Chief Investigative Reporter Steve Wilson has uncovered new information about Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's lavish lifestyle.
WATCH STEVE'S INVESTIGATION IN VIDEO PLAYER RIGHTMayor Kwame Kilpatrick has always had a flair for the high-flying lifestyle. Tonight Chief Investigator Steve Wilson reveals yet another top-dollar family vacation, this one to a $1700 a night resort. Now Steve uncovers a key piece of evidence linking the ritzy retreat to a wealthy city contractor.
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It’s one of the nicest resorts on the gulf coast of Florida…and one of the most expensive…but Detroit’s mayor has proven time and again he and his first lady Carlita have a taste for the good life, seemingly without regard to the price tag. During Easter vacation last year, I got a tip from a disgruntled guest here at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples claiming that Hizzoner, wife and kids were here and making a scene, cutting in line for Sunday brunch and generally acting like they owned the place.
Another Michigan visitor even snapped this picture and sent it along, asking “who do you think is footing the bill for this little retreat at the Ritz?”
Well, we found
no evidence the mayor financed his family vacation with
taxpayer money…but now we’ve uncovered new details that raise questions just as troubling—who
did foot the bill—and, more importantly,
why?
Remember
another high-cost holiday, when the mayor brought his wife, three children and a babysitter
here to the LaCosta Resort out in California? When we learned the first family’s short spree at the world-renowned spa cost $10,000, my colleague Heather Catallo asked the mayor’s spokesman at the time…
Heather to Matt Allen: So the mayor personally paid for this personal trip? (Allen) For the family trip, the mayor paid for that trip.
No he didn’t…and when we
proved it was
really funded by his tax-exempt Civic Fund supposedly set up to “educate voters, prevent crime and improve social welfare,” the mayor unleashed one of his legal beagles Sam McCargo to threaten Channel 7 when he learned we were about to broadcast the truth—and show you the actual check that discredited the mayor’s story as a lie.
Now, it’s been widely speculated
but never yet conclusively proven that it’s sources of secret support
like his Civic Fund that have enabled the mayor and his family to live the high life—and now afford $700-an-hour lawyers to keep him out of jail. Many have
asked: Are secret contributions to slush funds and other special favors being
funneled to the Mayor by those saying “thanks” for their jobs—or businesspeople looking to be on the inside track to lucrative city contracts?
Which brings us back to what we’ve now learned about the first family’s vacation here at the Ritz in sun-drenched Florida.
Just five-nights here rang up a bill for,
again, another nearly $10,000. It’s easy to do when you stay in a
suite that runs nearly $17-hundred dollars a
night, enjoy room service for breakfast—$83, and spend another $76 to “munch your lunch” poolside…and what name appears on the
bill for this kind of expensive escape?
Soave, as in Detroit businessman
Tony Soave. Kilpatrick is listed as the guest...from
Company Soave Enterprises.
Wilson to Tony Soave/Soave Enterprises: You are doing business with the city? (Soave) Yeah. (Wilson) And you want to more business with the city, is that right? (Soave) Yeah, I do. (Wilson) Is that a way to get it would be the question. (Soave) I’ll have to look into this and see. I don’t remember this.”
Soave companies have done business with the city hauling trash and working on the sewers, among other ventures. Now we’re told he’s after the city’s lucrative towing contract.
Wilson to Soave: Have you ever let the mayor ride on your plane? (Soave) Steve, stop, stop.
Though he refuses to say if the Naples vacation included transportation for the Kilpatrick clan in one of his
two private jets, his p-r spokesman admits that “as a good corporate citizen” Soave
has used his planes to fly political leaders…and he’s always had a good working relationship with every Detroit mayor.
Soave: I mean…they told me not to talk to you. (Wilson) Who told you? (Soave) I mean my… (Wilson) Your p-r spokesman… (Soave) Marx-Lane
His Detroit-based empire of scrap metal, beer distributorships, auto dealers, and other ventures are said to bring in nearly $2 billion a year…but it’s rare for Soave to speak or be seen publicly.
Wilson to Soave: Have you ever paid a hotel bill for the mayor? (Soave) I said talk to Fred Marx. (Wilson) I will do that… (Soave) Because I’ve been warned about…you get me at a disadvantage. (Wilson) Sir, it’s not a disadvantage. I just ask you an honest question and you can give me an honest answer. (Soave) Well, let Fred talk to you…
A statement issued by his spokesman also says: “We do not show a payment from Soave Enterprises to the Ritz Carlton…” for the invoice you referenced. Could that be because deposits for $3,500 opened his hotel tab…and the day
after he checked in,
somebody dropped
another 4-g’s in cash at the front desk…And at checkout,
somebody’s Visa and a MasterCard satisfied the balance due.
Soave: I told you you’ll have to talk to Fred. (Wilson) But you would know better than Fred. You would know if you did that or not. Fred would only tell you if you should tell me or not. (Soave) Steve, don’t be difficult with me. I‘m a hard working guy…
He just insisted before he says more, he needed a chance to talk with his p-r man—so they could get their stories straight. And before his LearJet took him into the skies, the friendly and affable Mr. Soave proved he’s a generous guy willing to share…even with people he’s been warned not to talk to.
Soave: You ever had these rainbow chips from Better Made? (Wilson) No. (Soave) They only have them…here. See? They’re real dark. (Wilson) Well, sir, I don’t want to take your potato chips. I’ll just pick up a bag. (Soave) Okay, fine. (Wilson) I just, you know, I appreciate the offer, but… (Soave) Well they don’t have them, they don’t have them very often.
Which leaves us back with the mayor who could answer these questions…but won’t.
Wilson live tag: There have long been suspicions the kind of arrangement you’ve just seen is not unusual in the city of Detroit. We’re already on the trail of other such cases…and if you have information to offer, anonymously or otherwise, we’d be happy to hear from you, as always.
E-mail Steve at
Wilson@wxyz.com or call (248) 827-9252.
