In a decision that was as expected as it was shameful, the former mayor of Detroit Kwame M. Kilpatrick was found guilty on 24 or the 30 charges levied against him Monday.
The conclusion of this five month trial saw Kilpatrick found guilty on a laundry list of serious charges, including racketeering, fraud, extortion and tax evasion. Both the racketeering and extortion charges carry with them a maximum of 20 years in prison.
"[The jury] said that they recognized that they were the voice of this community," said U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade. "They recognized that this was not a victimless crime. They saw it as their responsibility to hold these men accountable for their conduct."
Claiming to be anointed by God for his position as Detroit's mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick had what looked to be a promising political career ahead of him when he spoke at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. At the time, the charismatic, fresh-faced mayor new mayor of Detroit looked to be a beacon of hope for the future of urban redevelopment. Kilpatrick shared the stage that night with another promising young politician, Barack Obama. My how the times have changed.
As Obama's DNC speech propelled him to the top of Democratic inner circles and eventually the presidency, Kwame's political career soon fell apart. One year later he barely won in a bid for reelection, and a few after tha, he lost his job after his sex scandal and perjury conviction rocked the city of Detroit in 2008.
If only it had stopped there.
"Kwame Kilpatrick stole money from the city of Detroit," notes McQuade. "While Kwame Kilpatrick enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, he watched the quality of life erode for the people of Detroit. The mayor cheated the system. Kwame Kilpatrick didn't lead the city; he looted the city. One juror said that she is a Detroiter and voted for [Kilpatrick] twice, but the evidence she saw in this case made her stomach turn."
Kilpatrick appeared to be stunned at the announcement of his verdict, one that carries a prison pending sentence arrangement that could mean he will not be seeing the free world again for many years, perhaps even the rest of his life. Lawyers for Mr. Kilpatrick said that they would consider an appeal and a reduction of the pre-sentencing time for the ex-mayor.
It is hard to quantify the damage that Kwame Kilpatrick ended up doing to the city of Detroit, having used the publicly-funded Kilpatrick Civil Fund as his own personal bank throughout his time as mayor. Between those improprieties and his awarding of a contracting job to city contractor Bobby Ferguson (which he received 100s of thousands of dollars for), it is likely that he cost Detroit millions of dollars. The city has just recently had to appoint an emergency manager to solve its financial woes.
