DETROIT – Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was among five people who arrived Monday in Detroit to face a federal judge on a 38-count indictment alleging bribery and racketeering charges.
Local 4 cameras were rolling as Kilpatrick, his father Bernard, Bobby Ferguson, Derrick Miller and Victor Mercado arrived for their 1 p.m. arraignments.
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Bernard Kilpatrick was the first to face U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds. His son followed, escorted by U.S. marshals and wearing a suit. He was not handcuffed. The arraignments continued with Ferguson, Miller and Mercado.
The federal corruption case against the five won't be on a fast track. Edmunds said defense lawyers will need weeks to look at the government's evidence and she won't hold another hearing until April 13.
The U.S. Attorney General's office said in a 38-count, 89-page indictment that a six-year-long investigation led to federal charges of racketeering, conspiracy, fraud, tax violations and extortion.
Outside the court building, Kwame Kilpatrick's attorney, Jim Schwartz, said he's been pouring through hundreds of pages of documents in preparation for this case.
"It's always tough. But, that doesn't mean you can't win," he said.
The U.S. Attorney General's office said the men worked together to abuse Kwame Kilpatrick's power while he served as a state representative and mayor of Detroit.
The focus of most of the charges involved Detroit's water and sewer department.
U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said Ferguson received "tens of millions of dollars from municipal contracts" after the "power" of the mayor's office was used to coerce others to award Ferguson contracts he may not otherwise have received. The indictment alleges some of that money was shared with Kilpatrick and his father, Bernard.
Kwame Kilpatrick resigned as mayor in 2008 after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice in state court. He's now in prison for violating probation in that case.
He's also awaiting trial on tax and fraud charges related to how he spent money from a nonprofit fund.
Kwame Kilpatrick faces the most charges, 34, including racketeering, extortion, bribery, false tax return, mail and wire fraud, and income tax evasion.