Ex-Clinton, Granholm adviser accused of swiping antiques near Flat Rock
Flat Rock — A former adviser to ex-Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, as well as a high-ranking official for former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, is accused of stealing a porcelain Vernor's sign from an antiques booth and showing remorse when the owner caught him.
But Troy resident Tom Kerr, 48, didn't totally come clean during his apology, according to the antiques dealer. After agreeing to let Kerr pay $400 for the sign without pressing charges, Darin Szilagy said he learned the next day that Kerr had allegedly stolen another more expensive item he didn't mention while making amends.
Now Kerr is charged with first-degree retail fraud following the alleged Jan. 30 incident at the Motor City Antiques Mall in Flat Rock involving a rare 1960s-era Carhartt clock valued at $2,000 and a 65-year-old porcelain Vernor's sign worth $400. Because the merchandise is valued at over $1,000, the alleged crime rises to a felony charge that carries a punishment of up to five years in prison.
The worst infraction, Szilagy said, was sullying a moment of grace.
Kerr, who served as Granholm's deputy chief of staff from 2003-06, told The Detroit News he wasn't aware a warrant had been out for his arrest since March. He admitted he took the Vernor's sign from the booth, but said he returned it, paid for it and that all was forgiven.
"I thought all that got cleared up," Kerr said. "We talked about it, and it was all said and done as far as the owner was concerned."
In response to the alleged theft of the Carhartt clock, Kerr said: "That's the story people are telling."
Monroe County Prosecutor Jeffery Yorkey said he authorized the charge against Kerr March 26 based on surveillance video evidence that showed him pilfering the two items. Kerr has not been arraigned.
"There's a warrant out for his arrest, but it's not likely someone will be sent out to get him, since it's not a serious crime," said Yorkey, whose office is handling the case because the antiques mall is in Monroe County despite its Flat Rock mailing address.
Szilagy, a retired Detroit police official who rents a booth in the Motor City Antiques Mall, said he forgave Kerr after he apologized for taking the Vernor's sign, only to learn the contrition was hollow.
"He's on video taking the sign, so we had him dead to rights," said Szilagy, who retired in 2022 after 27 years on the police force. Szilagy said the owner of the antiques mall found Kerr when he tried to sell the Vernor's sign online.
"When I first called (Kerr), I read him the riot act," Szilagy said. "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."
When the owner of the mall noticed the next day the Carhartt clock was missing, he checked surveillance video footage from a few days prior to the Vernor's sign disappearance and it showed Kerr swiping the clock, Szilagy and the Monroe County prosecutor said.
Szilagy said he called police and made a report. Weeks later, he said, Kerr's attorney John "Jack" Mott showed up at the antiques mall with the clock and tried to negotiate a deal with the mall owner.
"He tried to get him to sign a document saying he'd return the clock if we agreed to not press charges against his client," Szilagy said. "I got on the phone and told him he'd better leave the clock there. He finally realizes the police are coming, so he leaves the clock, but takes a picture with (the mall owner) holding the (unsigned) form next to the clock."
Mott did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Kerr involved in 2002 controversy
The allegations of theft aren't the first against Kerr. The longtime Democratic operative was charged in 2002 with stealing sensitive documents while working as a staffer for former Wayne County Executive Edward McNamara. The controversy over the alleged theft and leaked documents embroiled that year's governor's race, although the charge was later dropped.
Kerr was charged with larceny in May 2002 after he was accused of stealing nine pages of donor information from the briefcase of McNamara aide Ron Thayer, who was backing former Michigan Gov. Jim Blanchard during Blanchard's campaign for a third term as governor. Blanchard lost to Granholm in the Democratic primary.
According to The News' coverage of the controversy, when the Granholm campaign leaked the documents to the press, Blanchard accused Granholm of orchestrating their theft. Then-Wayne County Prosecutor Mike Duggan, who had supported Granholm in the race, disqualified his office from the case and asked for a special prosecutor. But the charge was later dropped; it is unclear by whom.
A year after the controversy, following Granholm's victory, she hired Kerr as her deputy chief of staff.
Kerr was the Clintons' travel adviser in 2007-08 when Hillary Clinton was a U.S. senator from New York, flying with the couple worldwide, according to his LinkedIn account that was locked after The News contacted him. "Traveled with and advised Senator Clinton and President Bill Clinton on both political and logistical aspects of national campaign events," Kerr's LinkedIn page said.
Kerr also served as a senior adviser for the White House Council on Auto Communities and Workers during the Obama administration and as a senior policy adviser for the U.S. Small Business Administration from 2023-25. Kerr, who is involved with a business strategies company, was also the Michigan political director for Democrat John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign.
Former Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd didn't comment on the theft allegation against Kerr, although she said he was "a big deal in politics."
"He did a lot of work for the Clintons and Joe Biden," Boyd said. "He'd do the advance work; when the Clintons would come to town, Tom made sure all the arrangements were taken care of."
Szilagy said the Jan. 30 incident has caused him anger and confusion.
"I'm still mad about it," he said. "You try to do someone a favor, and the whole time they're thinking they got one over on you. I don't know what makes people like that do what they do; I asked him if he needed money, and he said he didn't. So I have no idea what goes on inside his head."
ghunter@detroitnews.com
(313) 222-2134
@GeorgeHunter_DN
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Ex-Clinton, Granholm adviser accused of swiping antiques near Flat Rock
