Robert Snell

The U.S. Marshals Service refused to disclose the location of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and contractor Bobby Ferguson, who were handcuffed and sent to prison today after being convicted in the City Hall corruption trial.

“Due to security concerns we are not releasing the whereabouts of where they will be incarcerated tonight,” a Marshals Service spokesman told The News.

One possibility: The federal prison in Milan, 49 minutes southwest of Detroit. Kilpatrick spent time there while serving a state prison sentence a few years ago.

The Marshals Service also has contracts to house federal inmates at jails in Detroit and several counties, including Wayne, St. Clair and Sanilac.

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Robert Snell

Kwame Kilpatrick’s lawyer vowed to appeal today’s racketeering conviction and ask for a new trial.

Defense attorney James C. Thomas also said he will start trying to mitigate the amount of time Kilpatrick will spend in federal prison after being convicted of 24 charges.

He has other short-term plans following the six-month trial and representing Kilpatrick for almost three years in the corruption case.

“One might think you go out and get loaded,” Thomas told reporters outside federal court. “I am going to take solace in having a good dinner.”

Thomas did not know where Kilpatrick will be imprisoned immediately. He hopes the former Detroit mayor will be housed at the federal prison in nearby Milan.

“It’s obviously one of the more comfortable places, though it’s not a country club,” Thomas said.

His initial reaction to the conviction?

“Numbing may be a good word,” he said. “We are pensive.”

He shed light on Kilpatrick’s private moments after being convicted of 24 counts this morning.

“He talked with his wife and kids” via telephone, Thomas said. “He’s pretty strong and doesn’t show his emotions but it obviously is affecting him.”

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Robert Snell

Kwame Kilpatrick shouted “No fear” to his mother, former Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, after being handcuffed and led away to prison this afternoon.

Kilpatrick was taken into custody after a judge ordered him and contractor pal Bobby Ferguson to prison while awaiting sentencing in the corruption case.

Kilpatrick took off his wedding ring, tie and watch and handed it along with his driver’s license to his mother before being taken into custody.

Defense lawyer James C. Thomas removed the ex-mayor’s cufflinks.

Kilpatrick made one last request.

Don’t handcuff me in front of my mom, he asked.

The deputy U.S. Marshal cuffed him anyway.

Ferguson, meanwhile, had an emotional goodbye.

“I love you too, daddy!” one of his daughters said to the burly contractor.

Ferguson got handcuffed before he could remove his tie.

The deputy U.S. Marshal took it off for him.

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Robert Snell

Saying it was a close call, a federal judge ordered Kwame Kilpatrick and Bobby Ferguson to prison immediately, capping a historic day in federal court.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds said Kilpatrick and Ferguson, both convicted felons, failed to convince her they won’t flee. They also failed to convince her they aren’t dangers to the community.

“I think this is a close call,” Edmunds said following a brief hearing.

Under the law, the presumption was for both men to be imprisoned immediately. Lawyers for both men failed to overcome that presumption, the judge said.

“It’s possible they would appear,” she added. “It’s possible they may not be dangers to the safety of any other persons. But they have not offered evidence or any argument to overcome that presumption.”

Following the judge’s order, four deputy U.S. Marshals surrounded Kilpatrick and Ferguson. Kilpatrick calmly removed his black sport coat while Ferguson handed what looked like a check book to his lawyer.

It was not immediately clear where Kilpatrick and Ferguson will be imprisoned while awaiting sentencing in the corruption trial.

There is a federal prison in Milan.

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Robert Snell

Bobby Ferguson is a violent felon and international traveler with access to large amounts of cash and should be locked up while awaiting sentencing in the corruption case, a prosecutor said today.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Doeh wants Ferguson imprisoned and reminded U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds that the contractor was previously committed of pistol-whipping an employee and earned more than $80 million in revenue from tainted city contracts.

Defense lawyer Gerald Evelyn, meanwhile, said Ferguson has deep roots in Detroit.

Ferguson has surrendered his passport and the government effectively shut down his construction company by seizing equipment and millions in cash.

Ferguson is awaiting trial in April on federal bid-rigging charges and has financial concerns, his lawyer said.

“There are significant court expenses outstanding that might not be paid,” Evelyn told the judge.

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Robert Snell

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick doesn’t have a large stash of cash and can’t afford to flee before being sentenced in the City Hall corruption case, his lawyer said.

Kilpatrick’s lawyer is fighting a prosecution request to have Kilpatrick locked up immediately.

“His risk of flight is, I think, illusory,” defense lawyer James C. Thomas said during a detention hearing today. “He doesn’t have cash reserves with which to flee. Being convicted doesn’t make it more or less of a reason to flee. He was facing those charges from the very beginning.”

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Robert Snell

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick should be imprisoned immediately because he has a history of lying to court officials, disobeying court orders and because he has access to cash, a prosecutor said today.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Bullotta wants Kilpatrick and pal Bobby Ferguson imprisoned while awaiting sentencing in the City Hall corruption trial.

Both men are convicted felons and face up to 20 years in prison after being convicted of racketeering conspiracy.

“Based on the character of this defendant, the court should detain him and based on his history of disobeying court orders, disobeying probation officers, disobeying parole officers’ orders,” Bullotta told U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds.

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Robert Snell

Kwame Kilpatrick was spotted leaving a closed-door meeting with his taxpayer-funded defense team minutes ahead of his 2 p.m. bond hearing.

Kilpatrick embraced defense lawyer Michael Naughton, giving him a hearty back slap outside a first-floor conference room inside federal court.

Kilpatrick will find out this afternoon whether he will be locked up immediately or be allowed to remain free until sentencing in the City Hall corruption case.

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Robert Snell

Kwame Kilpatrick’s mother just arrived at federal court in Detroit to see her son, perhaps for the last time as a free man.

Former Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick was spotted entering court at 1:20 p.m.

There is a bond hearing at 2 p.m. during which U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds will consider a prosecution request to send Kilpatrick and contractor Bobby Ferguson to prison immediately.

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Robert Snell

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, who led the state prosecution of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick during the text-message scandal, issued the following statement about the City Hall corruption verdict:

“I would like to congratulate the U.S. Attorneys Office on their successful prosecution of this complex corruption case,” Worthy said in a prepared statement. “I will reserve any further comment until defendant Kwame Kilpatrick is sentenced.”

Kilpatrick was due in Wayne County Circuit Court tomorrow for a hearing into the former mayor’s finances and missing proceeds of his autobiography. The hearing has been postponed in light of the verdict.

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Robert Snell

Kwame Kilpatrick and contractor pal Bobby Ferguson will find out at 2 p.m. whether they will be imprisoned today or remain free until sentencing following convictions in the City Hall corruption case.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds has scheduled a 1:30 p.m. hearing. Federal prosecutors want the former mayor and Ferguson locked up after jurors convicted them of racketeering conspiracy and other charges.

Ferguson lawyer Mike Rataj said prosecutors are piling on by asking to send the men to prison immediately.

Both men face up to 20 years in prison on the racketeering charge. In all, jurors convicted Kilpatrick of 24 charges; Ferguson nine.

The duo, dubbed by the feds as crooked princes of the city, are free on $10,000 bond pending the outcome of today’s bond hearing.

Kilpatrick’s movements have been restricted since January, when he violated conditions of his parole. He was placed on house arrest and ordered to wear a GPS ankle tether.

His parole agent has repeatedly denied requests to let Kilpatrick visit his wife and three sons in Texas.

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Robert Snell

Contractor Bobby Ferguson’s lawyer was shocked his client was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, a charge that could send the once-powerful Detroit contractor to prison for 20 years.

“I’m surprised that they would find racketeering in relation to these contracts,” attorney Mike Rataj told reporters outside federal court. “I’m shocked by it.”

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Robert Snell

The feds won a measure of revenge today after jurors convicted Kwame Kilpatrick’s pal Bobby Ferguson of nine counts, including racketeering conspiracy, a 20-year felony.

The verdict comes nine months after Ferguson’s $12 million big-rigging trial in federal court ended in a mistrial.

U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said her office will continue preparing to retry Ferguson later this year but it is unclear whether plea talks will intensify in light of today’s verdict.

In the bid-rigging case, jurors agreed to convict Ferguson on four charges before leaving court for the weekend June 22.

When they returned four days later, the jury was deadlocked 10-1 to convict, according to two jurors who spoke publicly about deliberations.

One juror identified the holdout as the lone female black juror.

U.S. District Judge David Lawson interviewed jurors following the mistrial and they described a swirl of votes inside the jury room.

“The court learned that the votes on some counts as to some defendants favored conviction, the votes on other counts as to other defendants favored acquittal, and still other counts and defendants divided the jury nearly evenly,” the judge wrote.

In the bid-rigging case, Ferguson and two co-defendants face up to 20 years in prison, if convicted, of charges that included conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

Ferguson, a convicted felon, also faces two gun charges.

Ferguson was accused of falsifying bids, laundering money and dumping debris on the grounds of the old Herman Gardens public housing site on the west side.

Prosecutors portrayed Ferguson as a crooked contractor who used his connections and longtime friendship with Kilpatrick to win millions in city contracts.

Defense lawyers said the case was riddled with racism and featured twisted evidence and misleading testimony.

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Robert Snell

Jurors said they wanted to speak for the community in convicting Kwame Kilpatrick of crimes that could send him to prison for 20 years, or more.

“We certainly talked about our job of being the voice of the community and we took that very seriously and understood these charges were not victim-less crimes,” a male juror told reporters today.

Other jurors said they were not angry at Kilpatrick.

“I wouldn’t call it anger,” a female juror said. “More disappointment with me voting for the mayor twice. I thought that he could be a good leader and sitting here on trial for the past six months I saw a lot that really, really turned my stomach and I couldn’t believe these things were going on.”

Another female juror said she felt sorry for Kilpatrick’s wife and three sons.

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Robert Snell

A handful of anonymous jurors from the Kwame Kilpatrick corruption trial described a calm, mostly civil deliberation process during the 14 days they spent in the jury room.

No juror was “set in stone” at the outset of deliberations last month, one male panelist told reporters today during a news conference.

“We are a nice group of people,” a female juror added. “We respect each other at the utmost. There was always respect. Sometimes, arguments got a little bit heated.”

One female juror said she didn’t hold the decision not to testify against Kwame Kilpatrick, his father Bernard or contractor Bobby Ferguson.

“It didn’t really matter to me,” the female juror said.

She also didn’t give any weight to the fact Kwame Kilpatrick’s family skipped the trial, except for closing arguments.

Another juror said the case wasn’t decided on any particular witness or piece of evidence.

“There was not one piece of evidence that sealed the deal,” a male juror said told reporters after convicting the former Detroit mayor of racketeering conspiracy. “We looked at everything.”

Jurors said they weighed the backgrounds of prosecution witnesses, many of whom were convicted during the City Hall corruption probe.

“We looked at their testimony extra carefully,” one male juror said.

Several jurors talked about living in a news vacuum during the six-month trial and described varying degrees of temptation to read media reports or social media.

“Personally, it wasn’t a big temptation for the simple fact that we had been in this room for a very long time,” a female juror said. “Everyone has sacrificed personally, professionally and we dedicated ourselves to the task and no one was going to risk the time spent performing our duties to read a headline.”

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Robert Snell

U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds explained why she let jurors leave Friday after telling her they had reached a verdict but wanted to sleep on it over the weekend.

“They seemed comfortable with it and said they wanted to sleep on it,” Edmunds told reporters during an impromptu news conference inside her courtroom. “I’ve had that happen before. I have a lot of respect for the integrity of the jury.

“I had a sense of what their verdict was but did not review it until this morning.”

The move could have been controversial.

During contractor Bobby Ferguson’s bid-rigging trial last summer, the jury said it had reached a partial verdict, but U.S. District Judge David Lawson sent them home for the weekend. When they returned, they were deadlocked.

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Robert Snell

Federal prosecutors and a few defense attorneys are waiting to watch jurors speak to the media shortly, hoping to glean insight into City Hall corruption case deliberations.

U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade and her team of lawyers, Mark Chutkow, Michael Bullotta, Jennifer Blackwell and Eric Doeh are sitting in the front row of a first-floor courtroom.

Bernard Kilpatrick’s lawyer John Shea is standing several feet away as is Kwame Kilpatrick’s attorney James C. Thomas.

Several jurors are expected to talk soon and have said they will not give interviews to reporters outside court.

McQuade also will hold a 3 p.m. news conference in downtown Detroit.

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Robert Snell

Just got word from U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade that the feds won’t retry Bernard Kilpatrick on racketeering conspiracy, a 20-year felony.

She will more fully explain the decision during an afternoon press conference.

Jurors were hung on whether to convict the political maestro of racketeering.

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Robert Snell

There was no immediate word whether the feds will retry Bernard Kilpatrick on racketeering conspiracy after jurors were hung on the most devastating count in the corruption case.

Prosecutors will hold a news conference this afternoon and are expected to address that possibility.

Jurors convicted the political maestro of only one tax charge, a three-year felony. The FBI probe of City Hall corruption lasted at least twice as long.

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Robert Snell

Interesting footnote to the jury’s verdict:

The jury hung on Count 16, a bribery charge against Kwame Kilpatrick and contractor Bobby Ferguson involving one of the most memorable allegations that emerged during the trial.

The feds alleged long-time Kilpatrick pal Mahlon Clift picked up $90,000 cash from contractor  Bobby Ferguson and delivered it to the former mayor in Detroit and Texas.

Clift testified he stashed the cash in a vacuum cleaner bag and hid stacks of bills in his pockets while traveling through airport security.

Defense lawyers called Clift the “Michelin Man,” arguing airport security guards would have spotted the cash bulging from his pockets.

The feds staged a re-enactment during the trial, videotaping an FBI agent going through airport security with $90,000 strapped to his waist.

The cash was not visible, the feds argued, though defense lawyers disagreed.

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Robert Snell

Count 1 Racketeering (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick:  Guilty
Bobby Ferguson: Guilty
Bernard Kilpatrick: No verdict

Count 2 Extortion (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty
Bobby Ferguson: Guilty

Count 3 Extortion (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty
Bobby Ferguson: Guilty

Count 4 Extortion (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty
Bobby Ferguson: Guilty

Count 5 Attempt. Extortion (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty
Bobby Ferguson: Guilty

Count 7 Extortion (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: No verdict
Bobby Ferguson: Guilty

Count 8 Extortion (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: No verdict
Bobby Ferguson: Guilty

Count 9 Extortion (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty
Bobby Ferguson: Guilty

Count 10 Extortion (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick:  Not guilty
Bobby Ferguson: Not guilty

Count 15 Attempt. Extortion (20-yr felony):
Bernard Kilpatrick: Not guilty

Count 16 Bribery (10-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: No verdict
Bobby Ferguson: No verdict

Count 17 Bribery (10-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty
Bobby Ferguson: Guilty

Count 18 Mail fraud (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty

Count 19 Mail fraud (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty

Count 20 Mail fraud (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty

Count 21 Mail fraud (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty

Count 22 Mail fraud (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty

Count 23 Mail fraud (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty

Count 24 Mail fraud (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty

Count 25 Mail fraud (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty

Count 26 Mail fraud (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty

Count 27 Mail fraud (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Not guilty

Count 28 Wire fraud (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty

Count 29 Wire fraud (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Not guilty

Count 30 Wire fraud (20-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty

Count 31 False tax return (3-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty

Count 32 False tax return (3-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty

Count 33 False tax return (3-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty

Count 34 False tax return (3-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty

Count 35 False tax return (3-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty

Count 36 Tax evasion (5-yr felony):
Kwame Kilpatrick: Guilty

Count 37 False tax return (3-yr felony):
Bernard Kilpatrick: Not guilty

Count 38 False tax return (3-yr felony):
Bernard Kilpatrick: Guilty

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Robert Snell

There was an emotional moment between Kwame Kilpatrick and his father after jurors convicted the former Detroit mayor of 24 counts today.

Bernard Kilpatrick, who escaped convictions on racketeering, extortion and one tax charge, broke down in tears while embracing his son, who faces decades in federal prison.

“It’s OK,” Kwame Kilpatrick told his dad, who faces up to three years in prison.

Moments earlier, Kwame Kilpatrick mouthed “I love you” to his father across the defense table inside federal court.

Kilpatrick’s body language offered a sharp contrast to the confident grin he wore outside court almost daily during the six-month trial.

Kilpatrick slumped his shoulders and dropped his head after U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds read the guilty verdict on the first, and most devastating charge: racketeering.

Things only got worse for the former Detroit mayor. He appeared to pray at one point and stared blankly at the defense table before jurors filed out of the courtroom.

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Tom Greenwood

Kwame Kilpatrick arrived at the courthouse at 10:09 a.m., exiting a white Buick LaCross with a vanity plate that read “RUB.”
Dressed in a black blazer and gray trousers, the former mayor of Detroit ignored questions from reporters as he helped an older man with a walker up the stairs and into the federal building.
A short time later Bernard Kilpatrick, Kwame’s father, arrived at the courthouse.
Asked how he felt Bernard Kilpatrick said “the same as everyone else: apprehensive.”
Asked how his family was holding up, Bernard Kilpatrick answered “better than expected.”
“God is good,” said Bobby Ferguson as he walked across the street at Fort and Shelby toward the federal court house.

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Robert Snell

Jurors in the Kwame Kilpatrick corruption trial sent word that they won’t talk to defense lawyers or prosecutors after announcing their verdict at 10:30 a.m.

Jurors, however, will talk to reporters afterward in a controlled setting inside U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds’s 8th floor courtroom.

The jury is unusually diverse as far as federal courts go. There are eight women, four men, five blacks and a Hispanic.

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Robert Snell

There is a palpable buzz throughout federal court ahead of the 10:30 a.m. verdict in the Kwame Kilpatrick corruption case.

There were five TV satellite trucks parked along Lafayette and packs of reporters awaiting the arrival of the former Detroit mayor, his father Bernard and contractor Bobby Ferguson.

Inside, a 1st floor courtroom set up so crowds can watch a closed-circuit TV feed of the verdict is filling up fast with court staff, assistant U.S. attorneys and others.

WXYZ just spotted Kwame Kilpatrick leaving his mom’s house northwest of the courthouse in a white Buick.

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Robert Snell

Several anonymous members of the Kilpatrick jury want to speak to reporters after announcing their verdict.

The jurors will speak to reporters 15 minutes after the 10:30 a.m. verdict, according to a federal court spokesman.

The tentative plan is to let jurors sit in the jury box and answer questions from reporters gathered in U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds’s 8th floor courtroom.

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Robert Snell

There are 33 counts against former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his father Bernard and contractor Bobby Ferguson, but only three biggies.

With jurors set to render their verdict momentarily, keep your eye on Count 1, racketeering conspiracy. That’s the nuclear bomb of the case, a 20-year felony, and all three are charged with the crime.

The trio also is facing extortion, another 20-year felony. Kwame Kilpatrick and Ferguson are charged with eight counts; Bernard Kilpatrick, one count.

There’s one more 20-year felony facing Kwame Kilpatrick. He is charged with 13 counts of mail and wire fraud related to his nonprofit group, the Kilpatrick Civic Fund.

The feds say the former mayor treated the Civic Fund like his personal piggy bank, blowing cash on expensive vacations, golf clubs, yoga classes and more.

Kilpatrick shifted the blame, saying others who served on the Civic Fund’s board approved the expenses.

Former aide April Edgar, whose sister is ex-Kilpatrick mistress and Chief of Staff Christine Beatty, put the blame on the former mayor.

Edgar repeated a mantra during her testimony in October when asked why she wrote Civic Fund checks for Kilpatrick’s personal expenses.

“The mayor told me to,” Edgar repeatedly said.

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Robert Snell

Kwame Kilpatrick won’t be in Texas this weekend.

But his mug is.

Kilpatrick’s twins Jalil and Jelani wore shirts today with an Iron-on image of their grounded pop in a show of solidarity.

Kilpatrick posted the photo on Facebook along with this note:

MY DUDES! Reppin Dad today at school. I Love My Sons! #strongyoungmen

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Robert Snell

Kwame Kilpatrick is confident and calm on Facebook and Twitter while awaiting a verdict in the City Hall corruption trial.

Behind the scenes, not so much, according to emails obtained by The News through the Freedom of Information Act.

Kilpatrick wrote an emotional email Thursday to his parole agent Charles Wright — or as Kilpatrick calls him, “C-Wright.”

He sent the email while trying, again, to fly home to Texas this weekend.

Parole officials have repeatedly denied such requests after Kilpatrick violated parole conditions by hiding cash that could have been used toward the $854,063 restitution he owes the city from the text-message scandal.

In January, parole officials put him under house arrest, made him wear a tether and spend a weekend in jail as punishment for violating parole.

Kilpatrick sent this email to his parole agent Thursday:

“I have not been home since January 2, 2013. As you know as we have discussed on numerous occasions, I have a family. I am married, and have been blessed with 3 wonderful sons. As you know, there are many pressures on families in our society today, i.e., Financial, Emotional, Environmental, etc. My family has not been immune from these normal pressures that must be endured for successful families to prosper. And now added to these well established challenges there are many more my family has to endure at this time, as you may well know. We have always been able to make it through these things together.

I have been prevented from traveling home since January 9, 2013. It has been said that this sanction was given as to thoroughly investigate my finances and financial transactions. During this time of “investigation” I have been placed on house arrest, and my movement has been all but halted. Meanwhile, the “investigation” sprouts new tentacles that move in different directions, more divergent inquiries, and an increased scope of time for investigation subjects, which of course has caused the “investigation” to be extended on numerous occasions.

Kwame Kilpatrick, wife Carlita and their three sons.

C-Wright, you have a habit of saying that you are “dotting your i’s” and “crossing your t’s”. You have told me that you accept full responsibility for all of the decisions that are being made in this “investigation.” So I humbly ask, have your requests for exact dates of financial transactions, flight buddy passes, a stop at a restaurant on the way to home base, etc, outweighed your community supervision and parole agent mission of helping the parolee to reconnect to family and community? Has it outweighed your mission to support the parolee in making the successful adjustment to parole? Has your willingness to “dot and cross” blurred your focus on the fact that you are responsible for making decisions that substantially affect real human beings (wife, children, family, community), whom are not on parole? Has your fear of public and media scrutiny moved you to make decisions that are within a vacuum of self-preservation? I pray that without pretense, pride, ego and a strong sense of real honest thought, you answer these questions.

After speaking with you on yesterday, it seems that you have formed in your own mind, that much of this action is justified by the “Special Conditions” that I have of my parole. YOU and your colleagues at the MDOC are the totalitarians of my parole, and authors of my written instructions. If you want certain information from me, without any confusion, write those instructions into the special conditions. You have not done that! You have instead conformed and deformed words to mean what you want them to mean. That is not only inappropriate, its wrong. And yes, C-Wright, the continuation of an “investigation” with a blurred focus of what it is attempting to discover, no understanding of the timeliness of its conclusion, a clear understanding that it has no focus on a new crime, gun, assault or any other action that would give rise to incarceration, and a continuing strategy of keeping me on house arrest as well as preventing me from seeing my family, is WRONG.

Kilpatrick’s family is living in this 5,000-square-foot home in Grand Prairie, Texas.

Even after the media shared your emails, and stories ran last week on all three local TV news channels, several Michigan Newspapers, a plethora of radio stations and many blogs reported stories of “Kwame Kilpatrick begging to go home,” I am renewing my request to do so. As I have previously stated, I am a human being. I am spiritually, emotionally and have familial attachment to 4 people that love me very much. My home is in Texas. I am not requesting to travel anywhere else. I want to go home. Again, I am not a flight risk, I pose no threat to the public, and I must return for federal court jurisdiction by Monday morning. Your “investigation” will not be halted, or hindered by my going home. I humbly request that the larger issues of parole, i.e., safety of the public, rehabilitation, reconnection, successful adjustment, and yes, even understanding that parolees are human beings, outweigh any notion of personal scrutiny, fear, and self-preservation.”

Kilpatrick’s parole agent refused to lift the travel ban. Kilpatrick stays in Detroit this weekend — verdict or no verdict, according to the emails.

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Robert Snell

Kwame Kilpatrick, using Prince-inspired punctuation, posted comments on Twitter minutes ago thanking supporters who have stuck by him throughout the trial and 13 days of jury deliberations.

 

U hve supported me, encouraged me, prayed 4 me, made me laugh & even cry. I thank God for U. Much Love Twitter Fam! twitter.com/KwameAndFamily…

— KwameKilpatrick (@KwameAndFamily) March 7, 2013

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Robert Snell

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was spotted at federal court this afternoon, raising speculation that jurors had reached a verdict on the 12th day of deliberations.

False alarm.

Jurors left court around 3 p.m. today without reaching a verdict.

A juror had a personal issue that prompted the early recess, according to a court spokesman.

The jury will return at 9 a.m. Thursday.

It is unclear why Kilpatrick was at court in downtown Detroit today, but a spokesman said it is possible the former mayor was checking in with pretrial services — a routine requirement.

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Robert Snell

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who is awaiting a verdict in the City Hall corruption trial, faces grim odds of an acquittal, according to local court statistics.

The feds posted a 98.3 percent conviction rate in criminal cases last year, though the overwhelming majority of cases end in plea deals, according to a breakdown of all cases in the Eastern District of Michigan.

The U.S Attorney’s Office prosecuted 892 people last year in the Eastern District of Michigan. Fifteen people were acquitted.

Seven of those acquittals came in one trial: the sedition case against the Hutaree militia. Two militia members were defended by Kwame Kilpatrick’s lawyer, James C. Thomas, and co-defendant Bobby Ferguson’s lawyer, Michael Rataj.

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Robert Snell

Former Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Conrad Mallett Jr. does not regret giving $1,000 to Kwame Kilpatrick, one of several undisclosed gifts from people that could send the former Detroit mayor back to prison.

Mallett, who is running Mike Duggan’s mayoral campaign, spoke this afternoon in the wake of news that Kilpatrick received $10,750 in cash gifts that were hidden from state parole officials.

Kilpatrick revealed the gifts in emails to his parole agent. Mallett’s gift allegedly was for Kilpatrick’s three sons, according to emails obtained by The News.

“No man, I don’t regret it,” Mallett told The News. “Those kids, man, are really great kids and (Kilpatrick’s wife) Carlita is obviously a strong and wonderful person, man.”

Mallett does not remember when he gave the gift.

“He reached out to me and indicated he needed help to provide for his family and I responded,” Mallett said. “I was raised to help a person in need.”

Mallett said he wired the $1,000 via Western Union.

“That’s how he asked me to do it,” Mallett said.

The wire payment was not an attempt to hide the money from parole officials, Mallett said.

“Not at all,” Mallett said.

Kilpatrick is required to disclose gifts and income as a condition of his parole.

“I didn’t have any idea at the time that there was a requirement that these kinds of items be reported,” Mallett said. “All I got from Mr. Kilpatrick was, and I believe him, that there was some immediacy to the request he was making.

“All I can say, man, is were I aware that there was a requirement to report, I would have encouraged Mr. Kilpatrick to do that,” he added. “I mean, those of us who provided him that support were not trying to hide it. It is what it was, man.”

Mallett, a longtime friend of Kilpatrick’s, was asked about whether he hopes the City Hall corruption jury acquits the former Detroit mayor.

“No, man, I don’t have any comment on that at all,” he said.

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Robert Snell

Kwame Kilpatrick has identified more secret donors who gave him $6,700 in cash gifts, money that was hidden from parole officials and not applied toward the $854,000 in restitution owed to Detroit.

Former Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Conrad Mallett Jr. gave $1,000 and Kilpatrick’s mother, ex-Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, gave $5,000, according to emails obtained by The News through the Freedom of Information Act.

Mallett is a long-time Kilpatrick friend and former aide who is running Mike Duggan’s campaign for Detroit mayor.

The previously undisclosed gifts bring to a total of $10,750 that was hidden from parole officials. A state probe of Kilpatrick’s finances continues and it is unclear whether the newly disclosed cash gifts will lead to additional punishment.

“It’s perfectly clear: He was required to disclose it,” Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Russ Marlan told The News on Thursday. “Any income, including gifts.”

Kilpatrick was jailed briefly last month, ordered to wear an ankle tether, placed under house arrest and barred from traveling home to Texas during breaks in the City Hall corruption trial after failing to disclose cash gifts.

Kilpatrick tried to justify hiding the money, saying he received the gifts while his parole was being supervised by Texas officials.

Not true, Marlan said.

The cash gifts are outlined in emails Kilpatrick sent this month to his parole agent, Charles Wright (dubbed “C-Wright” by Kilpatrick), who is investigating whether the former mayor committed other parole violations.

Kilpatrick told Wright that the former Supreme Court justice gave a $1,000 check. The money was for Kilpatrick’s three children, according to a Feb. 6 email.

Kilpatrick couldn’t remember when he got the check but it was before Sept. 1.

Mallett’s name surfaced during the City Hall corruption trial. He stepped down as Detroit’s chief operating officer during Kilpatrick’s tenure as mayor in April 2002.

Kilpatrick also said he has received $5,000 from his mom since August 2011. Some of the money was spent paying restitution and on flights between Texas and Detroit, according to the emails.

Until last month, Kilpatrick was flying home on weekend breaks using Buddy Passes on Delta Air Lines.

The passes let him fly for free. All he had to pay was $197 tax, according to the emails.

It’s unclear from the emails whether the tax is per flight or round trip.

There were other newly disclosed cash gifts.

Kilpatrick said a woman named Karen Anderson wired $500 sometime before September. The money was for his wife and children, according to the emails.

A man named Greg Jones, meanwhile, wired $200 late last year, Kilpatrick said. The money allegedly was a birthday gift for the former mayor’s twins, Jalil and Jelani.

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Robert Snell

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is complaining about wearing an ankle tether and living under house arrest and has repeatedly begged to fly to Texas to visit his wife and children, The Detroit News has learned.

The complaints started almost immediately after Kilpatrick was charged with 14 counts of violating parole last month, charges that were filed while he stood trial in the City Hall corruption case.

He violated parole by failing to disclose cash gifts that could have been used toward the $854,063 restitution he owes the city from the text-message scandal.

Kilpatrick was placed under house arrest, ordered to spend a weekend in jail and wear the tether amid a continuing investigation into the ex-Detroit mayor’s finances.

“PLEASE UNCHAIN ME,” Kilpatrick wrote to his parole agent Charles Wright on Feb. 19, according to emails obtained by The News through the Freedom of Information Act.

Wright said no.

Kilpatrick has asked to fly home again this weekend and a decision could come as early as today.

It is the latest plea from Kilpatrick, who is awaiting a verdict from jurors in the City Hall corruption trial. Kilpatrick, his father Bernard and contractor Bobby Ferguson face up to 20 years in federal prison, if convicted.

Kilpatrick, 42, was charged with violating parole Jan. 25.

Almost immediately, he started complaining about the ankle tether and having to live, essentially under house arrest, at his mother’s home in Detroit.

Kilpatrick has asked repeatedly since Feb. 2 — a week after he was charged with parole violations — to have the restrictions relaxed so he could fly to his family’s 5,000-square-foot rental home in Grand Prairie, Texas.

The parole agent refused to let Kilpatrick fly home.

Kilpatrick tried again days later.

“My sons are playing one of their remaining 2 varsity basketball games on Friday,” Kilpatrick wrote on Feb. 6. “I have only seen them play in one game this season. It would be amazing for them, as well as me, if I’m allowed to attend this activity. I humbly request to travel to my home. would return on Sunday evening…”

Kilpatrick also griped about being separated from his family and referenced the corruption trial.

“This is the last weekend before closing arguments in the biggest political trial in the history of Detroit,” Kilpatrick wrote to his parole agent. “I am going to be prevented from seeing my family, yet again, for the duration of jury deliberation.”

Kilpatrick tried again on Feb. 7, telling his parole agent he had booked a flight that night.

Kilpatrick waited for an answer as the 7:46 p.m. flight departure came and went.

At 9:08 p.m., Kilpatrick sent his parole agent another email.

“Of course there is no way for me to go home tonight,” Kilpatrick wrote. “I want to humbly request to be allowed to travel tomorrow. I am a husband and father that is desperately trying to spend some time with my wife and children before jury deliberations begin.

“I have not been able to see them for more than a month. I have worn a GPS device for nearly a month, been on house arrest, spent the weekend in prison, and been denied to go to my own home.

“I have completely cooperated with your investigation,” he continued. “I am humbly requesting that, even during this very narrowly focused part of your investigation, that I be allowed to travel to my home tomorrow…”

The agent said no, triggering a bitter response from Kilpatrick.

“Parole issues have already negatively affected my preparation for the case and has significantly hindered my ability to properly defend myself,” wrote Kilpatrick, who did not testify during the corruption trial and only a handful of defense witnesses were called.

Kilpatrick asked for another favor Feb. 16 after his wife, Carlita, and their three children flew into Detroit to attend closing arguments in the corruption trial.

Since Kilpatrick was under house arrest, he was unable to leave his mother’s home.

“I HATE asking this question,” Kilpatrick wrote. “It is absolutely against any notion of humanity and freedom that I have left within me, but I have been requested to ask you for this by my family. Again, I HATE it. I am requesting to take my family to the airport in the morning…”

No dice, his parole agent said.

Two days later, Kilpatrick asked for permission to fly to Texas, arguing that he is not a flight risk or accused of violent crimes, drugs or “sexual deviance.”

Again, the agent refused.

The next day, Feb. 19, Kilpatrick complained again about the ankle tether malfunctioning.

“Please take this thing off!” he wrote.

Marlan, the state prisons spokesman, justified why Kilpatrick’s agent has refused to approve travel requests.

“(Kilpatrick) is charged with a number of parole violations for failing to disclose income, so letting him fly all the way across the country to Texas is something his parole agent was not ready to do,” Marlan said. “He’s asking to go home again this weekend, but his parole agent has not made a decision yet.”

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Robert Snell

Kwame Kilpatrick had a hankering for halibut, and got his fix this afternoon, despite being strapped for cash.

About to eat some baked fish from the 1917 Bistro in Detroit. Got to get my French look on. Lol! #thanxfamily twitter.com/KwameAndFamily…

— KwameKilpatrick (@KwameAndFamily) February 27, 2013

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Robert Snell

Kwame Kilpatrick isn’t going to starve waiting for a verdict. He’s got fish on his mind.

I’m looking for the best baked or grilled fish in Detroit, Michigan. Where is it?#restaurantsonlyplease

— KwameKilpatrick (@KwameAndFamily) February 27, 2013

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Robert Snell

Now we know how former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is coping while jurors decide whether to stick him in the slam for 20 years.

 

If u keep on walking u can get through anything…fear, depression, worry, etc.Keep it moving baby! The steps of a good man are ordered…

— KwameKilpatrick (@KwameAndFamily) February 27, 2013

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Robert Snell

Jurors punched out Tuesday without reaching a verdict in the Kwame Kilpatrick corruption trial after about 32 hours of deliberations.

The sixth day of deliberations was the most eventful as the anonymous jurors were ushered into the courtroom to ask a question about racketeering — the nuclear bomb of the corruption case — and extortion.

Today, we learned the jury foreman is a dude. And we realized the anonymous panelists have great eyes for detail and would make great copy editors.

We would hire them, but they hate us.

Jurors will return to federal court — snow be damned — at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

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Robert Snell

A brief hearing Tuesday in the corruption trial offered insight into the jury and apparent progress made by the panel after approximately 28 hours of deliberations.

The jury foreman is one of four male jurors, according to U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds. There are eight women and four men in the jury, which includes five blacks and a Hispanic.

The jury appears to be closely scrutinizing the 38-count indictment against former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his father Bernard and contractor Bobby Ferguson.

The jury’s question, which prompted today’s hearing, focused on the most serious count facing the trio, racketeering conspiracy, which is a 20-year felony.

Jurors also asked a question about one of the extortion charges, specifically count #7 — an apparent sign of progress made by the jury after deliberations that have spanned six days.

Jurors were dressed casually in jeans, pullovers and T-shirts, a noticeable shift from more formal attire during the five-month trial.

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Robert Snell

U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds will let jurors in the Kwame Kilpatrick trial leave early today if the anticipated snow storm wreaks havoc on Detroit roads during the evening rush hour.

But if jurors are hoping for a snow day tomorrow, fuhgettaboutit.

Federal court has closed one time in the past 10 years due to snow, according to a court spokesman.

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Robert Snell

Jurors in the Kwame Kilpatrick corruption trial had a technical question Tuesday about the wording of charges listed in the 38-count indictment.

The question related to wording that was slightly different in the racketeering charge against the former Detroit mayor, his father and contractor Bobby Ferguson, and an extortion count against Kilpatrick and Ferguson.

The 20-year felonies are based on the same alleged misconduct, U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds told jurors.

The judge told jurors the counts are separate and independent of each other.

The extortion charge referred to by jurors is count #7 in the indictment.

Kilpatrick and Ferguson are accused of extorting more than $1.7 million from contractor Lakeshore Engineering Services and a related firm A&H Contractors. The extortion stemmed from a sewer contract.

Executives paid the money because they feared their firms would suffer economically, according to the indictment.

Kilpatrick lawyer James C. Thomas unsuccessfully objected to the judge reading the jury’s question in open court, citing the media’s presence and coverage of the five-month trial.

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Robert Snell

Jurors in the Kwame Kilpatrick corruption case have asked a question and U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds is gathering lawyers involved in the case to her courtroom for the first time since closing arguments.

Jurors will be brought into the judge’s courtroom at approximately 10:30 a.m. Kilpatrick, his father Bernard and contractor Bobby Ferguson are not required to attend the impromptu hearing.

Check back for updates on the jury’s question and any other developments.

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