address it."

In biographical information, Clarke, D-Detroit, has said he's the son of an African-American mother and an Indian father. Both of his parents have died. The race issue was raised when a death certificate was dug up by a Southfield resident doing background research on Clarke. The death certificate for Thelma Hashim on Dec. 20, 1976, from Detroit listed her race as "white," according to the document pulled by Wendell Smiley, 30, who said he did the research independent of any campaign.

Last week "radio host Mildred Gaddis reported on her show that a robo call had gone out in the 14th district claiming Clark is not black," reports the Free Press. "Clarke’s opponents' campaigns said they had not heard the call."

Clarke is the former state legislator who defeated 8-term Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick in 2010. He's locked in a five-way fight for a new congressional district with U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence, Waters, and retired 36th District Court Magistrate Robert Costello of Detroit.

Detroit's "significant population loss" and the district's new boundaries mean that Reps. John Conyers Jr. and Hansen Clarke may be ousted by white Democratic challengers ... and leave Detroit without a "Black representative in Congress for the first time since 1955, a shift that would punctuate the erosion of African-American power in a region with a history of racial friction," reports BusinessWeek.

Clarke has a strong record on LGBT issues. Clarke co-sponsored legislation to expand Michigan’s hate crime law to include sexual orientation. Clarke has been an outspoken advocate on HIV funding and policy. The state senator was among the first elected officials in Michigan to condemn the 2010 bio-terrorism charge slapped against an HIV positive black gay man accused of biting a neighbor.

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Serial Stabbing Suspect Elias Abuelazam Convicted of Murder

Jurors in Flint, Michigan deliberated less one hour before reaching a guilty verdict in the first murder trial for Elias Abuelazam, accused of a horrific stabbing spree in the summer of 2010. Abuelazam is believed to have targeted at least 18 men in three state, including five fatal stabbings. All but one of the victims were Black or dark skinned men.

Abuelazam, 35, faced a first degree murder charge in the Aug. 2, 2010, stabbing death of Arnold Minor, 49. Today is just two days shy of the two-year anniversary of the first alleged attack, although Abuelazam is not charged in the case. David Motley, 31, died from stab wounds suffered on May, 24, 2010.

Prosecutors say Abuelazam went on to attack 13 others, including four fatally. Jurors also heard testimony from four of the surviving victims who identified Abuelazam as his attacker.The survivors talked about how Abuelazam asked for directions or help with his vehicle before attacking them.

Abuelazam is suspected in a high-profile series of stabbings in Michigan, Virginia and Ohio in the summer of 2010. He was arrested 12 August 2010 at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport as he tried to board a plane bound for his native country of Israel. Abuelazam was traveling on an expired Israeli passport and was later identified as an Israeli Arab citizen who lived near Flint.

The stabbings and murders of Black men around Flint initially "drew little attention", reported the AP. Residents slammed the Flint Police Department, Genessee County Sheriff and Michigan State Police for taking up to three months to link the attacks ... and not warning them that a serial killer was on the loose. One 17-year-old stabbing victim says police "never" questioned him the night he was attacked and "waited days" to ask any questions.

The Justice Department and FBI tried to determine if the stabbings were racially motivated but could not prove so. Abuelazam faces life in prison without parole.

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SEC Charges Anti-Gay Former Detroit Mayor in Pension Scheme

More problems for Detroit's anti-gay former Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick, who recently was released from prison after serving 14 months for obstruction of justice after his efforts to conceal a sex scandal. The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Kilpatrick and a longtime friend with accepting lavish gifts, and private plane travel in an influence-peddling scheme involving pension funds, reports The Detroit Free Press.

The agency accused Kilpatrick and Jeffrey Beasley, both [trustees of the Detroit Police and Fire Fund], of accepting $125,000 worth of gifts—including private jet travel, golf outings, massages and concert tickets—from an investment adviser to the city's pension funds in exchange for preferential treatment. The adviser, MayfieldGentry Realty Advisers, had recommended the pension funds invest $117 million in a real estate investment, records state. The deal went through, but the travel and other perks to Kilpatrick and Beasley were kept secret.

The SEC now wants Kilpatrick and Beasley—both already facing separate criminal charges in federal court—to give back the dollar value of their alleged ill-gotten gains and pay an unspecified amount in civil fines. Charges by the SEC are not criminal and do not carry the possibility of prison time.

The investment advisers also gave "$50,000 in donations to the former mayor's charity, the Kilpatrick Civic Fund. The firm chartered private flights to Bermuda, Las Vegas and Florida for Kilpatrick, according to federal court records," adds The Detroit News.

During his scandal-plagued administration, Kilpatrick infamously campaigned for a same-sex marriage ban in Michigan, saying that he didn't "support equal rights for gays because marriage should be a sacred institution between 'a man and a woman.' "

The anti-gay mayor was later outed as a serial adulterer. Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff faced multiple felonies after tens of thousands of text messages surfaced, including many sexually explicit ones, that revealed they were having an affair and attempting to payoff witnesses with city funds. This was Kilpatrick's second publicized extramarital affair.

The former mayor's legal woes undoubtedly helped end the career of his mother, one of the biggest names in Detroit politics and one of the LGBT community's strongest supporters on Capitol Hill. Democratic Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick lost her bid for an eighth term in August 2010.

Kilpatrick's legal problems are only just beginning. Kilpatrick is facing a 38-count federal indictment "that accuses the former mayor and his circle of rigging contracts, collecting millions of dollars in bribes and defrauding taxpayers." The trial is expected to begin in September.

#GlassHousesStonesEtc

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Man Sentenced to 25-40 Years for Murder of Transgender Detroit Teen

A Detroit man has been sentenced to serve 25 to 40 years in prison for the brutal October killing and dismemberment of a transgender teen, reports the Detroit News. Qasim Raqib killed 19-year-old Shelley Hilliard and burned her torso in retaliation for a drug sting.

Qasim Raqib was sentenced by 3rd Circuit Judge Bruce Morrow after pleading guilty March 7 to second-degree murder charges in the death of [Shelley Hilliard]. Authorities said Raqib mutilated Hilliard's body and set the 19-year-old on fire in the street on Detroit's east side. The killing occurred days after Hilliard worked with police in an attempt to set Raqib up in a drug deal.

Hilliard's charred body was discovered near a Detroit freeway on October 23. Hilliard's mother said that a cab driver took her daughter to a home where three men apparently ambushed her. Hilliard tried to call the cab driver for help when the line went dead.

Bravo to the Detroit Police Department and Wayne County prosecutors for the speedy arrest and conviction in the case. In addition to being at the greatest risk of violence, the murders of Black trans women are often unsolved. Black transgender women face "extreme discrimination and poverty", and are more than likely to suffer from violence, physical or sexual abuse, police brutality, HIV/AIDS and bullying, according to a first of its kind survey conducted by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Black Justice Coalition.

In related news: Detroit police are searching for the killer(s) of 35-year-old Coko Williams. The Black trans woman was found Tuesday with bullet wounds and her throat slashed. Trans activists are outraged over the media coverage—and with FOX Detroit's comparison of Williams' body to trash on the street.

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