Judge to rule on how much former Detroit mayor should make in restitution payments to city

Judge to rule on restitution by ex-Detroit mayor

DETROIT — Former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is set to appear Wednesday before a judge who will rule on how much money the disgraced official should be paying each month toward his $1 million court-ordered restitution to the city of Detroit.

Kilpatrick, who agreed to the restitution as part of a deal in which he stepped down from office and entered pleas in two criminal cases, says he has lowered his payments from $6,000 to $3,000 because his pay in his new job as a salesman has fallen.

Prosecutors accuse Kilpatrick of hiding assets by moving large sums from bank accounts bearing his name to those under his wife’s name, and want Wayne County Circuit Court Judge David Groner to order him to pay a $225,000 lump sum. They also accuse him of violating his probation.

Groner has said he won’t address the probation violation issue, which could land Kilpatrick back in jail.

Kilpatrick was elected mayor in 2001 and re-elected in 2005. In 2008 the Detroit Free Press published embarrassing and explicit text messages between the married mayor and his then-chief of staff — messages that contradicted testimony both made during a 2007 trial in which they denied having a romantic relationship.

The mayor resigned after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice and pleading no contest to assault. As part of the deal, agreed to repay the city $1 million. He served 99 days in jail and was released Feb. 3.

Kilpatrick was soon hired as an account executive by Covisint, a subsidiary of Detroit-based Compuware, and moved to Texas. His monthly restitution payments were set at $6,000.

He paid $36,000 during the six months after his jail release. But when his base pay at Covisint dropped from $20,000 to $10,000 per month, Kilpatrick began to make $3,000 payments based on 30 percent of his income — something his lawyer, Michael Alan Schwartz, argued was part of Groner’s earlier order.

Prosecutors, however, outlined in the restitution case how much money went through various accounts held by Kilpatrick and his wife, Carlita. It also was revealed that Kilpatrick received $240,000 in loans from Compuware Chairman and CEO Peter Karmanos and three other top business executives.

Kilpatrick testified that he signed the loan checks over to his wife, and Schwartz has contended that the loans have to be repaid and cannot be considered assets when it comes to restitution.

“I have my account. I give money to my wife. I don’t know where that money goes,” Kilpatrick said in November.

Prosecutors detailed lavish spending by the Kilpatricks after his time as mayor. They say he and his wife moved into a mansion in an affluent Dallas suburb and drive luxury sport utility vehicles. Bank records show big money was spent at restaurants and golf courses. One $595 payment was made at a Gucci store.