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Bobby Fergusion
Bobby Ferguson, ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's pal, can have nothing to do with city of Detroit contracts until 2033, Detroit Inspector General Ellen Ha writes in a report issued this week.
Ferguson and Kilpatrick were convicted in federal court in 2013 of public corrupton charges involving city contracts and bribes. Ferguson got 21 years and Kilpatrick, 28. President Donald Trump in January 2021 commuted Kilpatrick's sentence to time served. The judge, who sentenced both men, subsequently set Ferguson free in a bid to show equity in the system.
The Inspector General states in her eight-page report that Ferguson be debarred from getting city contracts for 20 years, effective from March 11, 2013, which is when he was convicted, until March 11, 2033.
The IG reported that Ferguson still owes about $2.6 million in restitution to the Detroit Water and Sewerage because of his conviction involving fraudulent contracts.
"The OIG is required to ensure that the City solicits offers from and awards contracts to responsible contractors only. The serious nature of debarment requires that it is only imposed when it is in the public’s interest, which the OIG finds in this instance," Ha wrote.
After his release from prison in 2021, the Inspector General reported that Ferguson opened the Ferguson Group V, LLC, and approached a high ranking city official about landing a contract with their department. The IG stated she then sought to determine whether "debarment (from contracts) would be warranted against Mr. Ferguson."
Last October, BridgeDetroit reported that the city canceled $1 million in contracts given to a firm owned by Ferguson’s daughter, amid concerns Ferguson was tied to the company.
BridgeDetroit reported that the cancellation resulted from the publication questioning Ferguson and his daughter’s company sharing the same business address as him on Wyoming in Detroit.
The Inspector General report concludes:
"Mr. Ferguson is also precluded from serving as a 'subcontractor or as a goods, services or materials supplier for any contract' for the City of Detroit. Further, no company he owns, is an officer for, or has a direct or indirect financial or beneficial interest in may do business with the City of Detroit as a contractor or subcontractor for the period of debarment."
