A federal jury in the Eastern District of Michigan convicted a high-ranking Democratic political leader in Detroit, Mich., on Monday following a five-month long criminal trial and a 14-day jury deliberation, according to a federal law enforcement official.
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick, and 44-year-old Bobby W. Ferguson, also of Detroit, were convicted on federal charges that they used Kwame Kilpatrick’s positions as mayor of Detroit and Michigan State House Representative to perpetrate a racketeering conspiracy involving extortion, bribery, and fraud.
The 42-year-old Kwame’s father, Bernard Kilpatrick, 70, of Detroit, was also convicted of a felony tax offense in a separate trial.
Kwame Kilpatrick was convicted of 24 counts of extortion, mail fraud, tax violations, and racketeering, Bobby Ferguson was convicted on nine counts of extortion and racketeering.
Read more: examiner.com
