Derrick Miller
Emma Bella was teary eyed, tense and visibly uncomfortable at times when she testified last fall against former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick during his public corruption trial.
She was his top fundraiser, and like a mother to him. But on the stand she traded in that motherly status, hoping to catch a break on her sentence for tax evasion. As a prosecution witness, she talked about giving Kilpatrick about $200,000 in kickbacks from campaign contributions -- money he never declared as income.
Derrick Miller, Kilpatrick's friend since high school, who worked as an aide in Kilpatrick's inner circle in city hall, also testified against Kilpatrick. In January, he told a jury he passed on a bribe to the mayor on behalf of a business. He seemed uncomfortable and bit cagey at times as he delivered damaging goods against his friend he saw sitting at the defense table.
Both Bell and Miller, considered key witnesses, delivered damaging testimony, and in the end, Kilpatrick went off to prison to serve a 28 year sentence. Both testified as part of a plea bargain, hoping to get a break on their sentence.
Both were considered traitors in some circles.
Next month, on Jan. 30, Bell is set to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds, who presided over the Killpatrick trial.
Miller's sentence has been delayed until April 1 because he's expected to testify in an upcoming corruption trial involving ex-city Treasurer Jeff Beasley, who is charged with taking bribes and kickbacks in return for approving more than $200 million in investments by the two city of Detroit pension funds.
Bell faces up to 18 months in prison under her plea agreement. She pleaded guilty in 2011 to pocketing about $500,000 from her fundraising and never reporting it as income.
Miller, who pleaded guilty to corruption and tax offenses, could get up to 10 years under agreement, but obviously he's hoping to get far less because of his cooperation.
