Ex Mayor, Serving 28 Years on Federal Racketeering Conviction, Asks Obama for Pardon

Family members of former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, pictured, and Bobby W. Ferguson are seeking presidential pardons for the pair, who were convicted on federal racketeering charges in 2013. (Photo by Dave Hogg via Flickr/Creative Commons)

» Get Patch’s daily newsletter and news alerts.

Former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who is serving a 28-year prison sentence after being convicted of racketeering in 2013, is seeking a presidential pardon, according to news reports.

“There are people who contact me that want to do a letter-writing campaign to President Obama to get a pardon,” Kilpatrick’s brother-in-law, Daniel Ferguson, told WWJ/CBS Detroit. “In the whole scheme of things, I just want justice. He didn’t get a fair trial.”

Both rising political stars in 2007, Obama and now former mayor Kilpatrick stood shoulder-to-shoulder at a political event at the Detroit Economic Club.

“I want to first of all acknowledge your great mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick,” Obama, then a senator, said at the political gathering. “We know that he is going to be astounding things for many years to come.”

Many expected Kilpatrick to lead the Motor City out of economic despair, but in the end, the corruption of the flashy “hip-hop” mayor’s administration helped speed the Detroit toward bankruptcy, federal prosecutors said at his 2013 trial.

Kilpatrick was indicted in 2010 on federal corruption charges that included allegations of bid-rigging and extortion. Prosecutors also alleged Bobby W. Ferguson, a city contractor and friend of the ex-mayor’s, received $73 million worth of city contracts as a result of an extortion scheme involving Kilpatrick, netting a $9.6 million profit.

One of the prosecutors, Mark Chutkow, said the two were involved in a vast enterprise that involved an “astonishing” amount of crime that “had a huge impact on the city.”

Also on Patch:

• ‘Robocop’ Accused of Severely Beating Black Man in Traffic Stop Has Notorious History
• Kym Worthy: Untested Rape Kits Illustrate Funding Crisis

U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds, who sentenced Kilpatrick to the full 28 years prosecutors had requested, said the punishment should serve as a warning to other politicians.

“That way of business is over,” Kilpatrick said. “We’re done. We’re moving forward.”

Kilpatrick’s conviction is currently under appeal.

Daniel Ferguson said family members also want a pardon for Bobby W. Ferguson. Whether that will happen is unclear. Obama, who has pardoned 64 people since taking office, has been criticized for being stingy with his pardon and clemency power.

In a message to WXYZ-TV, Daniel Ferguson said the two “did nothing at all” that warranted any time in prison.

Kilpatrick, who is serving his sentence at federal prison to Oklahoma City, is scheduled for release on Aug. 1, 2037. He will be 67 on that date.

Tell Us:

• Should Kwame Kilpatrick and Bobby W. Ferguson be pardoned?