Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick sentenced to 28 years in prison
A federal judge sentenced former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to 28 years in prison over charges of corruption on Thursday.
Kwame Kilpatrick, Mayor of Detroit, Michigan 2006 Dave Hogg
Evidence in trial proved that Kilpatrick stole tens of thousands of dollars, traveling on private planes and even hid campaign donations in his wife’s bra.
“I’m ready to go so the city can move on,” Kilpatrick told the judge. “The people here are suffering, they’re hurting. A great deal of that hurt I accept responsibility for.”
Kilpatrick was convicted in March of racketeering, conspiracy, fraud, extortion and tax crimes.
The government called it the ‘Kilpatrick enterprise,’ a years-long scheme to shake down contractors and reward allies.
Text messages made by Kilpatrick revealed efforts to fix deals for a pal, Bobby Ferguson, an excavator who got millions of dollars in city work through the water department.
The Detroit Free Press reports the judge in the case, will recommend Kilpatrick “be sent to a prison in Texas, where his family lives.”
Judge Edmunds said it was important to her that Kilpatrick was not just convicted on extortion, but on other counts of fraud.
She said the seriousness of Kilpatrick’s crimes are compounded by the involvement of city officials and others. Thirty four other people have been convicted in connection with the public corruption case.
“One thing is certain,” Edmunds said. “It was the citizens of Detroit who suffered.”
