Detroit Riverfront Conservancy embezzlement probe that might top $40 Million

[Gistok]

You guys are just looking for a reason to argue.

Oh lord... I stopped reading your word salad once I got to this crap. Pot meet Kettle!!

Nobody obfuscates more on so many threads on this forum than you do Richard. Sign me tuned out. I now join the long list of folks that no longer reads/responds to your crap. Buh-bye

[Richard]

Oh lord... I stopped reading your word salad once I got to this crap. Pot meet Kettle!!

Nobody obfuscates more on so many threads on this forum than you do Richard. Sign me tuned out. I now join the long list of folks that no longer reads/responds to your crap. Buh-bye

Last I checked it was a discussion forum and not an airport where you have to announce your departure.

What makes your input more important than anybody else’s?

I am on over 5 corporations,you have spent your life collecting a paycheck while being told what to do but it shows in your response,you do not even have the first clue about context then whine like a little girl and want to take your toys and go home because things are apparently way over your head.

Grow up maybe once you gain a little maturity or even a tad bit of common decency you can rejoin the rest of the real world.

Where is this list? Is there a monthly mail out where you can join a triggered club or are you a bunch of women’s sitting around drinking tea and gossiping about Richard - as long as you have been a part of this forum,you still cannot follow the basic set of rules,but why would you,you are god and everybody else is beneath you.

People claiming to be educated but do not even understand the basics of a discussion.

Thats the question nobody answers.

Do some of you actually speak to other like that in real life face to face or do you only grow a set when you are on the internet?

Thats why things like this fraud happens,you notice the pattern of its oaky to disrespect and not treat others in the right way,if you do not have the basic principles and common decency towards others doing something like this is just a normal thing.

Mr Smith felt it was all about him and he had zero thoughts towards the ramifications of his actions,the world was put there to please him.

Notice the similarities in thought patterns.

Do not be so obtuse,you might just learn something,but then you would have to start with the ability to follow a discussion and put it all into context,or stick to Twitter.

Negative projection is also considered toxic.

[Gistok]

They will have to say something at some point though, because as someone who has donated hundreds to the riverfront over the years, I would like some answers and those answers better be good before I consider giving another dime to the organization. They really killed the trust they had with the community and that has to be earned back.

I think they probably lost most of their small time donors like yourself Ryan. They may have even lost some corporate donors. For the moment lit looks they are on Foundations life supports.

I remember when SEMTA [[South East Michigan Transortation Authority) was disbanded back about 40 years ago because of some of their ineptitude, and SMART was created to take it over.

Maybe the Conservancy needs to be put to rest, and a new group transitioned into being to take over the riverfront development. Depending on the current Conservancy's actions, that may be an option to regain public trust.

[southen]

I think they probably lost most of their small time donors like yourself Ryan. They may have even lost some corporate donors. For the moment lit looks they are on Foundations life supports.

I remember when SEMTA [[South East Michigan Transortation Authority) was disbanded back about 40 years ago because of some of their ineptitude, and SMART was created to take it over.

Maybe the Conservancy needs to be put to rest, and a new group transitioned into being to take over the riverfront development. Depending on the current Conservancy's actions, that may be an option to regain public trust.

I think a lot will depend on the results of the investigation. If this is the actions of just one person, with the rest of the organization being guilty of not doing due diligence, I think they can weather the storm. The Riverfront Conservancy is a beloved organization and in a time where there is a lot of tension between downtown and the neighborhoods, they have been providing great public spaces and programming for all Detroiters. I am very curious how this will all shake out because It is clear there is a lot we still don't know which is why I am guessing they have been pretty quiet to this point.

[Henry Whalley]

"...Organized crime depends on organized corruption: the crooked cops, judges and politicians who serve as the “Bureau for the Prevention of Conviction”. Case in point:

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne...l/74500670007/

[ABetterDetroit]

Some new details in this detnews article… It seems so improbable that the huge majority is just spent. I wonder if the total on what was recovered will come out at the sentencing?

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne...h/83199946007/

[stasu1213]

The portion of the Riverwalk which is in front of the River Towers that had been completed 5 years ago opening date had been pushed back again. It had been reported two weeks ago that the part in front of the Riverfront Towers will open this summer with a temporary trail that will lead from that part to West Jefferson. This report reveal that the trails that had been developed on the Westside won't connect to the trail on the Eastside. Smith is no longer CFO and there's reportedly fund to complete the project. However excused are made to push back dates of completion or stall development once again on connecting the Greenway. There were those on here saying Smiths embezzlement of 40 million didn't effect the original completion timeline of the development of the riverfront. Obviously it had. On another note; it should be amended to city charter that no one on city council should sit on any boards including Conservancys. It looks bad when crimes such as embezzlement happen under their watch eventhough they weren't involved in the crime. That stain would still show on their clothing

[preserve]

Gistok - took you long enough...

[ABetterDetroit]

19 years. Report to prison at a later date…

https://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...n/83239856007/

[canuck]

Good stuff. I don’t suppose he’s blown 40 plus odd million, but will the Conservancy ever see the color of it? Highly uncertain, but it’s still something having him go to prison for it. I hope he does the whole sentence.

[401don]

Good stuff. I don’t suppose he’s blown 40 plus odd million, but will the Conservancy ever see the color of it? Highly uncertain, but it’s still something having him go to prison for it. I hope he does the whole sentence.

Is Trump running again? If so, he'll pull a Kwame and get pardoned in an instant.

[canuck]

Is Trump running again? If so, he'll pull a Kwame and get pardoned in an instant.

Yep, I wouldn’t put it past him, for sure.

[stasu1213]

Is Trump running again? If so, he'll pull a Kwame and get pardoned in an instant.

I don't think that Trmp will touch this one. Unlike Kwame Smith allegedly had his own hands on this money through the years. Not just foundation money but money donated by private citizens. I believe somehow on the state level his sentence maybe reduced but if all charges were federal then he's in it for the long haul. What was this guy thinking?

[Lowell]

19 years. Report to prison at a later date…

I find it difficult to understand why convicted felons are allowed to walk free before they begin their sentences. I understand that this was a non-violent crime and likely part of the plea deal, but in this case and many others, it seem he has had plenty of time to 'get his affairs in order.’

Best guess is that they think they might be able to recover more assets with the leniency.

[ABetterDetroit]

I am disappointed by the lack of details that are coming out.

How the heck does someone go through 40 plus mill on a ‘American express card?’ Where were the IRS when all this was happening and obviously boat loads of over the 10K ceiling of what needs to be reported transactions were happing right and left? Is blowing through 10s of millions of unreported income this easy? Who are the family that were helping him spend it all? How at the minimum are they not being charged with tax evasion? Cash and gifts have a limit until they become income.

Clearly tax rules only apply to folks having it taken directly from their paychecks in yet another example as this mess illustrates.

[expatriate]

When the head of a non-profit starts living like a millionaire one would think it would raise some eyebrows from friends and neighbors? He must have been quite generous in doling out gifts and one would think that accepting them would have made the beneficiaries at least suspicious if not actually culpable. Wonder if any of that stuff could ever be accounted for. Certainly he should be required to furnish those names as part of any leniency.

[Gistok]

Gistok - took you long enough...

HEY!!! I've been busy playing with my LEGO!! Hehehe... no actually I have another LEGO book deal coming out next year...

[stasu1213]

When the head of a non-profit starts living like a millionaire one would think it would raise some eyebrows from friends and neighbors? He must have been quite generous in doling out gifts and one would think that accepting them would have made the beneficiaries at least suspicious if not actually culpable. Wonder if any of that stuff could ever be accounted for. Certainly he should be required to furnish those names as part of any leniency.

A clever street smart culprit would only accept cash from Smith. Donors and head of foundations probably started being suspicious and questioning the Riverfront Conservancy years ago when work ceased for months on parts of the Riverfront and the Dequindre Cut. The cold 30ish degree weather was used one time for an excuse why work ceased on the Gratiot to Mack portion Dequindre Cut for almost a year. Were there any monthly or quarterly financial report meetings held by the board where Smith had to give reports to?

[Lowell]

This whole episode has taught me one thing: if I ever serve on a non-profit board again, my first requirement will be that my forensic accountant be allowed to examine the organization’s books.


Many, if not most, board members are appointed for their fundraising ability or name recognition and remain generally uninformed about management.

[stasu1213]

This whole episode has taught me one thing: if I ever serve on a non-profit board again, my first requirement will be that my forensic accountant be allowed to examine the organization’s books.


Many, if not most, board members are appointed for their fundraising ability or name recognition and remain generally uninformed about management.

So a couple of them are there for window dressing or decorations?

[Henry Whalley]

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne...s/83631727007/

[Satiricalivory]

lol good fucking luck buddy.

[canuck]

Lol. I guess he doesn’t think the bill should add up to twenty years.

The positive thing is that if they can’t recoupe all that money, he will finish his good life in a prison cell.

[Henry Whalley]

The positive thing is that if they can’t recoupe all that money, he will finish his good life in a prison cell.

Now his plea deal is OBE, and the court is fed up. I hope they give him life without KY Jelly. Probably, he's a very stable genius.

[Zacha341]

Per the article he certainly was flexing [spending at an unsustainable, conspicuously high level] off the embezzled moneys!

From article:

Smith's credit card bills totaled $15.6 million. He used approximately $14.9 million in conservancy money to pay for those charges, according to the court filing.

Smith was also accused of wiring $24.4 million from a conservancy account to one of his companies, the Joseph Group & Associates.