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1:21 PM, October 10, 2013
Seven months after his historic conviction for public corruption, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds today to serve 28 years in federal prison.
“The government has asked for a sentence of 28 years — I believe that is in fact what his sentence should be,” Edmunds said.
Kilpatrick ran what the government called a money-making racket out of City Hall that steered millions to himself, his family and his friends while the impoverished city hobbled along. The government had asked for a minimum 28-year prison sentence, while the defense says Kilpatrick should be sentenced to no more than 15 years.
■ RELATED: Live blog
Edmunds said she will recommend Kilpatrick be sent to a prison in Texas, where his family lives.
She told Kilpatrick he could appeal.
As she issued his sentence, Kilpatrick started at her, blinking slowly. Edmunds said the terms of his sentence will be determined later and a hearing would be held within 90 days.
Before issuing the sentence, Edmunds said it was important to her that Kilpatrick was not just convicted on extortion, but on other counts of fraud. She said text messages and witnesses bolstered allegations that his relationship with friend and co-defendant Bobby Ferguson was at the heart of the criminal activity.
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.”
The overarching issue in the case, she said, is that public officials are responsible to the citizenry.
Edmunds said he made sure Ferguson, who was convicted on charges of running a racket out of the mayor’s office, was included in lucrative city contracts.
The judge said Kilpatrick took bribes, misused non-profit funds and “used his power as mayor ... to steer an astounding amount of business to Ferguson.”
Edmunds listed witnesses who testified, including people from his own administration. The testimony, she said, showed “a pattern of threats and pressure” from Kilpatrick and Ferguson. Kilpatrick, the judge said, lived the high life, hosted lavish parties, accepted cash tributes and loaded the city payroll with friends and family.
Despite his speech in court today — in which Kilpatrick asked for a fair sentence and said he accepted responsibility — Edmunds said the former mayor has largely shown little remorse.
Kilpatrick’s defense team wanted Edmunds to consider his accomplishments as mayor — responsibilities Edmunds said he was elected to carry out.
“He chose to waste his talents on personal aggrandizement and enrichment,” she said.
Margaret Raben, one of Kilpatrick’s attorneys, had objected earlier today to the calculation of the sentencing guidelines related to the $9.6 million the government estimates the conspiracy cost the city. She argued the sources for that figure are unsubstantiated.
Raben argued Kilpatrick’s guidelines exceed what someone else might get for a violent crime. She said the calculations lead to “absurd results. ... The guidelines pile on. And in this case, they pile on, pile on and pile on.”
After going through each of the contracts that were illegal, Edmunds said she will calculate the sentencing guidelines based on a figure of $4.6-million.
Edmunds has discretion to go above or below what either side has requested. She also has the discretion to go above or below the sentencing guidelines, which in this case, set the maximum sentence at life in prison.
Kilpatrick, addressing U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds in a soft voice, his eyes directed down at the podium much of the time, said he respects the justice system and the jury’s verdict, though he disagreed with it.
He said he doesn’t think anything he says will change anything for himself.
“I know you have to render a sentence. ... I respectfully ask for a fair sentence, based on what happened here,” Kilpatrick said.
He said he accepts responsibility.
Kilpatrick said he lied about having an affair with his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty. People, he said, lost faith in his leadership.
He said he believes “that I really, really, really messed up.”
Kilpatrick, whose wife and children are not in court, said he was sorry to those he let down, including his wife, children and parents.
“I want the city to heal,” he said. “I want the city to prosper. I want the city to be great in the end. I want the city to have the same feeling it did in 2006. when the Super Bowl was here. ... Everybody felt like this was their town.”
Kilpatrick said all he ever wanted to be was the mayor. Months into the job, he said, he hated it.
Choking up while speaking, Kilpatrick said men don’t cry, they bow down, go outside every day and look confident. That false confidence, he said, looks like arrogance.
Kilpatrick said he looked at himself on TV and thought: “What are you doing, man?”
Talking about his father, Bernard Kilpatrick — convicted on a single charge and facing prison time — Kilpatrick said: “My father’s a good man. He’s a real good man. Typical Detroit north end guy. Talk a lot of stuff. But he’s not a criminal.”
Kilpatrick said his parents divorced when he was 10 years old. Bernard Kilpatrick, he said, told him he would be there for the rest of his life, and he was.
“I’m a great dad because of him,” the former mayor said.
Kilpatrick also talked about his friend Bobby Ferguson, who was convicted on charges of running a racket out of the mayor's office. Kilpatrick said Ferguson had a lucrative business before he became mayor. He said he was proud of his friend.
He said the pair didn’t become close until after 1988. Kilpatrick noted that Ferguson has been carjacked and shot several times.
Kilpatrick said that if he could do things differently, he would not have had the conversations they were having, which he said blurred the lines of propriety.
He said he would never put a contractor or friend before the people of Detroit.
Wrapping up his comments just before 12:30 p.m., Kilpatrick said he knows he will be upset by the sentence he receives.
“I’m not saying the right stuff,” he said. “I’m usually a good speaker, but this is not met. I’ve never been here before. I don’t want to be here again. ... I’m incredibly remorseful.”
Harold Gurewitz, Kilpatrick’s attorney said today’s hearing before Edmunds is to determine a sufficient sentence, but not one “that is greater than necessary.”
He said that if Kilpatrick is given the sentence they want — 15 years in prison — that is “still an enormously long time.”
The sentence advocated by the government — 28 years in prison at a minimum — “goes beyond what’s necessary,” Gurewitz said.
Kilpatrick — who was brought into court just after 10 a.m. wearing a beige prison uniform, his hands cuffed behind his back — listened with his right elbow propped up on the table and his chin in his hand.
“It’s hard to think of the adjective to describe the amount of publicity that there’s been in this case,” >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>MORE.
Seven months after his historic conviction for public corruption, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds today to serve 28 years in federal prison.
“The government has asked for a sentence of 28 years — I believe that is in fact what his sentence should be,” Edmunds said.
Kilpatrick ran what the government called a money-making racket out of City Hall that steered millions to himself, his family and his friends while the impoverished city hobbled along. The government had asked for a minimum 28-year prison sentence, while the defense says Kilpatrick should be sentenced to no more than 15 years.
■ RELATED: Live blog
Edmunds said she will recommend Kilpatrick be sent to a prison in Texas, where his family lives.
She told Kilpatrick he could appeal.
As she issued his sentence, Kilpatrick started at her, blinking slowly. Edmunds said the terms of his sentence will be determined later and a hearing would be held within 90 days.
Before issuing the sentence, Edmunds said it was important to her that Kilpatrick was not just convicted on extortion, but on other counts of fraud. She said text messages and witnesses bolstered allegations that his relationship with friend and co-defendant Bobby Ferguson was at the heart of the criminal activity.
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.”
The overarching issue in the case, she said, is that public officials are responsible to the citizenry.
Edmunds said he made sure Ferguson, who was convicted on charges of running a racket out of the mayor’s office, was included in lucrative city contracts.
The judge said Kilpatrick took bribes, misused non-profit funds and “used his power as mayor ... to steer an astounding amount of business to Ferguson.”
Edmunds listed witnesses who testified, including people from his own administration. The testimony, she said, showed “a pattern of threats and pressure” from Kilpatrick and Ferguson. Kilpatrick, the judge said, lived the high life, hosted lavish parties, accepted cash tributes and loaded the city payroll with friends and family.
Despite his speech in court today — in which Kilpatrick asked for a fair sentence and said he accepted responsibility — Edmunds said the former mayor has largely shown little remorse.
Kilpatrick’s defense team wanted Edmunds to consider his accomplishments as mayor — responsibilities Edmunds said he was elected to carry out.
“He chose to waste his talents on personal aggrandizement and enrichment,” she said.
Margaret Raben, one of Kilpatrick’s attorneys, had objected earlier today to the calculation of the sentencing guidelines related to the $9.6 million the government estimates the conspiracy cost the city. She argued the sources for that figure are unsubstantiated.
Raben argued Kilpatrick’s guidelines exceed what someone else might get for a violent crime. She said the calculations lead to “absurd results. ... The guidelines pile on. And in this case, they pile on, pile on and pile on.”
After going through each of the contracts that were illegal, Edmunds said she will calculate the sentencing guidelines based on a figure of $4.6-million.
Edmunds has discretion to go above or below what either side has requested. She also has the discretion to go above or below the sentencing guidelines, which in this case, set the maximum sentence at life in prison.
Kilpatrick, addressing U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds in a soft voice, his eyes directed down at the podium much of the time, said he respects the justice system and the jury’s verdict, though he disagreed with it.
He said he doesn’t think anything he says will change anything for himself.
“I know you have to render a sentence. ... I respectfully ask for a fair sentence, based on what happened here,” Kilpatrick said.
He said he accepts responsibility.
Kilpatrick said he lied about having an affair with his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty. People, he said, lost faith in his leadership.
He said he believes “that I really, really, really messed up.”
Kilpatrick, whose wife and children are not in court, said he was sorry to those he let down, including his wife, children and parents.
“I want the city to heal,” he said. “I want the city to prosper. I want the city to be great in the end. I want the city to have the same feeling it did in 2006. when the Super Bowl was here. ... Everybody felt like this was their town.”
Kilpatrick said all he ever wanted to be was the mayor. Months into the job, he said, he hated it.
Choking up while speaking, Kilpatrick said men don’t cry, they bow down, go outside every day and look confident. That false confidence, he said, looks like arrogance.
Kilpatrick said he looked at himself on TV and thought: “What are you doing, man?”
Talking about his father, Bernard Kilpatrick — convicted on a single charge and facing prison time — Kilpatrick said: “My father’s a good man. He’s a real good man. Typical Detroit north end guy. Talk a lot of stuff. But he’s not a criminal.”
Kilpatrick said his parents divorced when he was 10 years old. Bernard Kilpatrick, he said, told him he would be there for the rest of his life, and he was.
“I’m a great dad because of him,” the former mayor said.
Kilpatrick also talked about his friend Bobby Ferguson, who was convicted on charges of running a racket out of the mayor's office. Kilpatrick said Ferguson had a lucrative business before he became mayor. He said he was proud of his friend.
He said the pair didn’t become close until after 1988. Kilpatrick noted that Ferguson has been carjacked and shot several times.
Kilpatrick said that if he could do things differently, he would not have had the conversations they were having, which he said blurred the lines of propriety.
He said he would never put a contractor or friend before the people of Detroit.
Wrapping up his comments just before 12:30 p.m., Kilpatrick said he knows he will be upset by the sentence he receives.
“I’m not saying the right stuff,” he said. “I’m usually a good speaker, but this is not met. I’ve never been here before. I don’t want to be here again. ... I’m incredibly remorseful.”
Harold Gurewitz, Kilpatrick’s attorney said today’s hearing before Edmunds is to determine a sufficient sentence, but not one “that is greater than necessary.”
He said that if Kilpatrick is given the sentence they want — 15 years in prison — that is “still an enormously long time.”
The sentence advocated by the government — 28 years in prison at a minimum — “goes beyond what’s necessary,” Gurewitz said.
Kilpatrick — who was brought into court just after 10 a.m. wearing a beige prison uniform, his hands cuffed behind his back — listened with his right elbow propped up on the table and his chin in his hand.
“It’s hard to think of the adjective to describe the amount of publicity that there’s been in this case,” >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>MORE.
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