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Saturday, June 5
 

Marion Barry
Marion Barry alleges that
drugs found on him in 2002
were planted by police.

Former DC Mayor Marion Barry to Re-Enter Politics
Barry, who expects to announce his candidancy for a Ward 8 council
seat on June 12, cited poor conditions as the reason for his comeback.
The former four-term mayor said D.C. schools are academically the worst
in the nation, despite excellent teachers and principals. He's also
concerned about housing prices.

Barry reopened a controversy dating to March 2002, when Park Police
said they found a trace of marijuana and $5 worth of crack cocaine in his
Jaguar. "The Park Service planted whatever they planted in my car,"
Barry said on the radio today. The drug incident caused Barry to
abandon a 2002 campaign for City Council, saying he was stepping
aside to do what was best for his family and the city.


Mayor Street
John Street survived a
mysterious FBI investigation
to win re-election.

FBI Wiretap in Mayor Street's Office Tracked Drug Dealing Cleric
The FBI declared Philadelphia Mayor John Street a "subject" in a two-year,
federal investigation into allegations of public corruption in October 2003,
just one month before his vote for re-election. The FBI failed to comment
further at the time even though wiretaps were discovered at Mayor Street's
office. John Street ended up winning re-election anyway.

Since then, the FBI inquiry has reached into many corners of city
government as the FBI and the IRS have traced the flow of money that
drives city business and examined a range of contracts involving
demolition, insurance, bonds, and debt collection. The wiretaps led to
5,000 incriminating discussions among 855 people, many of them city
employees. The federal probe uncovered information on Cleric Shamsud-din
Ali, who has been indicted on charges of both political corruption and
drug smuggling.


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