Detroit Racketeering Case – Kwame
Kilpatrick, et al
Population of Detroit

City of Detroit

2000000
1500000

Population of Detroit

1000000
500000
0

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Motor City
City in Decline
Flight to Suburbs
Bankrupt in 2013

Kwame Kilpatrick
Parents:

Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, Bernard Kilpatrick

Education: BS Political Science, Florida A&M, JD Detroit College of Law
Political Career:
• Michigan House of Representatives, 1997-2001
• Mayor of Detroit, 2002-2008
Known as:
• youngest mayor of Detroit
• “Hip Hop” mayor
• leader of the Kilpatrick Enterprise

State House of Representatives
Funding
• Kwame Kilpatrick-Michigan House Representative (2000) o Allegedly traded $500,000 of state support to related party non-profits o Non-profits headed by Bobby Ferguson and Kwame’s wife Carlita o Detroit community service groups coerced into hiring Carlita Kilpatrick
• Carlita did not provide services as intended; lack of proper documentation o $100K allegedly spent on renovating Bobby Ferguson’s office o Money spent on personal expenses, rather than community development Whistleblower Suit
• Detroit police Harold Nelthrope-alerted of alleged overtime misconduct by Kwame’s personal bodyguards
• Deputy police chief Gary Brown-passed along misconduct allegations and assault concerns at Kwame’s residence
• Gary Brown removed from position by Kwame-Cited the investigation of Kwame’s residential disturbances as reason for termination
• Brown & Nelthrope sue city and Kwame for violating whistleblower policies o Depositions accuse Kwame of affairs with chief of staff Christine Beatty o Kwame and Beatty vehemently deny allegations

Whistleblower Suit Developments
• Courts subpoena text messages between Kwame and Beatty o Text-messages do not surface during trial o $8.4M settlement given to police officers & lawyer
• Detroit press sues city for access to settlement records & unreleased messages – Michigan Freedom of Information Act
• Detroit Law Dept. denies secret deal – Fought to Michigan
Supreme Court
• Documents released – confidentiality agreement to keep officers quiet
• Underlying text messages lead to criminal investigation

Text Messaging Scandal
• 14,000 text messages revealed on city SkyTel pagers
• Dates coincide with alleged misconduct & termination of police officers
• Details illicit affair between Beatty & Kwame; Firing of Gary
Brown
• Direct contradiction of prior testimony – Evidence of Perjury
• Beatty – Resigned; Dropped out of law school
• Kwame – Guilty of obstruction of justice; Stepped down as mayor; $1M in restitution; 120 days in jail
• Taxpayers paid for $9M in legal fees

Synagro Scandal
• Synagro Executive VP James Rosendall o Sent cash and other perks to Bernard Kilpatrick including personal checks o Bribery for support of $1.2 billion sludge contract
• Bernard Kilpatrick – Father of Kwame o Constant threats to kill contact with a direct line to Kwame o Deposited $800K in personal bank accounts
• Rayford Jackson o Liaison to facilitate transactions between Rosendall and Kilpatrick o Delivered money to city council member Monica Conyers to buy deciding vote
• Pay-to-play rumors spread statewide as cost of doing business in Detroit

Synagro Scandal
Developments
• Feds spied on meetings at the Original Pancake House o Videos of luxury champagne and money transferred to Bernard o Rosendall cooperation led to additional videos of extortion discussions

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Rosendall -11 months for bribery
Jackson- 5 years for bribery
Conyers – 37 months for bribery and conspiracy
Bernard – Escaped conviction for this offense o o o o

Hung Jury
Established private consulting firm soon before Kwame becoming mayor
Numerous clients resulted in facing federal felonies
Failure to separate consulting practice with Kwame’s office

Pay to Play
• Bobby Ferguson contractor and coconspirator o Benefited the most from Kilpatrick’s mayoral position.
• Kilpatrick steered millions of dollars in city contracts to Ferguson.
• Ferguson received