Tom Kerr, a Michigan resident who advised former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, was accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of antiques.
Kerr was slapped with a felony charge that carries up to five years in prison after he was accused of stealing several valuable items from the Motor City Antiques Mall. Items stolen during the Jan. 30 incident included a rare Carhartt clock valued at $2,000 and a 65-year-old Vernor’s sign worth $400, according to the Detroit News.
A warrant for Kerr’s arrest has been out since March, the outlet reported.
Darin Szilagy, a retired Detroit police official who rents a booth at the Motor City Antiques Mall, said Kerr apologized and paid for the sign after Szilagy accused him of stealing it. Szilagy was going to let the theft slide until he discovered the clock was also missing. After reviewing video footage that showed Kerr stealing the $2,000 clock, Szilagy called the police to report him as a crime suspect.
“When I first called [Kerr], I read him the riot act,” Szilagy told the outlet. “But then, I told him, ‘Look, I don’t know what’s going on in your life to make you want to do this, but I’m going to forgive you. If you pay for the sign, I won’t press charges. So he apologizes and agrees to pay $400 — but in his hubris, I imagine he thought he was getting one over, since he never mentioned stealing the clock.”
OBAMA GIVES BIDEN MESSAGE OF SUPPORT AFTER NEWS OF CANCER DIAGNOSIS
Before being charged with first-degree retail fraud, Kerr held high-ranking positions at the state and national levels for years.
He was the Michigan political director for Democrat John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign; former Democratic Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s deputy chief of staff from 2003 to 2006; the Clintons’ travel adviser from 2007 to 2008; and a senior adviser for the White House Council on Auto Communities and Workers during the Obama administration.