Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick may be headed back to prison for failing to report a $2,000 gift from a Chicago pastor, based on information uncovered by FOX 2's M.L. Elrick.
Kilpatrick was caught on a Walmart security camera in Chesterfield Twp. last December cashing a $2,000 wire transfer from Pastor Corey Brooks, a prodigious fundraiser and growing leader in Chicago's religious community. But that's not why Kilpatrick is in trouble. The problem is he failed to report the gift, a possible parole violation.
Elrick received a tip about the money transfer and tipped off corrections officials. Officials confirmed that Kilpatrick pocketed at least $800 of the money he received and wired about $1,100 to Texas, where his family lives.
Pastor Brooks says he wired the money after Kilpatrick sent him a letter pleading for help. He says he did nothing illegal by sending Kilpatrick the money, which he says came from church funds. "He didn't render any sort of work for it. It was a gift. It was a benevolence gift," Brooks insisted to FOX 32 News. "It was a Christmas gift."
But Kilpatrick could be in trouble because he owes the city of Detroit hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution.
