by
Christine Beatty
Christine Beatty, the former mayoral chief of staff who lied in court about having an affair with her boss, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, owes the city about $78,000 from a criminal conviction and hasn't paid a dime in a decade, the Detroit Free Press reports.
The lack of payments comes despite Beatty earning nearly $109,000 annually in total compensation as vice president of operations for THAW, a nonprofit that helps people with their heating bills, according to a tax-exempt filing by the agency. THAW hired Beatty in 2021 as a contractor, and later as a full-time employee.
On December 1, 2008, Beatty admitted to lying under oath about an affair with Kilpatrick during a civil whistleblower trial that cost the city millions. She was a co-defendant with Kilpatrick, who also pleaded guilty. She was sentenced to 120 days in jail and ordered to reimburse the city $100,000. She served about 70 days.
Dave Boucher and Christine MacDonald of the Free Press report:
Reached by phone at work, Beatty said, "Nothing new, nothing has changed. It’s still where it is." She referred additional questions to her lawyer. Her lawyer did not respond to an email.
The story also mentions other people who owe taxpayers money as a result of their criminal cases.
Authorities are trying to recoup more than $43 million that William Smith, former CEO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, stole over about an 11-year stretch.
Kilpatrick still owes at least $868,745.40, the Free Press reports, and Tim Cromer owes the Detroit Public Library almost $4 million. He spent about eight years in prison and has no plans to pay that, the Free Press reports.
