Kwame Kilpatrick/deadline detroit

DETROIT — Federal prosecutor Mike Bullotta loaded up with plenty of ammunition and never stopped firing away Monday afternoon during a forceful closing argument in the Kwame Kilpatrick corruption trial.

Standing in front of a lectern, before jurors, he said Kilpatrick turned the mayor’s office into “a private profit machine” in what the government dubbed “Kilpatrick Incorporated.”

He said the mantra of corrupt organization, made of up Kilpatrick, his dad Bernard Kilpatrick and friend Bobby Ferguson — was “no deal without me.”

“If you wanted a city contract, you had to pay,” Bullotta said. “If you didn’t pay, you didn’t get a contract.” He added that the citizens of Detroit lost out.

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Ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick/official photo

DETROIT — After 4 1/2 months and about 80 witnesses, the prosecution in the federal trial of the ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick rested Thursday morning, opening the door for the defense to begin calling witnesses in what’s expected to take less than two weeks.

But things didn’t go so great for the defense on its first day on the offense.

Jim Thomas, Kilpatrick’s attorney, called to the stand forensic accountant Gary Leeman, an expert in non-profits, who appeared to be more of a help to the prosecution than the defense.

During cross examination, Leeman laughed when prosecutor Mike Bullotta asked if yoga lessons for Kilpatrick would have been a legit expense from the Kilpatrick Civic Fund, a non-profit fund created to help the community.

“I would highly doubt that that would be proper,” he said laughing a bit. “Not even close.”

It was obviously something Thomas would have preferred not to hear from his own witness.

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Ex-Mayor Kilpatrick with ex-friend Derrick Miller (inset)

DETROIT — On Thursday, Derrick Miller finally talked about the much anticipated payoff in the bathroom — something out of an episdoe of “The Sopranos.”

Miller, a former close friend who was in Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s administration, testified at Kilpatrick’s federal trial that the then-mayor asked him to get cash for him from the partners of Asian Village, the now-defunct restaurant venture on the Detroit River.

“Can you get it from your Asian Village guys?” Miller says Kilpatrick asked.

Miller said he got $10,000 and met Kilpatrick in a bathroom at Asian Village. He did not specify a date, but it was believed to be around 2007.

“I gave him the money,” Miller said.

When Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Chutkow asked.

“What did he say?” Chutkow asked.

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Steve Neavling

City officials in a small Indiana town were served grand jury subpoenas as part of an investigation involving loans and grants since 2007, FOX 19 reports.

The mayor, city council president and treasurer were served in what a city councilman described as illegal bid-awarding deals.

FOX 19 wrote that state police and IRS investigators were on hand.

The news agency was unable to reach the city officials for comment.

Kwame Kilpatrick top (right) leaves court at close of first day of trial. /Deadline Detroit photo

DETROIT — The prosecution lit into Kwame Kilpatrick in opening arguments today, and the defense countered with sharp criticism of the charges. By 1:55p.m., the first day of battle was over, opening the way for the government to call its first witnesses on Monday in the biggest case in Detroit history in memory.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Chutkow began the morning by carving up Kilpatrick, claiming as mayor he rigged tens of millions of dollars in contracts for his friend Bobby Ferguson and his father Bernard while lining his own pockets with bribes and kickbacks. He said if Ferguson didn’t get a piece of a contract, Victor Mercado, the head of the water and sewerage department at the time, would hold up or cancel the contract.

Kilpatrick faces 32 counts of public corruption along with co-defendants Ferguson, a close friend and contractor; father Bernard who had a consulting firm; and Mercado.

The prosecution tried painting Kilpatrick as man with plenty of questionable cash. Chutkow said he had at least $540,000 in cash above his paycheck during his mayoral reign, and suggested there was more beyond what the government could document. He noted that Kilpatrick would regularly go to the bank and ended up turning over some $280,000 in cash to pay for credit card debt.

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Ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick/official photo

DETROIT — More than two years after he was indicted by the feds, and four years after he resigned in disgrace as mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick steps into the legal ring in federal court Friday,  ready to do battle as he tries to stay free and remain with his wife and kids.

A loss could easily put him behind bars for 10 or 15 years or more. A win would give him freedom and a crown of invincibility.

Flanked by his attorneys, Kilpatrick, 42, will go up against the full-force of the Justice Department and FBI in what is easily the highest profile trial in Detroit in recent memory. The trial is expected to last about four months.

The prosecution, in opening statements today will vilify him, portraying him as the kingpin of the “Kilpatrick Enterprise”, a criminal organization that used city hall to make lots of money for family and friends by rigging contracts and extorting donations to three non-profits.

Kilpatrick’s attorney is likely to portray him as a mayor who cared dearly about his job and the people and was wrongly accused.

The feds will come armed with a full arsenal; wiretaps, surveillance video, his text messages and prosecution witnesses including friends and former appointees.

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Victor Mercado

DETROIT — Back in 9th grade I remember a teacher yelling me and a classmate as we laughed uncontrollably. We were watching a movie about a 1960s psychological experiment at Yale on peoples’ willingness to obey authority.

It was called the Milgram Experiment. A male volunteer was assigned to be a teacher. A middle-aged decoy, who sat in another room, was the “learner” or student. The teacher asked questions through an intercom, and each time the learner gave a wrong answer, the teacher delivered an electric shock. The voltage increased with each incorrect answer. The learner really wasn’t getting a shock, but the volunteer didn’t know that.

Before long, the learner shouted “ouch” after each shock (it was actually a recording) and complained about a heart condition. Some of the volunteers refused to continue, even after a facilitator ordered them to. But others, albeit hesitant, kept delivering shock after shock as directed. They felt pressure from the facilitator. They were just following orders.

I’m reminded of that film as the corruption trial starts Friday for ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.  Four people are standing trial, including Victor Mercado, the former water department boss, who claims that he felt pressure from the Mayor, and was just following orders. Besides Kilpatrick and Mercado, co-defendants include contractor Bobby Ferguson and Kilpatrick’s dad Bernard Kilpatrick.

The feds charged that Mercado, 61, helped delay or cancel city contracts, at the behest of the mayor, so contractors would be forced to give Kilpatrick’s friend Bobby Ferguson a piece of the action or kickbacks. Ferguson then allegedly spread the love to the mayor and his father.

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