Does Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Feel Sorry for His Home Town Mo-Town?

Grand Prairie pad as of last spring

I mean, he played a role: Kwame Kilpatrick was mayor of one of America’s largest cities at the age of 31. He resigned in 2008, after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice in a scandal involving sexually explicit text messages and an extramarital affair with his chief of staff. OK, so a lot of politicians dabble extra-maritally. But then the Democrat spends 14 months in prison for violating probation in that case after a judge found he failed to report assets that could be put toward the $1 million restitution he owes the city of Detroit.

The now bankrupt city of Detroit.

Kilpatrick, convicted of 24 federal crimes, including racketeering, extortion and bribery, is likely to be sentenced to more than 20 years in prison, according to an estimate by the U.S. Attorneys Office, as reported in MLive Media. Since his March 11 conviction,  Kilpatrick has diligently sought release from the Milan detention center where he’s been imprisoned. Among other things, he has complained of a lack of ice and exercise equipment to rehab a busted knee. He and his co-crime bud/contractor friend, Bobby Ferguson, are fighting to get their convictions overturned and want new trials. They claim the government had insufficient evidence, that the court committed several errors during the six-month-long trial, including, and I hope you think this is as ridiculous as I think it is: Federal agents were wrongfully permitted to give their opinions about what certain text messages meant; government witnesses were allowed to offer hearsay testimony; Kilpatrick was forced to use an attorney he didn’t want and tried to replace, and the prosecutor made improper comments during closing arguments

But the government basically told Kilpatrick that he was convicted fair and square.

Kwame had been gracing North Texas with his presence while Detroit burned economically. He came here in May, 2010, bringing his family first to a swanky, gated Colleyville home of 5,866 square feet in Lakes of La Paloma,

minutes from the great shopping at Southlake Town Center. The home had a market value of $1,125,000 and was built in 1998. It had five bedrooms, five and a half baths, a game room, a study, a formal dining room and an in-ground pool, clearly a trade-up from their 2,839-square-foot former rental home 3 miles away. At the time, his attorney said someone else was footing the bill. That La Paloma home was also way larger than his crib as Mayor of Detroit, the MoTown Mayor’s pad — only 4004 square feet at the Manoogian Mansion.  Oh yes, the family pre-paid $74,000 to lease this home for 13 months.

old Grand Prairie pad

Then he moved again, to a $235,000, four-bedroom, three-bath home in Grand Prairie that leased for $2,100 a month. Then, Kilpatrick moved the fam into a $372,000 home that is “larger and more expensive than his last rental, while claiming poverty to qualify for taxpayer-funded lawyers and low restitution payments.” Of course! Many folks in Detroit have wondered how he can afford a bigger home on $60,000 a year, all he claims he is earning. Of course, his team of attorneys were being covered by Michigan taxpayers,  and Kilpatrick is paying $160 per month for the more than $860,000 he owes toward $1 million in restitution.

At that rate, the bill will be paid off in, oh, 448 years.

The rental is a 5,000-square-footer in Grand Prairie, and the sheer size made Detroit folks uneasy that Kilpatrick was living way too well while making those measly restitution payments. This one is 5,016-square-feet in Mira Lagos, slightly less toney than La Paloma. It has five bedrooms, four bathrooms and an attached two-car garage. The home was built in 2006 and has the usual Texas goodies: kitchen with granite countertops, vaulted ceilings in the hall and family room, French doors leading to a landscaped yard, a large master suite and study. It also features a game room and media room. Originally purchased for $371,900, this one is appraised at $338,400 and was listed at $309,950.

Of course, Detroiters are not used to our huge Texas homes or granite everywhere. Still, the hard-working, house-poor (Detroit housing market remains one of the worst) taxpayers funding his legal defense against federal racketeering charges were, in a word, pissed. And Detroit has lost about a quarter of it’s population, and half of property owners are behind on their taxes. In a word, the place is a mess.

And now, bankrupt.