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Expert: Secretly recorded tape of Warren Mayor Jim Fouts is real; New tape emerges

Controversial tape captured the city leader mocking the cognitively impaired

WARREN, Mich. – There is new information on secret recordings that multiple experts have identified as Warren Mayor Jim Fouts recorded by multiple former employees.

The first of these tapes, which opened the door for others to release what they have, deals with Warren's mayor savaging the cognitively impaired. "Friday nights past I'd be going to meet some women, tonight I'm going to meet some retards," Fouts is heard saying in a seven-minute discussion of how he feels about having to go to a  Special Olympics event.

While the mayor has declined interviews he has been active on social media saying these are phony tapes.

The source who recorded the tape dealing with the cognitively impaired turned over the entire recording in its entirety to us to prove it's not phony. We took it to Primeau Forensics. That company is used nationally to consult on audio analysis in legal matters.

After spending hours going over the recording and looking at the metadata which only the original has, Primeau says this recording has not been altered and it's not fake. "I'm able to authenticate it," Ed Primeau  told us. "It's science, it's a very formal process, " he said. He adds he would be able to detect a synthesized recording.

Realize there's a different source for the recordings that have come after and so far, that source has not provided the original recordings  so there is no metadata on the recordings which voice analysis does show is Fouts. Those recordings deal with minorities and women in very unflattering terms.

Now another secret recording has been turned over to WDIV Local 4. This one is a recording of a recording but we're told it will be possible for us to get the original so that metadata would be available.

On it, a former employee records what they say is the mayor in his office ridiculing religion.

"It's a crock of (expletive). You're intelligent. You're bright. Have you seen any image of Jesus coming down?" the person on the tape cane be heard saying. The person then adds that when he was at church service and those around him were kneeling, "Kneeling. I'm not kneeling for anybody."

Primeau may not have the metadata but says, "Based in all the listening I've done to Mayor Fouts over the last several weeks it sure sounds like him to me," Primeau said.

We reached out to Fouts both on the phone and at his home and did not get a response.

You can read a transcription of the alleged conversation between Fouts and a former employee in the document embedded below.

WARNING: The conversation below has graphic language.


About the Authors
Derick Hutchinson headshot

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.