DC Councilman Marion Barry, aka the Mayor for Life, is embroiled in another local scandal after his July 4th arrest for stalking his former girlfriend and part time staffer, Donna Watts-Brighthaupt.
She refuted the charges police made on Barry with this bizarre statement. "He does not stalk," she says. "He does what I allow him to do."
Details emerged later that Watts-Brighthaupt had been paid at least $20,000 of DC money by Barry for consulting services. Barry responded to the arrest by trashing her in the press and saying that he had been betrayed.
The plot thickened when the Washington City Paper obtained audio recordings of conversations and messages that Barry made to and with Watts-Brighthaupt.
There is too much juice involved so I highly recommend reading the details in article by City Paper's DC columnist Loose Lips
The US attorney's office decided to drop the stalking charges but questions remain of the city money paid to Watts-Brighthaupt.
My favorite part on the tapes is from clip 10, of Watts-Brighthaupt talking to Barry and part of her quote inspired this week's City Paper cover that I featured above.(I picked up 3 copies of this collector's edition already.)
Watts-Brighthaupt: All I’m trying to saying is I forgive. You put me out in Denver cause I wouldn’t suck your dick. You put me out in Denver! You made me have to fuck your ass up in the middle of a Las Vegas casino...my shoes off. We were like fuckin’ Tina and Ike Turner. And I forgive. Alright you just wastin my damn time?...I can’t believe this….you always… you don’t think about other people’s time. You’re inconsiderate…
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Turmoil for Life
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Marion Barry's Receptionist Drives Her Car Into a Crowded Festival, While Smoking Crack
Tonya N. Bell, 30, is charged with aggravated assault, and prosecutors say they are considering additional charges. She is accused of driving through a police barricade into the crowd Saturday evening, sending people and strollers flying and injuring at least 40 people. According to charging documents, Bell told police she had been "smoking crack all day."
Bell had until recently worked in the office of Marion Barry, former mayor and a District of Columbia Council member, as a receptionist employed by a temp agency. Barry's office issued a letter terminating its contract with NAI Personnel.
Bell appeared to be laughing as she drove the car with flattened tires and broken windows into the crowd, said Linda Greene, who saw Bell's car from her porch.
"The car just passed so fast, and all of a sudden I just heard people screaming," said Denise Jackson. "I turned around, and it was like bodies falling out of the sky."
This story is horrible and any cheap comments that I have about the Marion Barry crack angle seem juvenile and really low. Luckily, no one was seriously injured.
This does remind me of one of my favorite headlines of all time. Barry won his current city council seat in 2004 and one of the NYC tabloids went with this:
"Barry Gets Another Crack at Politics."
