Jackson Jambalaya

Warning: parts of the posted document below are graphic and may not be safe for work or children. 

Kenya Burks paints a rather violent and lurid picture of the Mayor's office in Vicksburg in her answers to interrogatories. Ms. Burks sued the city of Vicksburg and Mayor Paul Winfield in federal court for $1.5 million for sexual harassment last year. Ms. Burks alleges she and the Mayor had an affair that was at times violent and an open secret at City Hall. The answers are only one side presented in a lawsuit and were submitted to the court on February 13. The Mayor was arrested last week by the FBI on bribery charges.

Ms. Burks claims the Mayor beat her on several occasions. She accuses him of keeping her overnight in the same house with him and his son. She describes his house and certain features of it in specific detail. She states she talked to the FBI and knew about the investigation. One funny passage is where she claims the daughter of Socrates Garrett considered the Mayor to be "country" because he took her to a restaurant that had a gravel parking lot. What is not funny are the allegations of violence, humiliation, payoffs, and crooked dealings running throughout her testimony.  Here are some choice quotes from the interrogatories:

"Only Mayor Paul Winfield has overtly sexually harassed me. However, since I have been gone from the City, I have learned that this seems to be the culture of the current Administration."

"Alderman Mayfield mentioned to several people over the course of two years that he knew of our affair. I had a detailed discussion with Mr. Mayfield about the affair and the alleged criminal activity that was being rumored about the Mayor’s business dealings. I also brought this concern to Alderman Beauman after he advised me that if I knew anything about the Mayor’s wrong-doings “to Bring It”. (The response was given on October 18, 2012. Looks like this claim about criminal wrong-doing might be right.).

"The affair began August 2009 in Tunica, MS. The affair began to end in August of 2010 and became really bad around December of 2010. The Mayor spent 2-4 nights a week at my residence at various different times beginning August of 2009. We also spent time at various different hotels in and out of town. I have collected some of the receipts from these stays. (New Orleans, LA, Oxford, MS(Ole Miss), Madison, MS, Canton, MS, Clinton, MS, Ridgeland, MS, etc) The affair completely ended on Wednesday, April 8, 2011 with a physical fight in the front yard of his home on Main Street with Chief of Police Walter Armstrong present. Although Chief Armstrong stopped Paul from hitting me and picked me up from the concrete, he did not arrest Paul for attacking me."

"He was really enraged and said “I pay you $70K”. I said, I work for my $70K, and in all actuality; I also do your job while you are running back and forth to Port Gibson and everywhere else trying to buy two houses. He then took out his wallet, took the money out of it and threw it in my face with the wallet. At that point, I got really mad and told him to take me home. I unstrapped my seat belt and started picking up my bags from the floorboard of his truck. I also started putting back on my heels, which I had taken off in the truck. When we got around the corner from my house near his Barber’s Shop (across from the city garage), he slammed on brakes really hard and my chest hit the dashboard and my head hit the windshield area. Then he started fighting me and I started screaming “Stop Hitting Me.” He kept hitting me and was saying shut up and I screamed louder, hoping someone would hear me. I tried to open the door so I could jump out of the truck and he grabbed me and pulled me back in the truck. At that point, I hit him in the eye (which leads to the black eye comment that he mentioned in the text msgs). I was wearing a very large ring (which I still have). After I hit him, I tried to get out the door again. At that point he went ballistic and started beating me in my back. I placed my head between my legs and covered it with my hands. He kept screaming “Look what you did to my eye. How am I going to go home with a black eye? Look at it. Look at it.” I rose up to look at it, jumped out the truck, and ran home without any shoes on and I left my bags in the car. He called later that night and stated that he needed help with getting the bruising out of his eye because we had the Downtown Partners meeting the following day."

"Another fight occurred at Daiquiri World in Delta, Louisiana."

"The final physical altercation occurred on Wednesday April 8, 2011, approximately 1-½ weeks prior to the Mayor terminating my position. This fight began in LD’s Kitchen and ended at his home on Main Street. On this particular day, I left work and headed to Jackson. The Mayor had asked me what I was doing that evening, and I told him I was going to Jackson. After leaving Burlington Coat Factory in Jackson, I returned to Vicksburg and went to LD’s to get something to eat. As I walked in the door, I saw Paul walking towards the men’s restroom. We were both startled. He asked me, “What are you doing here? I thought you were in Jackson.” I told him I was back from Jackson and I was getting something to eat. I proceeded to the counter to order my food and I saw the Chief of Police ordering an alcoholic beverage. He asked me if I wanted anything to drink and I told him no. Then I saw the Mayor’s cousin, Seychan Lewis, sitting at a table with Talisha Garrett (daughter of Socrates Garrett) and another young lady named Talisha (I don’t remember the second Talisha’s last name). Seychan was clearly intoxicated as normal, as he kept screaming for me to come and sit with them. I told him I was just getting something to eat and that I was leaving shortly. They proceeded to talk about the meeting they had just had with Chris from Siemens at the World across the Bridge. Talisha Garrett criticized Paul for taking her to a place with a gravel parking lot and talked about how country he and Seychan were. At that point I sniggled because it was obvious that she was talking down to Paul while Paul was trying so hard to impress them. (* Note: This ties to a Criminal Investigation that involves Siemens, Paul, and the Garretts). He then said, “Why are you laughing, you are from Louisiana.” And I said, “Yes, I am.” Then Talisha Garrett proceeded to say, “Oh, you are not from Mississippi?” I said “No, I am from Louisiana.” By that time, my food was ready and I started heading out the door. Paul followed me out the door and started telling me that I needed to go straight home. I told him that he didn’t have any say-so over where I went and to go back in the building and entertain the Talisha’s. He shook me and I told him, “This is the last time that you will put your hands on me.”......

It was during this fight that I suffered the shoulder injury. I showed Chief the bruises on my shoulder and on the back of my head. The Chief looked through my hair to make sure my head was not bleeding. The next day Alderman Mayfield made jokes about the fight in the presence of John Barnes. As I was leaving out of the building to go to lunch, John Barnes was bringing Paul some lunch to the building and Mr. Mayfield said to Paul, “I guess you are hungry after fighting all night.” He then turned to me and said, “Who won the fight?” He had this really ugly smirk on his face. I didn’t say anything. Instead, I walked out the door and proceeded to walk home for lunch"

Then there is the matter of the overtime pay the board used as an excuse to terminate her employment:

"A few days later, Paul came to me and said Mr. Mayfield wanted to fire me because they owed me overtime and that they would discuss it with me in executive session that morning. They did indeed call me into executive session and state they owed me overtime. I clearly advised that I never asked for any money or overtime and that I found it strange that they would bring this to my attention nearly two years after being employed with the city. I asked them to keep the money and they refused. I asked them if I could take the time off and they refused. This was all a part of Paul’s scheme to pay me off with hush money and to paint a negative picture of me to the public. He and his friend Reginald Taylor bragged throughout the community on their plan. When this didn’t work, Paul went to the Board and asked to replace me with someone else. He had the locks changed on the doors and prepared to hire someone else. I walked in on him interviewing Jay Pearson, who has allegedly given him kickbacks on the Mississippi School of Protocol and Etiquette funding..." (p.17)

Oh yes, how could one forget the FBI:

"This is my personal email address and my minor daughter’s 2 personal email addresses. I also had one other email address that I used to communicate with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); I forget that email address, but I am sure the FBI can let opposing council know what it is..."

Jackassery note: Reading these answers brought this video to mind for some reason. I can't imagine why. I wonder if the Mayor has a bike.



(c) on page 9 is really salacious and disgusting. Here are the answers. Start on page 4.