Detroit mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick and his chief of staff, Christine Beatty, are being investigated to determine whether they lied under oath when they denied having an extramarital affair, reports the New York Times.
Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy was prompted to investigate following an article in the Detroit Free Press last week about text messages, many of them flirtatious, being sent between the two individuals, who have known each other since high school.
For example, an Oct. 16, 2002 text from Kilpatrick to Beatty stated: "I've been dreaming all day about having you all to myself for 3 days. Relaxing, laughing, talking, sleeping and making love."
The messages, transmitted to and from Beatty's city-owned pager in 2002 and 2003, appear to show that the two had an intimate relationship and suggest that they committed perjury by denying the affair during testimony in one of two whistleblower lawsuits that have cost taxpayers more than $9 million, the Times reports.
Kilpatrick, who was photographed recently kissing his wife, Carlita, in the driveway of his family's vacation home in Tallahassee, Fla., released a statement asking the public and the media to let him, Beatty and their families deal with the matter privately.
"These five- and six-year-old text messages reflect a very difficult period in my personal life," he said in the statement. "It is profoundly embarrassing to have these extremely private messages now displayed in such a public manner. My wife and I worked our way through these intensely personal issues years ago."
A union representing 900 municipal workers here called on Friday for Mr. Kilpatrick to resign and said members planned to picket City Hall next week.
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