Jeffrey Beasley (Photo from WXYZ)
Former Detroit Treasurer Jeffrey Beasley, who was Kwame Kilpatrick's fraternity brother, was sentenced to 11 years in prison Monday for betraying the trust of 30,000 retirees and pocketing bribes while serving on the city’s pension funds, the Detroit News reports.
A teary-eyed Beasley apologized to his family, but told U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmonds that he never extorted money or intended to rip off city workers, according to a report by Robert Snell in the Detroit News.
“I never once extorted anybody or took a bribe,” Beasley, 46, said in court, according to the News. “Did I do the right things? Absolutely not.”
Beasley was a former trustee on the city’s pension funds. He was also Kilpatrick fraternity brother at Florida A&M University.
Prosecutors had asked for at least 15 years. Edmonds was also the judge who sentenced Kilpatrick to 28 years and contractor Bobby Ferguson to 21 years.
Of the 38 people convicted during a lengthy public corruption probe, Beasley received the third toughest sentence.
