Court Affirms Conviction, Long Sentence For Ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - He won't be getting out anytime soon.

An appeals court has upheld the corruption conviction and 28-year prison sentence of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

In 2013, Kilpatrick was convicted of two dozen crimes, from tax evasion to bribery. A jury found that he rigged contracts, took bribes and committed other corrupt acts.

"He created a 'pay-to-play' system for the provision of city goods and services, which compromised vast swaths of city government, including the water and sewer system, the convention center, the pension system, casino developments and recreation centers," prosecutors said in a court filing. "City government essentially became up for grabs for the right price."

Kilpatrick's appeal centered on an alleged conflict among his trial attorneys. The appeal also said FBI agents were given too much latitude to act as experts in their testimony.

A three-judge panel at the appeals court said Friday there were no grounds to upset the outcome, although Kilpatrick's restitution will be revisited.

The 45-year-old Kilpatrick is at a federal prison in Oklahoma. He quit the mayor's office in 2008 during a different scandal involving sexually explicit text messages and an extramarital affair with a staffer.

The court also affirmed the conviction and 21-year prison sentence of Kilpatrick's pal, Bobby Ferguson, a contractor who got lucrative city work.

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