Kwame Kilpatrick leaves court Sept. 21.
This would be pretty darn funny if it weren't so sad.
Kwame Kilpatrick, a convicted thief who did the city and its residents wrong, could be an asset to the city of Detroit in its darkest worst financial moment.
Robert Snell of The Detroit News writes that Kilpatrick, who is scheduled to appear in fed court today for a hearing, "has gone from one of the city’s biggest liabilities to a potential asset during its bankruptcy case.'
Snell points out that Kilpatrick owes $854,063 in restitution from his text-messaging scandal case, plus U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds could order him to pay millions more in restitution in his federal criminal case when he's sentenced next month.
So where is Kilpatrick going to get that kind of cash? The feds think he's hiding some money. But for now, he's claiming he's flat broke. He's currently got a court-appointed attorney.
It doesn't look so good.
But believe it or not, there is some hope.
Snell writes:
Kilpatrick is suing SkyTel, the city’s former text-message provider, in a Mississippi state court. The ex-mayor’s attorney, Willie Gary, a high-profile lawyer who travels in a Boeing 737 private jet dubbed “Wings of Justice II” outfitted with an 18-karat gold sink, told WDIV-TV (Channel 4) he wants $1 billion.
The city would be among the first in line to seize part of any judgment Kilpatrick receives in the SkyTel lawsuit.
-- Allan Lengel
