Democrat crook and former mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick, was sentenced today in federal court to 28 years in prison for public corruption, the longest corruption sentence ever handed down to a public official. Kilpatrick was endorsed by Obama and was once mentioned as a possible candidate for president. Kilpatrick named himself Detroit’s “hip hop mayor” who was “anointed by God to be mayor.” Now he is known as the “worst mayoral leader of the past decade“. Kilpatrick was running a criminal enterprise stealing millions from the city of Detroit, his convictions included tax crimes, racketeering, bribery and extortion.
CBS Detroit reported:
The judge laid bare the accusations against Kilpatrick of fake jobs for family and friends, lavish parties, pay to play schemes, and secret affairs, saying he “has generally shown little remorse” for a bevy of infractions. She said it was sad he chose to “waste his talent on personal enrichment and aggrandizement,” when he had so many talents that could have helped the city.
Edmunds called it “devastating corruption” that bred a corrosive environment, cynicism and apathy among people who could have been convinced to boost Detroit. “We lost transparency, we lost accountability,” Edmunds said, adding her sentence was meant to show the public demands both.
“That way of doing government is over, it’s done,” she said.
Kilpatrick spoke eloquently in his own defense immediately before the sentence was handed down, giving a lengthy talk full of apologies and self-reflection in a subdued voice that riveted the packed courtroom and overflow room.
“I just humbly and respectfully ask for a fair sentence … I respect the jury’s verdict. I think your honor knows I have disagreed in terms of the specific things I was found guilty on, but I respect the verdict and I also respect the American justice system,” he said.
He added: “We’ve been stuck in this town for a very long time over me, and I’m ready to let go so the city can move on. People here are suffering, they’re hurting and a great deal of that hurt I accept full responsibility for. I apologized to everyone who will listen, but it never seems to get heard.”
Kilpatrick went on to say “men, especially in the African American community” know they’re not supposed to cry or “bow down,” describing what he projected as “false confidence” that was misread as “arrogance.”
