June 07, 2006
More to the Story behind the Story
“Who shot Michael Powell?” is one of the biggest mystery thrillers this half of Philly Confidential has ever had to deal with. Lawsuits, racism, and jealous businessmen were all factors of Powell’s life.
Now, police have to figure out if his past fatally crept up to him midnight Monday, or if Powell was just another victim in a robbery-gone-bad.
Officers found Powell dying from gunshot wounds as he sat in his parked SUV. The married father of two was working the overnight shift as a security guard in Eastwick when two gunmen ran up to his truck and sprayed it with bullets.
Relatives said Powell had to take the late night gig because he struggled to support his family after losing his job as a SEPTA cop in September.
Meanwhile, Powell’s mother, a seemingly strong 65-year-old , plans on throwing away her career as an Eastwick gentrification advocate, because she thinks her business enemies killed her son. Also, those who worked with Powell during his days as a SEPTA cop are also searching for a motive for his execution-styled slaying. Powell was fired from the agency for taking an unauthorized snack break, his lawyer said. But the SEPTA police union, Powell’s former partner, along with his attorney all think there is a bigger story behind his firing as well as his murder.
“As far we are concerned, he should have been working with us, not at that job,” said Ed Kaiser, vice president of the SEPTA police union.
Kaiser said on June 1st, a SEPTA labor negotiator asked him to begin talks so Powell could get his job back.
A SEPTA official would only say that Powell’s case was in the appeals process.
After losing his job, Powell sued SEPTA for racial discrimination. He was also a witness in his partner’s racial discrimination suit, his lawyer said.
“If somebody felt they could have done something to stop the lawsuit, hypothetically, they are 100 percent wrong,” said Powell’s lawyer Olu Abiona.
“I made a promise to take care of him during this lawsuit and his family will be the beneficiary of that now.”
Did Powell die because someone had a beef with his mom?
Was Powell killed because he was a vocal advocate against racism?
At this point, this real-life murder-mystery plot has no ending in sight.