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By Allan Lengel and Bill McGraw
Former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced Thursday in federal court to 28 years in prison for his public corruption convictions.
*Mr. Kilpatrick's abuse of public trust was a corrosive factor in itself," U.S. District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds said before handing down the sentence." We lost transparency. So much of the city business was done behind closed doors."
Kilpatrick sat between his two lawyers, looking sad as he listened to the sentence. Afterward, he was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs by deputy U.S. Marshals. He said his immediate family, including his mother and father and wife were not present because he wanted to spare them the pain.
The sentence capped an extraordinary path for Kilpatrick, whose six years in office were filled with controversies, and when he left in 2008, his legal battles began.
Before being sentenced, Kilpatrick stood before the judge, sometimes pausing, sometime choking up, and apologized for harming the city. He often spoke in hushed tones.
But he stopped short of outright admitting wrongdoing, saying he never stole money from the city. He did, however, say he regretted having conversations about city contracts that blurred the lines of propriety, and any that may have suggested strong-arm tactics.
“We’ve been stuck in this town for a very long time dealing with me,” Kilpatrick said. “I’m ready to go so the city can move on.”
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Kilpatrick was convicted in March on 24 public corruption counts including bribery, extortion and racketeering.
His co-defendant and good friend, Bobby Ferguson, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday. Kilpatrick's father Bernard, is scheduled to be sentenced next Thursday.
The judge, before handing down the sentence, rattled off a number of reasons why a harsh punishment was necessary, talking about how he conspired with Ferguson to illegally get city contracts; using money from Kilpatrick Civic Fund for personal matters; shaking down contractors and even making employees cough up "tributes."
She said Kilpatrick up until now had shown little respect for the law, and except for his speech Thursday, had exhibited little remorse for his crimes and the damage he caused the city.
Kilpatrick's attorney, Harold Gurewitz, had suggested a sentence of no more than 15 years, and told the judge such a stay in prison is "still an enormously long time in anyone’s life." He said the government was overreaching by suggesting a minimum sentence of 28 years, and pointed to other serious corruption cases, like ex-Congressman William Jefferson, who received 13 years.
Kilpatrick's lawyer, Margaret Raben, spent part of the morning arguing that the recommended sentencing guidelines were too high. In general, the judge disagreed.
Spectators and the media waited outside the courthouse for Kilpatrick to exit in prison van.
Kilpatrick was subdued during the arguments.
He entered the courtroom before proceeding, wearing khaki colored prison garb. His hands were cuffed behind his back.
As he spoke to the judge, he talked about his ego in office: "It was pride and ego that took over. I couldn’t lose.”
He defended his father, calling him a good man who was no criminal. And he talked about how he let down his family, including his mother Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, who lost a re-election bid for her congressional seat because of his public troubles.
“I killed her career.”
At the end of the proceedings, Judge Edmunds said she would grant Kilpatrick's wish to be imprisoned in Texas so he could be close to his family.
The only family member of note in the courtroom was a cousin Ajene Evans. During a break, Kilpatrick turned around and spoke to his cousin and other supporters.
The court was filled with other spectators including Larry Mongo, a local businessman who said he was not a fan of Kilpatrick. He said he wanted to witness the ex-mayor being put away.
"Personally, I think she was lenient," he said after the hearing.
Barbara McQuade, the U.S. Attorney in Detroit, said the judge sent a powerful message.
"We will not tolerate this kind of betrayal of the public trust," she said.
Detroit mayoral candidate Mike Duggan issued a statement on the sentencing:
The sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds for the crimes of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick marks the end of a devastating period in the life of our city. It’s time now to start to put these terrible events behind us. This case isn’t as much about the rise and fall of one man as it is about how we – as one Detroit – move forward to reclaim what is ours: a city government that is as good as its people.
