Kilpatrick off to jail again, fired by Compuware

DETROIT (AP) — Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced to up to five years in prison Tuesday for violating the terms of his probation stemming from his conviction for lying under oath about an affair with his chief of staff.

Kilpatrick, 39, asked Judge David Groner to show him compassion during the hearing, but Groner said "that ship has sailed."

Groner said Kilpatrick would have to serve at least one-and-a-half years in prison. He is still obligated to pay back the remaining balance of his $1 million debt to the city of Detroit.

Kilpatrick, the father of three young sons, was led from the courtroom in handcuffs.

Groner ruled last month that Kilpatrick failed to report all of his assets and meet other conditions of his probation. In court Tuesday, Groner scolded Kilpatrick for his continued lack of candor about his finances.

"Your continued attempt to cast yourself as the victim, your lack of forthrightness, your lack of contriteness and lack of humility … clearly rehabilitation has failed," Groner told Kilpatrick after the former mayor spent about 15 minutes explaining why he should be allowed to return to his family in Dallas.

"I want to go home your honor, where I belong," Kilpatrick told Groner. "I’m not here because of a gun charge, or a drug charge. I’m here because of my confusion over some of the written orders that have been before me."

At issue is the restitution Kilpatrick was ordered to pay the city after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to obstruction of justice. Kilpatrick testified in a whistle-blowers’ lawsuit that he was not romantically involved with his chief of staff, but text messages between the two later showed he was lying. Before the text message scandal broke, the city paid the two whistle blowers an $8.4 million settlement.

Kilpatrick, a Democrat, resigned, served 99 days in jail, agreed to give up his law license, repay the city $1 million, and stay out of politics for five years.

After Groner announced the sentence, a loud, collective gasp rose from many of Kilpatrick’s supporters in the packed courtroom. Kilpatrick appeared shaken.

Kilpatrick has 42 days in which to file an appeal.

After he was released from jail in February 2009, Kilpatrick found a job as a medical software salesman with Dallas-based Covisint. Since then, he has said he is working on his marriage and trying to be a better father to his three sons. He also has been making $3,000 monthly payments to the city of Detroit, saying he hopes to repay everything he owes.

But prosecutors contend he continues to lie — that Kilpatrick could afford to give more and has intentionally hid assets.

Groner agreed, saying Kilpatrick failed to disclose $240,000 in loans from prominent businessmen. He also said Kilpatrick failed to surrender nearly $23,400 in tax refunds and a share of cash gifts from two people.

In addition to his sentencing, Compuware Corp. CEO Peter Karmanos announced his company has fired Kilpatrick. [Detroit Free Press].

Judge’s comment suggests jail time for Kilpatrick

Former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick may have to stay in Michigan a little longer next time he visits.

Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner hinted that Kilpatrick could be facing jail time for violating the terms of his probation, including making $1 million in restitution payments to the city.

The Detroit Free Press is reporting, “Says Groner: ‘You would be well advised to have your affairs in order before sentencing.'”

Also according the the Freep, Kilpatrick’s wife Carlita is running from the sinking ship, seeking to separate her assets from her husband’s.

Kilpatrick appeal denied

The Michigan Court of Appeals has denied Kwame Kilpatrick’s appeal of Judge David Groner’s probation violation order.

You can read the order here.

Blame It On The Goose, Blame It On The Henny

Back in the day, I interned at a local prosecutor’s office, you know, the one in the largest city in Michigan. There, I watched a drug trial in which a defense attorney defended his drug dealing¹ client by saying, and I quote, “My client is a drug dealer, but he’s too good a drug dealer to get caught. There is no way he could have been selling drugs when he was arrested.”

A, er, “nuanced” defense, for sure, but not exactly one you could expect a jury of civies to digest.

¹ Allegedly!

Now consider the new defense of Kwame Kilpatrick in his probation appeal. His attorney, Daniel Hajji, filed his brief in the Court of Appeals yesterday, arguing that it’s not fair that Kilpatrick be expected to make such a large restitution payment because it’s absolutely necessary that Kilpatrick live the high life.

"The clientele he must establish a rapport with are likely to be the privileged and the affluent," Hajji said in the motion. "Burgers and beer at the local bar is not going to be sufficient."

[Detroit Free Press]

More from the brief from the Freep:

In a motion asking the appeals court to reconsider and postpone Kilpatrick’s Friday probation-violation hearing in circuit court, Hajji said: "Detroit is being revictimized, and this time, the trial court and the prosecution are lending a hand."

Hajji said it would be no surprise if Kilpatrick loses his job because of the additional scrutiny. "The trial court and the prosecution do not seem to be concerned with getting the restitution paid," he wrote of Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner.

"The trial court appears to infer that it wants Mr. Kilpatrick to live a middle-class existence, when such an existence is inconsistent with earning a sufficient amount to fulfill his restitution obligation.

"Mr. Kilpatrick is going to have to function in the upper echelons of society."

Maybe Groner should just order Carlita to pay it then, you know, marital assets and all. Besides, Kwame doesn’t know if she has a job to lose.

[UPDATE: Read the motion for yourself here. The Freep story is just the tip of the iceberg.]

Judge to Kilpatrick: Pay up

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge David Groner told former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick today that he has to pay $319,000 of his $1 million restitution to the City of Detroit in the next 90 days. He must pay $79,000 of that within 30 days, and another $240,000 within 90 days.

Kilpatrick pleaded guilty in 2008 to obstruction of justice.

Groner also ordered Kilpatrick to pay the entire $1 million in four years instead of the initially agreed upon five  years.

Groner’s decision came with a scolding. The judge said Kilpatrick had lied about his finances, and had failed to disclose that he had received hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans. That was a misrepresentation of his ability to pay his restitution, Groner said.

“You pled guilty, and you agreed to pay $1 million in resitution,” Groner said to Kilpatrick. If Kilpatrick had not asked the court to decrease his monthly restitution payments from $6,000 to $3,000, he could have carried on according to the agreement he made with the court.

In addition to the financial requirements ordered by Groner, the judge also ordered Kilpatrick to make weekly reports to the court by telephone. He ordered Kilpatrick’s probation to be moved from Texas, where Kilpatrick is living and working, to Michigan. All of Kilpatrick’s travel must be approved by the court.

If Kilpatrick fails to comply, he will have to return to court for a probation violation hearing, Groner said. Kilpatrick served 99 days in jail after his 2008 plea. He stepped down from office, was disbarred, and was prohibited from running for office for five years.

See the Associated Press story on the Michigan Lawyers Weekly home page here. Read the order here.

Judge expected to announce Kilpatrick restitution

I’ve cleared my calendar for this afternoon so I can watch online as the saga of the former mayor of Detroit unfolds.

Kwame Kilpatrick will again face Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner, who is expected to announce his decision regarding Kilpatrick’s restitution payments to the city of Detroit.

According to a story in The Detroit News, Kilpatrick has paid less than 10 percent of the $1 million he was ordered to pay as part of his sentence in the so-called text message scandal.

Kilpatrick had argued that he can’t pay the $6,000 per month as ordered by the court. But prosecutors say he’s not been forthcoming about his finances, and if he can afford pricey cars and rent in a swanky neighborhood and luxuries such as plastic surgery for his wife, he can afford to pony up even more than $6,000 per month.

Kilpatrick hearing resumes today

“Former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is set to return today to testify in the long-running, contentious and much-interrupted hearing over claims he violated probation,” reports The Detroit News.

“The hearing, which began Oct. 29 and continued two more days in November, should wrap up today or Tuesday. So far, the hearings have provided plenty of drama, water-cooler fodder and new details about Kilpatrick’s mysterious personal finances and secret deals leading up to his September 2008 resignation and jailing.

“Ultimately, Wayne Circuit Judge David Groner will decide whether any of the new details are relevant to prosecutors’ claims that Kilpatrick willfully is violating his probation by hiding his wealth and halving his monthly $6,000 payments toward $1 million in restitution.”

Groner will stay on Kilpatrick case

Kwame Kilpatrick failed Wednesday in his bid to have the judge who ordered him to pay $1 million in restitution thrown off the case, reports The Detroit Free Press.

From The Freep:

For weeks now, Kilpatrick’s lawyers and prosecutors have sparred over whether the ex-mayor violated the terms of his probation, most notably by cutting his monthly payments to the City of Detroit in half.

Kilpatrick lawyer Michael Alan Schwartz recently asked Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner to remove himself from the case, arguing that Groner could become a witness because he had knowledge of what Kilpatrick disclosed about his finances.

After Groner refused to remove himself Tuesday, Schwartz took the issue to Judge Edward Ewell Jr., chief judge of the Wayne County Circuit’s criminal division.

Ewell sided with Groner, noting Wednesday that he could find no similar case in which a judge was removed. “There’s a very high standard to disqualify a judge,” he said before ruling against Schwartz.

Wayne County judge: Former Detroit mayor must disclose finances

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge David Groner has ruled in favor of a discovery motion forcing former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to disclose his assets within 10 days, according to a post on mlive.com.

The judge originally requested full disclosure in March, but Kilpatrick failed to produce any financial information since that ruling.

Kilpatrick has until Oct. 16 to disclose any assets held by himself, his wife or a third party for his benefit. He’ll also have to provide salary information and disclose any gifts he may have received.

He’s also expected to attend an evidentiary hearing on Oct. 29, but Judge Groner said there was a small possibility he could cancel that hearing if he reviews the documents and determines it isn’t necessary.

Kwame battles financial disclosure order

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy “would have preferred that Mr. Kilpatrick is sitting in a cardboard box on Woodward Avenue living in garbage cans.”

– Attorney Michael Allen Schwartz, who is representing former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick is accused of violating the terms of his probation by skirting a restitution order.

Schwartz was reacting to Worthy’s court filings to compel Kilpatrick and others to disclose personal financial information.

“Worthy last week obtained subpoenas to compel Kilpatrick and his employer to hand over information, contending his restitution payments should be increased. [Wayne County Circuit Court Judge David] Groner also set a hearing for Oct. 29, when Kilpatrick may be called to answer questions,” reports The Detroit News.

Schwartz also says Groner should be disqualified from the case.

From The News:

[Schwartz says] Groner must be disqualified from the case stemming from the text message scandal because he could be called as a witness to what he said are false claims Worthy has made about Kilpatrick’s failure to disclose his personal worth.

“It just so happens that Groner has personal knowledge of whether Mr. Kilpatrick made (financial disclosures),” Schwartz said. “When he has personal knowledge, he must be disqualified, because he may be called as a witness. You can’t have a witness in a case where he’s a judge.”