Kwame Kilpatrick is headed back to prison after a jury today convicted the former Detroit mayor and rising Democrat star on a host of corruption-related charges, including racketeering conspiracy, extortion, mail fraud, and tax charges. Kilpatrick shook his head as the verdicts were read out, the Detroit Free Press reports. He was ultimately found guilty on 24 of the 30 counts against him and acquitted on three, with the jury unable to reach a verdict on the remaining three.
Prosecutors accused Kilpatrick of, among other things, taking bribes from, and rigging contracts for, an excavating company run by pal Bobby Ferguson, the AP explains. Business owners said they were forced to give Ferguson contracts, while, in separate allegations, a fundraiser testified that she’d given Kilpatrick a $200,000 personal cut of his political donations. Ferguson was a co-defendant, and was also convicted of racketeering conspiracy. Kilpatrick’s father, Bernard, was also convicted on one tax-related charge.
