Kwame Kilpatrick Says He Owes Detroit Nothing

DETROIT (WWJ) - Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick says he doesn't owe a penny in payback to the city of Detroit.

This comes after federal U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds last month reduced Kilpatrick's restitution to $1.5 million following an Appeals Court ruling that said the restitution was calculated incorrectly.

Kilpatrick, 47, was expected to travel to Detroit to represent himself at an August hearing on the matter, but Edmunds issued an order canceling the hearing. Edmunds said, basically, she had enough information to rule on the issue as things stand, and she agreed with the government that a hearing is unnecessary.

In a new court filing obtained by the Detroit News, Kilpatrick asks Edmunds to reconsider holding that hearing so he can contest his restitution bill in person.

Not satisfied with a reduction in the amount, Kilpatrick said he owes the city nothing because his restitution was ordered based on a bid-rigging charge that the jury was never asked to consider during his trial.

If his complaint will not be heard by Edmunds at a hearing, he asks the just to "order that no restitution amount can be ordered."

The former mayor remains behind bars in Oklahoma, serving a 28-year federal sentence for corruption and other charges — all of which he maintains are crimes he did not commit. [Catch up on this case]