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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Mon Apr 14, 2014 12:56 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Home • Detroit • Press Releases • 2013 • Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Contractor Bobby Ferguson, and Bernard Kilpatrick Sentenced on Racketeering,...
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Contractor Bobby Ferguson, and Bernard Kilpatrick Sentenced on Racketeering, Extortion, Bribery, Fraud, and Tax Charges
U.S. Attorney’s Office
October 17, 2013
Eastern District of Michigan
(313) 226-9100
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick, 43; contractor Bobby Ferguson, 44; and Bernard Kilpatrick, 72, have all been sentenced for their roles in the wide-ranging Detroit public corruption scandal, announced United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade.
McQuade was joined in the announcement by John Robert Shoup, Acting Special Agent In Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Randall Ashe, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division; Richard Weber, Chief of IRS-Criminal Investigation; and Barry McLaughlin, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General.
Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison for using his position as mayor of Detroit and Michigan State House Representative to execute a wide-ranging racketeering conspiracy involving extortion, bribery, and fraud.
Bobby Ferguson was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison for being the catalyst at the center of an extortion scheme that netted him millions of dollars in city contracts.
Bernard Kilpatrick was sentenced to 15 months on a charge of subscribing false tax returns. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision on the racketeering conspiracy charge.
United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade stated, “This case is not so much about punishing for the past as it about shaping the future. These sentences will deter other officials from stealing from the people and will attract honest public servants to office.”
In March, Kwame Kilpatrick was convicted by a jury of 24 counts of extortion, mail fraud, tax violations, and racketeering. The jury deliberated for about 14 days before returning the verdicts, concluding a five-month long trial before United States District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds.
The evidence presented at trial established that Kwame Kilpatrick and contractor Bobby Ferguson participated in a racketeering conspiracy to financially enrich themselves, their associates, and their families by using the power and authority of Kwame Kilpatrick's position as mayor of Detroit, as well as his position as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, to commit extortion, bribery, and fraud, and to defraud donors to nonprofit entities under the control of Kwame Kilpatrick and his associates, including the Kilpatrick Civic Fund, Kilpatrick for Mayor, and the Kilpatrick Inaugural Committee.
At the heart of the conspiracy was a scheme to use the power and authority of Kwame Kilpatrick's office as mayor of Detroit to extort municipal contractors by coercing them to include Ferguson in public contracts and to rig the awarding of public contracts to ensure that Ferguson obtained a portion of the revenue from those contracts. Ferguson obtained at least $73 million in revenues from municipal contracts through this scheme, a portion of which he shared with his co-conspirators.
Evidence showed that during Kwame Kilpatrick's tenure as a representative of the Michigan House and as the mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick and Bobby Ferguson obtained more than half-a-million dollars from the state of Michigan and donors to non-profit entities they controlled, including the Kilpatrick Civic Fund, Kilpatrick for Mayor, and the Kilpatrick Inaugural Committee, under the false pretense that the money would be used to better the community or for campaign expenses when, in reality, the money was used for personal or other impermissible expenses, including vacations to luxury resorts, spa treatments, yoga lessons, and golf clubs.
Further evidence showed that during Kwame Kilpatrick's tenure as mayor, he solicited and accepted payments and property valued at over $1 million from persons seeking business with the city or its General Retirement System or police and fire pension funds.
Evidence was also presented that in return for the proceeds from the public contracts Ferguson received, Ferguson kicked back significant sums of cash, items of value, or other benefits to Kwame Kilpatrick. Further evidence was presented that during his tenure as mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick used more than $840,000 cash, derived from the conspiracy, to make deposits into his bank accounts, pay his credit card bills, purchase cashier's checks and clothing, and to repay loans.
As a result of the lengthy and wide-ranging investigation into corruption in the city of Detroit, the government has obtained convictions from 32 other individuals.
The investigation of this case was conducted by agents of the FBI, EPA-CID, and IRS-CID. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Chutkow, R. Michael Bullotta, Jennifer Blackwell, and Eric Doeh. |
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Mon Apr 14, 2014 12:59 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The evidence presented at trial established that Kwame Kilpatrick and contractor Bobby Ferguson participated in a racketeering conspiracy to financially enrich themselves, their associates, and their families by using the power and authority of Kwame Kilpatrick's position as mayor of Detroit, as well as his position as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, to commit extortion, bribery, and fraud, and to defraud donors to nonprofit entities under the control of Kwame Kilpatrick and his associates, including the Kilpatrick Civic Fund, Kilpatrick for Mayor, and the Kilpatrick Inaugural Committee.
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Are the County Commissioners using the power of their position to enrich their associates in the Chamber of Commerce. |
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Mon Apr 14, 2014 1:02 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Public Corruption
Inside the Kwame Kilpatrick Case
11/08/13
When Kwame Kilpatrick became mayor of Detroit in 2002, he promised to revitalize the city. Instead, he shamelessly used his position to steal from the citizens he had vowed to serve.
“Criminal activity was a way of life for him, and he constantly used the power of his office to look for new opportunities to make money illegally,” said Special Agent Robert Beeckman, who investigated the mayor and his corrupt regime for eight years.
Last month, a federal judge sentenced Kilpatrick to a 28-year prison term for his role in a wide-ranging racketeering conspiracy that included extortion, bribery, and fraud. Thirty-two others have also been convicted of crimes in connection with the case, including Kilpatrick’s contractor friend Bobby Ferguson, who received a 21-year jail term.
Detroit skyline
‘Fed Up With Corruption’
During his six years as mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick “pervasively and systematically corrupted city government,” said a sentencing memorandum to the court prepared by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. “The citizens had the right to expect honesty, integrity, and responsibility when they elected Kilpatrick. What they got instead was widespread graft, extortion, and theft.”
The memorandum noted that Kilpatrick remains unrepentant: “Even now, after years of civil and criminal litigation, there is no evidence that Kilpatrick has accepted responsibility for his crimes in office, nor is there any sign of remorse or contrition.”
Michigan voters, however, have made themselves heard. They overwhelmingly approved a ballot proposal amending the state’s constitution to place a 20-year ban on public officials convicted of felonies alleging violations relating to corruption from holding an elected or appointed position with control over public assets or public policy.
Besides the 20-year ban, said Special Agent Robert Beeckman, “the city of Detroit has made a number of other significant changes that will make it more difficult for the next guy who considers violating the public trust.”
“Everyone here is so fed up with corruption,” he added. “Kilpatrick’s six-month trial really opened people’s eyes to exactly what this guy did and how devastating it was to the city.”
Kilpatrick and Ferguson established a “pay to play” system that made breaking the law standard operating procedure. Kilpatrick extorted city vendors, rigged bids, and took bribes. He used funds from non-profit civic organizations to line his pockets and those of his family. And he was unabashed about it.
“His crimes were not the result of a momentary lapse in judgment,” said a document prepared for the court by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. “He systematically exploited his office to enrich himself, his friends, and his family.” For example, Kilpatrick and Ferguson obtained more than $500,000 from the state of Michigan and private donors for non-profit organizations they controlled. The organizations were supposed to help the community. Instead, the mayor spent large sums on himself for luxury vacations, spa treatments, and golf clubs.
The FBI opened a case on Kilpatrick in 2004, two years after he moved into the mayor’s mansion. “Initially, we had sources and a few cooperating defendants from other cases who revealed a pay to play scheme and that the mayor was behind it,” Beeckman said.
As the investigation unfolded, our agents—along with investigators from the Internal Revenue Service and other agencies—used court-ordered wiretaps and undercover operators to gather evidence. “Over the years, we employed every investigative technique we could,” Beeckman said.
A significant break in the case came when investigators discovered that Kilpatrick’s cell phone provider had kept an archive of all his text messages. “The messages were explicit,” Beeckman said. “He talked about bid rigging, bribes, and other criminal activity. He had no idea there would be a record of those messages.”
Investigators also followed the money, which left no doubt about Kilpatrick’s corruption. Before he became mayor, Kilpatrick’s paycheck from the state of Michigan was electronically deposited into his bank account, and he made regular withdrawals to pay bills and to get cash. After his election, he stopped making withdrawals and instead made only large cash deposits.
Kilpatrick’s bank records revealed more than $840,000 in unexplained expenditures above and beyond his salary as mayor—and none of that money was disclosed on his tax returns. “There were times,” Beeckman said, “when the mayor would hand one of the officers on his protective detail an envelope with cash and tell him to take it to the bank and pay his credit card bill.”
The beleaguered mayor pled guilty to two felony counts in 2008 and resigned his office. Two years later, he was indicted for mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion; in March 2013 he was found guilty of the wide-ranging racketeering conspiracy charges.
Why was Kilpatrick so brazen about his crimes? “He thought he was above the law,” Beeckman believes. “He thought he could do whatever he wanted and get away with it.”
That turned out not to be the case, thanks to the dedicated work of the investigators and prosecutors who ultimately brought Kilpatrick and his co-conspirators to justice.
Resource:
Press release |
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Mon Apr 14, 2014 1:04 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Why was Kilpatrick so brazen about his crimes? “He thought he was above the law,” Beeckman believes. “He thought he could do whatever he wanted and get away with it.”
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Genesee county Commissioners also think they can do anything they want. Most corruption is done in secret. Genesee County breaks their own rules out in public! |
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Mon Apr 14, 2014 1:06 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Mon Apr 14, 2014 1:11 am |
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