By Alicia Cruz
The Black Urban Times
When Wayne Circuit Judge David Groner hinted at incarcerating former Detroit Mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick last month, when he suggested that Kilpatrick "have his affairs in order when he returned to Frank Murphy Hall of Justice," he wasn't tossing out an empty warning.
After listening to last-minute arguments from the defense attorney for the disgraced politician and Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Athina Siringas, Groner sentenced Kilptarick to 18 months to five years in prison for violating the terms of his probation for the obstruction charges he pleaded guilty to in 2008 over the sex-text messages scandal involving his former lover and aide, Christine Beatty.
During the hour-long proceeding, Siringas made a zealous plea to the judge not to continue Kilpatrick's probation and send him to jail for up to five years, arguing that he intentionally and "maliciously" hid assets from the court so they could not be used for restitution.
"There's information that he was going to senior citizen houses asking seniors to come forward to pay his restitution. Is that what probation is all about?," asked Siringas.
Judge Groner, seemingly unmoved by Kilpatricks plea for leniency, agreed with the prosecutor when he told Kilpatrick that probation was no longer an option, saying, "That ship has sailed," the Detroit Free Press reported.
He gave the former mayor a scathing tongue lashing before handing down his sentence, saying Kilpatrick engaged in "contemptible behavior" by hiding assets from the court.
Judge Groner announced "This is all because of the actions of you, Mr. Kilpatrick. You were convicted ... all because you lied under oath. That lie ... was part of a broader attempt to cover up your misdeeds while serving as mayor."
"You challenged this court's authority," scolded Groner. "You attempted to utilize semantics and exploit loopholes. The broader context of this issue is that your family living expenses -- including living in a million-dollar home, driving a brand new Escalade and purchasing elective surgery for your wife -- you have made it perfectly clear that it's more important to pacify your wife than comply with my orders," judge Groner said.
After Groner was finished meting out rough justice on the former Mayor, he ordered a courtroom baliff to "secure the defendant" and Kilpatrick was handcuffed and led from the courtroom, the Washington Post reported.
Several people in attendance at the sentencing gasped aloud when the judge handed down his decision. Kilpatrick's sister, Ayanna, had to be told by a sheriff's deputies to sit down.
Kilpatrick's attorney, Michael Alan Schwartz, said he will seek an emergency stay of his client's sentence from the Michigan Court of Appeals, but he will not be able to file that stay right away because Kilpatrick must first be processed and placed into the Michigan Department of Corrections system.
"You have asked to be treated no differently than others in the system. The problem is you are different. As an elected official, we expected you to set an example. ... You have failed," said Groner.
Schwartz said his appeal will be based, in part, on that very statement Groner made when he stated that he treated Kilpatrick differently than other defendants. Groner said he was holding Kilpatrick to a higher standard because he was the former mayor of Detroit.
Kilpatrick and his lawyers now have 42 days to file an appeal. If it's granted, Kilpatrick would be allowed to remain free while a decision is made.
Schwartz said after the sentencing that Groner listened to the prosecutors "but ignored all the things the defense has said."
He also said prosecutors, who sought a penalty that exceeded sentencing guidelines of zero to 17 months, and the judge want to "destroy" Kilpatrick because, "they don't like this man," reported the Detroit Free Press.
Schwartz balked at Siringas' earlier claim that Kilpatrick asked Senior Citizens to pay his restitution and asked Groner to continue his client's probation.
"These are people who felt in their own hearts that he was a man in distress and wanted to help him," Schwartz explained. "He didn't even know who they were."
Kilpatrick's spokesman, Mike Paul, issued a written statement following the judge's decision and warned that Groner's reasoning in the sentencing could "come back to bite him in an appeal."
"With this sentence, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was clearly not treated equal to all citizens under the law," Paul wrote. "As a result, treating him differently is unconstitutional."
When it was Kilpatrick's turn to speak, he told the court, "Whatever I did ... I sincerely apologize," reported the Washinton Post.
"It's hard to speak to some of the things that have been said about me. Let me start by saying I'm a human being, a real-life, flesh-and-blood person. Often when I hear about myself from the media, I'm extraordinarily confused because it's not me. I'm not the mayor of the city; the city has a new mayor," Kilpatrick said.
Kilpatrick also owned up to what he called mistakes: "I cheated on my wife, your honor. I don't think anyone in this courtroom can know what it's like to be on the global newswire with text messages to someone that your wife is reading, as well.
"Sending your kids to school after you get ridiculed; getting in fights; things that are totally out of their character, and you did it. I accept responsibility for what I did. I spent a whole year feeling an enormous amount of guilt for what I did to my wife, my children and this city. And I still feel it."
To add to Kilpatrick's woes, his current employer, Detroit-based Compuware released a statement saying that, "Kwame Kilpatrick will be off the Compuware Corporation payroll at the end of the month."
"We don't have any choices. It's an unfortunate situation, and we feel bad for his family, but our hands are tied," the release said.
Kilpatrick, who had been working as a medical record security software salesman for Covisint -- a subsidiary of Compuware -- was earning $120,000 a year at the firm. It was reported that he had the potential to triple his base income with bonuses and commissions. However, in more than a year on the job, it is believed Kilpatrick has yet to close a deal, which may explain why he has only paid approximately $140,000 of his $1 million restitution. He has
three and a half years to go before he's supposed to pay it off.
With credit for the 120 days Kilpatrick served in 2008-09 while incarcerated at the Wayne County Jail, he will end up serving about 14 months in a Michigan State prison before he can apply for parole.
Media Outlets must credit The Black Urban Times
www.theblackurbantimes.com
twitter.com/thebutmsdotcom
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The Black Urban Times
When Wayne Circuit Judge David Groner hinted at incarcerating former Detroit Mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick last month, when he suggested that Kilpatrick "have his affairs in order when he returned to Frank Murphy Hall of Justice," he wasn't tossing out an empty warning.
After listening to last-minute arguments from the defense attorney for the disgraced politician and Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Athina Siringas, Groner sentenced Kilptarick to 18 months to five years in prison for violating the terms of his probation for the obstruction charges he pleaded guilty to in 2008 over the sex-text messages scandal involving his former lover and aide, Christine Beatty.
During the hour-long proceeding, Siringas made a zealous plea to the judge not to continue Kilpatrick's probation and send him to jail for up to five years, arguing that he intentionally and "maliciously" hid assets from the court so they could not be used for restitution.
"There's information that he was going to senior citizen houses asking seniors to come forward to pay his restitution. Is that what probation is all about?," asked Siringas.
Judge Groner, seemingly unmoved by Kilpatricks plea for leniency, agreed with the prosecutor when he told Kilpatrick that probation was no longer an option, saying, "That ship has sailed," the Detroit Free Press reported.
He gave the former mayor a scathing tongue lashing before handing down his sentence, saying Kilpatrick engaged in "contemptible behavior" by hiding assets from the court.
Judge Groner announced "This is all because of the actions of you, Mr. Kilpatrick. You were convicted ... all because you lied under oath. That lie ... was part of a broader attempt to cover up your misdeeds while serving as mayor."
"You challenged this court's authority," scolded Groner. "You attempted to utilize semantics and exploit loopholes. The broader context of this issue is that your family living expenses -- including living in a million-dollar home, driving a brand new Escalade and purchasing elective surgery for your wife -- you have made it perfectly clear that it's more important to pacify your wife than comply with my orders," judge Groner said.
After Groner was finished meting out rough justice on the former Mayor, he ordered a courtroom baliff to "secure the defendant" and Kilpatrick was handcuffed and led from the courtroom, the Washington Post reported.
Several people in attendance at the sentencing gasped aloud when the judge handed down his decision. Kilpatrick's sister, Ayanna, had to be told by a sheriff's deputies to sit down.
Kilpatrick's attorney, Michael Alan Schwartz, said he will seek an emergency stay of his client's sentence from the Michigan Court of Appeals, but he will not be able to file that stay right away because Kilpatrick must first be processed and placed into the Michigan Department of Corrections system.
"You have asked to be treated no differently than others in the system. The problem is you are different. As an elected official, we expected you to set an example. ... You have failed," said Groner.
Schwartz said his appeal will be based, in part, on that very statement Groner made when he stated that he treated Kilpatrick differently than other defendants. Groner said he was holding Kilpatrick to a higher standard because he was the former mayor of Detroit.
Kilpatrick and his lawyers now have 42 days to file an appeal. If it's granted, Kilpatrick would be allowed to remain free while a decision is made.
Schwartz said after the sentencing that Groner listened to the prosecutors "but ignored all the things the defense has said."
He also said prosecutors, who sought a penalty that exceeded sentencing guidelines of zero to 17 months, and the judge want to "destroy" Kilpatrick because, "they don't like this man," reported the Detroit Free Press.
Schwartz balked at Siringas' earlier claim that Kilpatrick asked Senior Citizens to pay his restitution and asked Groner to continue his client's probation.
"These are people who felt in their own hearts that he was a man in distress and wanted to help him," Schwartz explained. "He didn't even know who they were."
Kilpatrick's spokesman, Mike Paul, issued a written statement following the judge's decision and warned that Groner's reasoning in the sentencing could "come back to bite him in an appeal."
"With this sentence, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was clearly not treated equal to all citizens under the law," Paul wrote. "As a result, treating him differently is unconstitutional."
When it was Kilpatrick's turn to speak, he told the court, "Whatever I did ... I sincerely apologize," reported the Washinton Post.
"It's hard to speak to some of the things that have been said about me. Let me start by saying I'm a human being, a real-life, flesh-and-blood person. Often when I hear about myself from the media, I'm extraordinarily confused because it's not me. I'm not the mayor of the city; the city has a new mayor," Kilpatrick said.
Kilpatrick also owned up to what he called mistakes: "I cheated on my wife, your honor. I don't think anyone in this courtroom can know what it's like to be on the global newswire with text messages to someone that your wife is reading, as well.
"Sending your kids to school after you get ridiculed; getting in fights; things that are totally out of their character, and you did it. I accept responsibility for what I did. I spent a whole year feeling an enormous amount of guilt for what I did to my wife, my children and this city. And I still feel it."
To add to Kilpatrick's woes, his current employer, Detroit-based Compuware released a statement saying that, "Kwame Kilpatrick will be off the Compuware Corporation payroll at the end of the month."
"We don't have any choices. It's an unfortunate situation, and we feel bad for his family, but our hands are tied," the release said.
Kilpatrick, who had been working as a medical record security software salesman for Covisint -- a subsidiary of Compuware -- was earning $120,000 a year at the firm. It was reported that he had the potential to triple his base income with bonuses and commissions. However, in more than a year on the job, it is believed Kilpatrick has yet to close a deal, which may explain why he has only paid approximately $140,000 of his $1 million restitution. He has
three and a half years to go before he's supposed to pay it off.
With credit for the 120 days Kilpatrick served in 2008-09 while incarcerated at the Wayne County Jail, he will end up serving about 14 months in a Michigan State prison before he can apply for parole.
Media Outlets must credit The Black Urban Times
www.theblackurbantimes.com
twitter.com/thebutmsdotcom
facebook.com/theblackurbantimes
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