All language subtitles for American Greed s08e05 Detroit Crime Boss Mayor

In this episode of American Greed, Kwame
killed Patrick, the youngest mayor in

the history of Detroit.

I was elected mayor at age 31 years old
because I dared mighty things for the

citizens of my city. There were many
people who believed that he was the next

generation of leadership.

A leader who many hope will bring the
swagger back to the Motor City.

He was a hip -hop man.

He was hanging out with the athletes.

But his outrageous temptations lead to
unimaginable corruption.

From the day he walked in, this was
about how can I make Kwame Kilpatrick,

family and my friends richer.

The mayor had $840 ,000 in unexplained
cash in his personal

bank accounts.

Why did his administration fail?

One word, greedy.

Greedy, greedy, greedy.

September 4th, 2008, before a cheering
crowd in Detroit City Hall, embattled

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick gives an
emotional televised speech.

Despite the upbeat atmosphere, the mayor
has a serious message to deliver.

I've often said that you have to stand
strong for the city of Detroit, but

sometimes standing strong.

mean stepping down.

After a turbulent six and a half years
in office, the mayor is resigning and

heading to jail.

Earlier that day, he pleaded guilty to
two felony counts of obstructing justice

after lying under oath during a police
whistleblower trial.

Amazing. And it was a huge story, and it
was amazing. It was historic.

Despite facing 120 days in jail and $1
million in restitution, Kilpatrick's

is anything but defeatist. We fall, but
this city always

gets up.

I want to tell you, Detroit, that you
done set me up for a comeback.

And so even right down to the end, even
after being sentenced to jail, it was

hard not to believe him.

He continued to rebound from everything
that was ever thrown at him.

But there will be no comeback this time.

The worst is yet to come.

Over the next few years, the mayor will
be at the center of one of the largest

municipal corruption probes in U .S.
history, in which the government accuses

him of running the city like a crime
boss.

But this wasn't supposed to be the
script for Kwame Kilpatrick.

He was supposed to be different.

The native son destined to turn around
his faltering Rust Belt city. The hip

-hop mayor who would provide a new model
of what a public official could be.

He was Barack Obama before Barack Obama
knew who he was.

He knew how to talk to people.

He had it going on.

Adolph Mongo is a veteran political
consultant and one -time aide to former

Detroit Mayor Coleman Young.

He's known the Kilpatrick family for
decades.

Oh, they had a great name, you know.

Lots of years in the political circles
had a lot of influence.

Kwame is the son of Carolyn Cheeks
Kilpatrick, a former Michigan State

Representative and future seven -term U
.S. Congresswoman.

His father is Bernard Kilpatrick, a
former Wayne County Commissioner and

broker in the region's Democratic
machine.

He was sheltered.

His mother and father took care of him.
They were divorced.

He went to Florida A &M, played
football.

In 1996, just four years after earning a
degree in political science, Kwame

enters the family business.

He wins a seat in the Michigan State
Legislature and quickly makes a name for

himself.

I had a leadership post in the
Democratic Party. I had charisma.

So, yeah, he was a good state rep.

While the young legislator thrives in
Lansing, his hometown is in Faring as

well. During the 1990s, nearly 80 ,000
residents leave Detroit.

By 2001, unemployment is at 10 % and
rising.

Clinton had a successful eight years in
office. These were some great times in

the city of Detroit.

did not benefit from it. And people was
looking for somebody new. They was

looking for fresh, a fresh face,
somebody young.

In the run -up to the 2001 mayor's
election, a group of Detroit

African American Men's Organization, or
AMO, is conducting a search for a

candidate to represent their interests.

The Kilpatrick men are members of that
group.

Well, this is, if you look in the back,
the innocent Kwame Kilpatrick.

Larry Mongo is the older brother of
Adolph Mongo and a founding member of

Every Friday or Wednesday, twice a week,
we all met.

And most of these men were self -made
men or high political positions.

But then we said, why not get us a young
John F. Kennedy?

Why not get us a young black guy, post
-silver rights?

That's our person.

Larry says that during one of Ammo's
weekly meetings, Kwame Kilpatrick tells

group that he recently received a sign.

During a prayer session, Kwame says he
opened up his Bible and landed on the

story of David, who was anointed king of
Israel at the age of 30.

He says, so I'll tell y 'all I would
run.

And here's a young black guy talking
about the Bible.

We think it's superstitious.

You go against a good kid like that.

So we did.

We said, okay, Kwame, you did.

Kilpatrick's youth makes him a long shot
in the race.

But with his good name, his natural
charm, and the financial support of

has a fighting chance.

We put up all this money.

We knew we controlled the streets.

We knew we controlled the right
preachers.

Kevin Dietz is an investigative reporter
with WDIV in Detroit.

At first, nobody thought Kilpatrick had
a chance, but he just wowed the crowd

everywhere he went. He just had this
charisma about him.

We want our citizens to go to the ballot
box and decide whether they want to

move forward or they want to stay in the
mud.

In an upset, Kwame wins the election,
becoming the youngest mayor in the

history at just 31 years of age.

We were excited about this young new
mayor who was going to come in and make

Detroit different.

But during that night's celebration,
Larry Mongo says the new mayor makes a

curious statement.

When he got elected mayor, I swear to
you, he approached me there, Mr. Mongo.

said, well, I don't want to go to jail.

And I laughed and I said, man, I said,
the last thing you have to worry about

going to jail.

The men laugh off the exchange, but it
would ultimately be prophetic.

Next on American Greed, the young mayor
learns how to turn power into money.

I think Kilpatrick felt like he was
loyal.

King Kwame.

And as the king of the city of Detroit,
he was never going to spend a penny.

Detroit, 2002.

Shortly after taking office, new mayor
Kwame Kilpatrick has residents of the

city feeling good once again.

How you doing?

Congratulations. Thank you so much. I
know you're going to take care of him.

Thank you. The big man has big plans.

Demolishing abandoned buildings,
revitalizing neighborhoods, and bringing

business back to the Motor City.

It's so likable. You just...

are certain that he's going to be able
to get the attention of Washington and

get dollars brought into Detroit, get
business to invest in the city.

So Patrick embodied the best and the
brightest of what Detroit had produced.

Sheila Cockrell is a member of the
Detroit City Council.

She is impressed by the new mayor's
enthusiasm.

They had put together this strategic
management center.

I mean, it was really good ideas, good,
rock -solid public policy stuff.

Though he has good ideas, the new mayor
relies on a questionable group to carry

out his vision.

Kilpatrick's administration is stacked
with friends and family, including old

high school pals Christine Beattie as
his chief of staff and Derek Miller as

chief administrative officer.

The friends and family plan.

was big.

He hired dozens of people, appointed
them. They got the best jobs, and they

the most money to do them.

Bernard Kilpatrick, the mayor's father,
also plays a role in the city's

operations.

Shortly before his son takes office,
Bernard sets up a new consulting firm,

Maestro Associates.

What is a maestro?

You see?

In other words, he told everybody, I'm
in charge.

You wanted something done, you had to go
to...

Bernard, the consultant maestro.

Maestro pre -approve it, then you will
meet with the son.

Despite the red flags, the Kilpatrick
administration is off to a roaring

The mayor's big plans and even bigger
personality make him a local celebrity.

How y 'all doing today? All right. How
are you? How's everything?

I saw you sneaking a picture. You guys
just said, hey.

He felt that he was just.

Bigger than life. He was believing his
own press that he was just the greatest

thing ever.

It's not uncommon to see the mayor
flaunt his newfound status around town.

He was going to these clubs, hung out
with all the football players coming

You can see him at the games. You can
see him everywhere.

When he went out to dinner, he'd get up
and walk out of the restaurant without

paying the bill.

He'd say, well, why would I pay the
bill? I'm the mayor.

He would take eight, ten bodyguards.

Everywhere he went. But it was about the
show.

It was about being Kwame Kilpatrick. But
the mayor's celebrity lifestyle would

soon catch up with him.

In September 2002, Detroit political
circles are abuzz about a rumored wild

party at the Mnookian Mansion, the
mayor's taxpayer -funded residence.

The rumor was that Kwame Kilpatrick's
wife found out about this party and

over to it.

According to the stories, which have
reached legendary status in Detroit, the

mayor's wife assaulted a stripper after
catching her husband getting a lap

dance. Police were called, and EMS were
called, and the party broke up.

And then everything just disappeared.

No paperwork, no witnesses, no people.

No one can prove the party or assault
actually happened, but the story dogs

Kilpatrick for months.

The Mnookin Mansion is not a party
house.

What are you guys doing? The rumors were
persistent. They just kept coming and

coming and coming. The following spring,
one of the mayor's bodyguards, Officer

Harold Neltrup, makes a report that
eventually reaches the head of internal

affairs, Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown.

He made a report indicating there may
have been a party. And Gary Brown was

looking into that report, which was his
job. When Kilpatrick found out, he went

crazy. He got so angry.

In May 2003, Brown and Nelthorpe are
removed from their jobs.

A month later, the officers sue the
mayor and the city, saying their job

violated the Whistleblower Protection
Act.

It was an utter abuse of power, and it
therefore fed the notion that there was

cover -up.

Up next, trouble's brewing, but King
Kwame finds creative new ways to rule

kingdom. He's using petty cash.

To buy gifts for his friends. This is
the city petty cash fund.

Despite the rumors surrounding the
raucous Manoogian mansion party, Kwame

Kilpatrick's national profile is on the
rise.

In 2004, the dynamic young mayor speaks
at the Democratic National Convention in

Boston. I stand before you tonight as an
African -American man, a husband

and father of three beautiful children.

He wowed the crowd.

He had a spotlight.

We do stand for the values of this
country. Strong families, healthy

communities, personal and civic
responsibility.

and a commitment to volunteerism and
service.

People were talking about Kwame
Kilpatrick in the same breath as Barack

and who would rise nationally first.

But back in Detroit, Kwame's behavior is
less than inspiring.

The mayor is using the city's credit
cards and the petty cash fund to finance

his over -the -top lifestyle.

If he wanted tickets to the Rolling
Stone concert, well, I don't want to pay

with my own money for that. I'll go to
petty cash.

Go on a vacation?

Let's use the city credit card.

Concerns were starting to emerge inside
City Hall on the use of the city's

credit card. You know, who was flying
where?

You know, using the city credit card for
what purposes?

But Kilpatrick's financial indiscretions
run much deeper than dipping into petty

cash.

Over the past five years, the mayor has
been abusing his nonprofit organization,

the Kilpatrick Civic Fund.

In 1999, as a state legislator, Kwame
founded the fund to help underprivileged

youths and promote voter education.

But that's not where all the money goes.

So the Kilpatrick Civic Fund is a fund
for kids of Detroit.

And kids of Detroit used it, Kwame's
kids.

They went to summer camp with the
Kilpatrick Fund money.

He used it on a...

traveled for his family to lavish
resorts and spa vacations. He used it

new set of golf clubs. The list goes on
and on. Robert Beckman is a special

agent with the FBI.

The Bureau begins investigating
Kilpatrick when it's clear that his

crossed the line.

Inside the FBI by 2004, we had some
concrete information that he was

committing crimes.

The FBI discovers the Civic Fund is
being replenished in a troubling way.

The mayor and his fundraisers routinely
hit up contractors and anyone else

wanting to do business in the city.

If you were a contractor, you'd get a
letter in the mail saying...

This is the Kilpatrick Civic Fund. We'd
like you to give us a donation.

In this letter obtained by American
Greed, donations of up to $10 ,000 are

strongly suggested.

Emma Bell is one of the mayor's
fundraisers. The FBI learns that she has

routine when it comes to the donations.

She would take it to her bank, cash
their check, take out money in cash

in amounts of $10 ,000 or less.

then go meet the mayor in a special
little room that he had in his suite of

offices. The mayor calls it his
barbershop room.

He had a barber chair installed in this
small office. They'd shut the door, she

would reach into her bra and pull out
the cash and hand it to the mayor. The

mayor's birthday party also serves as a
potent fundraiser.

The guy stood up at the front of the
party and said, it's Kwame Kilpatrick's

birthday, we're passing the hat. I'm
starting with $5 ,000.

What are you going to give?

And they'd pass this around the party
with hundreds and hundreds of

there.

Contractors step up their game to stay
in Kwame's good graces.

They take the mayor on shopping sprees,
pay for his custom suits, and provide

him with courtside seats to the NBA
finals.

One contractor, Anthony Suave, with
Inland Waters Pollution Control, even

the mayor his private jet.

The mayor would send...

to Mr. Suave and say, well, the mayor
needs a jet to go to the Bahamas or to

Florida.

And they traveled in style at Mr.
Suave's expense.

Kilpatrick is raking in cash, but how
much longer can he keep it up?

Next on American Greed, an incident from
the past threatens to derail the

mayor's schemes when the police
whistleblower trial goes to court.

Kilpatrick came on and said, we're going
to fight this.

And then he found out that they had the
text messages.

There was a thread all the way through
the text messages about how they planned

it, how they executed it, and what they
did to cover that.

It's 2005 in Detroit, Michigan, an
election year.

Despite the mayor's likable personality,

Ethical questions surround the
Kilpatrick administration.

His chances of re -election are slim.

Reality hadn't struck this guy until he
looked at these polling numbers and

said, you're not going to be the mayor
anymore.

So he was in a panic.

One day I get a call at late at night.

A few weeks before the election, the
mayor reaches out to political

Adolph Mongo.

I think he's been drinking.

Because his voice was so weird. He was
like, Goff, do what you do.

Mongo unleashes a barrage of negative
ads.

The most infamous, the so -called
lynching ad.

It stops you in your tracks.

It's a picture of a lyncher.

And it says that the media is lynching
Kwame Kilpatrick by reporting stories

that aren't true.

A little over the top, but that's the
only way you get people's attention.

You should have seen the first draft of
the ad. It was worse than what it could

ever be. And it made everybody stop and
pause.

And well, do we believe the media or do
we believe the mayor?

The campaign works and the mayor is
again victorious on election night.

And he wins at the end.

It was really unbelievable to people who
watch politics in this area.

For his efforts, Mongo is paid hundreds
of thousands of dollars, a chunk of

which comes from the Kilpatrick Civic
Fund.

He's the mayor of Detroit.

Why don't he say where you get the money
from?

The Civic Fund was for voter education.

Now I'm a political consultant, so I had
no issue with getting paid out of the

Civic Fund.

With the mayor back in office for
another term, the feds dig deeper into

workings of City Hall.

The findings are shocking.

Since the beginning of his
administration, the FBI says the mayor

lucrative pay -for -play scam involving
the city water department.

The Detroit Water and Sewerage
Department is owned by the city of

it provides water and sewerage services
to an area in all of southeast Michigan,

so the city itself can be broke and
there can still be a surplus of money in

DWSD.

The Water Department has more than $1
billion available for contract work.

Conveniently, the mayor of Detroit is
the special administrator over the DWSD,

giving him unchecked power to approve
contracts.

The pieces were there. He had much more
power with water contracts than he did

in other areas of city government.

Bobby Ferguson is a friend of the mayor
and the owner of several construction

businesses.

The FBI says Kilpatrick and his cronies
instruct larger firms to make Ferguson a

minority subcontractor on city projects.

Sometimes Bobby Ferguson would approach
contractors on his own. He would show up

and say, I need a piece of that
contract.

In other cases, other city officials
were instructed that they needed to find

way to include Ferguson in whatever
contracts they did.

Rather than lose millions of dollars in
work, the contractors often comply.

In February 2003, the firm Walbridge
Aldinger puts in a bid to construct a

water treatment facility.

The mayor's right -hand man, Derek
Miller, informs Walbridge that they need

include Ferguson.

So at the last minute, Walbridge
Aldinger entered into a handwritten...

addendum to their contract that they
intend to give $10 million of the

to Bobby Ferguson. And the fact that
that was a handwritten amendment to a

million contract is unheard of.

The story is the same for many other
contractors who give Ferguson millions

dollars in city work. Some choose to pay
him for doing nothing at all.

They said, let's just give you a million
dollars because we don't want you on

the project.

We can do a better job without you here.
So just take the money.

On top of the Ferguson business, many
contractors pay consultant fees to

associates. If Bernard Kilpatrick came
and knocked on your door and suggested

that you hired him, there was always the
implied reality that if you didn't pay

him, somebody else would.

In August 2007, an episode from the
mayor's past once again rears its head.

As the police whistleblower case finally
goes to court, it's been four long

years since the mayor supposedly threw a
wild party at the Manoogian Mansion.

These officers had said that they were
demoted for investigating this Manoogian

Mansion party.

And by this time, the public had said
there was no party.

This is ridiculous.

If there was a party, it would have been
proven by now.

During the trial, Kilpatrick takes the
stand.

The cop's attorney grills the mayor
about his extramarital behavior.

He asks him if he's ever had any
affairs, particularly with his chief of

He gets on the stand, and they start
asking him questions about having a

relationship, a sexual relationship with
Christine Beatty.

He's like, no, absolutely not.

You're under oath, Mr. Mayor.

Absolutely not.

We have nothing to hide.

We have been totally up front.

Christine Beattie gets the same line of
questioning.

The pair also deny involvement in Gary

Brown's firing.

He was not fired. As a matter of fact,
as mayor, I can't fire a civil servant.

But the jury doesn't agree.

After three weeks of testimony, the
court sides with the cops.

The city of Detroit ultimately agrees to
pay the officers $8 million as part of

the settlement.

That's money the city of Detroit needed.

The city of Detroit did not have an
extra penny.

But just when the city thinks the
incident is behind them, the Detroit

Press drops a bombshell.

In January 2008, the newspaper publishes
text messages from the mayor's city

-issued pager.

The texts tell a much different story
than the one Kilpatrick and Beattie told

in court.

Absolutely crazy.

Just crazy.

He said he did not have an affair with
Christine Beattie under oath.

And these text messages show that he
didn't.

He lied under oath. The texts also show
that the pair did indeed conspire

against the deputy police chief.

Beatty texts the mayor, I'm sorry that
we are going through this mess because

a decision that we made to fire Gary
Brown.

By this time, it was clear to me that
this was a group of people that

didn't believe the law applied to them.
They were above the rules.

Christine Beatty resigns as the mayor's
chief of staff.

She's given a $150 ,000 parachute, the
bulk of it from the Kilpatrick Civic

Fund.

On January 30th, the mayor, with his
wife by his side, makes a televised

appearance from inside his church.

I want to start tonight by saying to the
citizens of this great city, I'm sorry

for the embarrassment and the
disappointment the events of the past

have caused you.

The mayor apologizes but refuses to
resign.

Let me be clear tonight.

I would never quit on you.

Ever. But there's just some things you
can't talk your way out of.

Kim Worthy, the Wayne County prosecutor,
announces that she will investigate

perjury charges against the mayor.

Everything kind of just blew wide open.
This was something that we could not

ignore.

Up next, the mayor takes a fall.

He goes to jail for perjury. He should
have been on the dumbest criminal show.

That's dumb.

Damn.

After the highly publicized events of
the sex and text scandal, Detroit Mayor

Kwame Kilpatrick is on the ropes.

In March 2008, the city council takes a
non -binding vote urging the mayor to

resign.

Seven yeas, one nay.

Councilwoman Sheila Cockrell says the
mayor's antics are a disruptive

distraction. By this time now, just
massive financial collapse

that was really happening, that the
government should have been consumed

the crisis. You couldn't get all this
other garbage over here that was still

being dealt with.

At the Wayne County prosecutor's office,
Kim Worthy and her staff poured over

thousands of text messages.

They quickly discovered how deep the rot
runs in City Hall.

It was an insight into how they did
business in that administration, how

most of the things that they did were
not for the good of the city. It was for

the good of themselves first.

On March 24th, Worthy announces a 12
-count criminal indictment against

Kilpatrick and Beattie.

The mayor is charged with eight
felonies, including perjury and

justice. It is perjury if there is
lying, and perjury is a crime.

I felt that he should no longer be the
mayor of Detroit, that he had to step

down. That was a non -negotiable
condition.

We certainly take no joy or pleasure in
announcing these charges.

But it would be much sadder still if
true justice were ignored.

But the mayor won't budge. He refuses to
resign and vows to fight the charges.

Mayor, do you think you'll go to jail
for covering up the perjury?

I think Kilpatrick thought maybe the
public would say, why are you charging

guy for this lie? Everybody lies about
affairs.

But Kim Worthy wasn't backing down.

She was sticking with it. No matter how
unpopular an opinion, and this was very

unpopular at the time, we had to do what
we thought was right.

On September 4, 2008, after months of
increased scrutiny, Kilpatrick pleads

guilty to two felony charges.

Christine Beattie eventually does the
same.

As part of his plea deal, the mayor must
resign from office, serve 120 days in

the county jail, and pay a restitution
of $1 million.

Yeah, it was shocking, but, yeah, it's
sad.

You don't want to see people go to jail,
but, you know, it is what it is. The

mayor steps in front of the cameras to
make the announcement public.

responsibility for my own action.

I wish with all my heart that we could
turn back the hands of time and tell

young man to make better choices.

While the mayor is down, he vows he's
not out.

I want to tell you Detroit that you done
set me up for a comeback.

And this is literally where you begin to
take the view, is there a personality

disorder at play here? I mean, how can
you actually really believe that you're

setting yourself up for this comeback?

With Kilpatrick's criminal enterprise
crumbling, the FBI says Bobby Ferguson

attends to some last minute financial
matters.

The day before the mayor leaves office.

The feds say Ferguson goes to the bank
and cashes out a $1 .1 million

certificate of deposit.

Towards the end of his administration,
they were scrambling, and Ferguson was

cashing money, and there was a concerted
effort to make money at the last

minute. For the next three months, Kwame
Kilpatrick trades his office in City

Hall for a cramped cell in the Wayne
County Jail.

On February 3rd, 2009, after serving
just 99 days, he's released for good

behavior. He immediately boards a
private plane and flies to Texas, where

allowed to complete his probation.

People were like, let's close the
terrible chapter and let's move forward.

can finally stop talking about Kwame
Kilpatrick.

While in Texas, the former mayor takes a
sales job with a subsidiary of the

Detroit -based company CompuWare.

As an account executive, the former
mayor makes a base salary of $120 ,000,

the potential for much more.

People who do that job and do it well,
we're making $300 ,000, $400 ,000 a

But after just a few weeks on the job,
Kilpatrick claims he's unable to make

monthly $6 ,000 restitution payment.

Kilpatrick wrote the judge a letter that
said, after I pay all my bills, I only

have $6 a month to pay towards
restitution.

And the judge is like, what are you
talking about?

If you would have wrote this script and
took it to Hollywood, they would have

threw it away at you.

No one is that dumb. It can't happen.

The judge denies the request.

WDIV reporter Kevin Dietz grabs a camera
crew and heads down to Texas to

investigate Kilpatrick's claims of
hardship.

He's amazed at what he finds.

He is living in a mansion much bigger
than the Manuga mansion.

He is living in a beautiful home in a
gated community in South Lake, Texas.

And he's rolling in an Escalade.

And we follow him around with hidden
cameras, and he's eating at nice

restaurants. He's living large down in
Texas.

Kim Worthy is not amused. Her office
immediately looks into Kilpatrick's

newfound luxury lifestyle.

When we dug further, we even found out
there was much more money that was

around and changing hands and changing
accounts and et cetera. So it was even a

lot worse than we had anticipated.

Kilpatrick must return to Detroit for a
series of restitution hearings.

And now the judge is asking questions.

How are you paying for this stuff?

I don't know.

How much is your rent? I don't know.

My wife pays all the bills.

Where are you getting this money? I
don't know.

After intense questioning, Kilpatrick
eventually reveals where some of his

is coming from.

And Kilpatrick then tells the courtroom
and the judge that he was given a huge

amount of money.

by several businessmen in Detroit to
resign and leave town.

The four businessmen are heavy hitters.
Peter Carmonos of CompuAir, Dan Gilbert

of Quicken Loans, Jim Nicholson of PVS
Chemicals, and auto racing mogul Roger

Penske. He snitched on some of the top
leaders who tried to help him. This was

in the street. Kwame wouldn't even be
here today.

The businessmen say they loaned
Kilpatrick $240 ,000 to persuade him to

Detroit. What they said was that
Kilpatrick would not resign.

And the city was crippled.

The city couldn't do any business.

And so they said, we need you to resign.

We need you to move on. I think the
businessmen were doing what they thought

in the best interest of the city. My
position was never that they broke the

in any way.

For lying about his finances, the judge
puts the former mayor back behind bars.

The judge had had it.

And he sent him away for 18 months.

18 months is a lot different than 99
days.

Next on American Greed.

Just when it seems Kwame's legal
troubles can't get any worse, the feds

hammer. Southeast Michigan got...

A ringside seat, and they could see
exactly the depth of the corruption, how

many people were affected, and how
sinister the plots were here.

For more than eight years, residents of
Detroit have heard countless tales about

the misdeeds of Kwame Kilpatrick.

But by the summer of 2010, the city
would learn just how bad things really

On June 23rd, after a six -year
investigation, a federal grand jury

Kilpatrick on 19 counts of fraud
relating to the Civic Fund.

We had more than enough evidence. That
was a mail fraud and wire fraud in a tax

fraud conspiracy.

It was very gratifying to be able to
reveal that to the world.

Between 2003 and 2008, the government
says the mayor received more than $640

,000 in unreported taxable income.

Anytime he needed money, he'd go to the
civic fund.

It was a bank account that he had access
to, and he would direct an underling

that worked for him to simply write him
checks. In December 2010, a second

indictment drops.

charging Kilpatrick, his father Bernard,
Bobby Ferguson, and Derek Miller with

racketeering. The indictment says the
men turned the mayor's office into a

criminal enterprise to enrich
themselves, their families, and their

They have many different schemes where
they're making money off of and

off of.

That is the essence of a RICO
conspiracy.

In September 2012, the federal case
finally goes to trial.

It was crazy.

You know, everywhere Kilpatrick went,
you know, cameras followed him. You

you'd think it was the biggest celebrity
in the country.

Over the next five months, prosecutors
called 80 witnesses.

In a surprise turn of events, the
mayor's former chief administrator and

school friend Derek Miller flips as part
of a plea deal.

Miller is a wealth of information
regarding the inner workings at City

It doesn't get any better than that, to
have an actual member of the conspiracy

who can testify, I was there, and this
is the way it happened, and we were

directing contracts to Bobby Ferguson.

Miller tells the court how he used to
personally deliver bribes to the mayor

how the group would rig the contract
bidding process.

They actually had meetings where they
were talking together about making

for Bernard Kilpatrick and for Bobby
Ferguson.

FBI agents testify that Kwame Kilpatrick
had $840 ,000 of unexplained cash

deposits in his personal bank account.

He's a W -2 wage earner. There's no
reason to have piles of unexplained cash

your bank account that way. They also
found massive stacks of cash in safes

lockboxes at Bobby Ferguson's home and
businesses.

The feds say one was packed with $275
,000 in cash and another $500 ,000 in

cashier's checks.

When you start finding a million dollars
in this place, hundreds of thousands of

dollars in cashier's checks in another
place, yeah, you got some problems.

The government alleges that cash often
flows freely from Ferguson to

Once again, text messages are the former
mayor's undoing.

There's one particular text message
where Ferguson sends a text message to

mayor and tells him, go in my safe and
get $7 ,500 out of it.

Contractors testify to being extorted by
the mayor and his pals.

Some cooperate in return for reduced
charges for their own misdeeds.

There were some witnesses who paid
bribes. There were people who were...

Pure extortion victims who came in and
testified they were threatened, and

that's why they paid.

There were other people who were both.

Michael Ratai is Bobby Ferguson's
defense attorney.

According to him, many of the
contractors got off too easy.

You've got contractors out there that
were complicit in this entire, I mean,

you want to call it a criminal
enterprise, they were absolutely

made hundreds of millions of dollars,
and they got a free pass.

The government calculates that Ferguson
received $73 million in extorted city

contracts. It's unknown how much of that
cash made its way to the mayor.

There's absolutely no way to say exactly
how much money was paid.

But as far as contracts that got
extorted and that shouldn't have gone to

Ferguson but for criminal activity, the
answer is $73 million.

After six long months, the jury reaches
a verdict. On March 11, 2013, Kwame

Kilpatrick is found guilty.

Convicted on 24 of the 30 counts against
him, including racketeering, extortion,

mail, and tax fraud, he's sentenced to
28 years in prison.

This guy who was so charismatic, who
could have been the mayor of Detroit

forever, is now going to go.

Sit in a prison for 28 years. What a
waste. What a shame.

Bobby Ferguson is found guilty on nine
counts of racketeering, extortion, and

bribery. He gets 21 years.

I think the judge felt that Bobby
Ferguson was instrumental in this, that

Bobby had the ideas and got Kwame to go
along.

Outrageous. Nobody in the United States
has ever received... a sentence of that

magnitude, not having been a public
official.

And then there's the maestro, 72 -year
-old Bernard Kilpatrick.

He's found guilty of filing a false tax
return and gets 15 months in prison.

I went to his sentencing and was just
disappointed.

I think he should be doing the time his
son is doing.

In total, the investigation snags
convictions on 34 individuals, including

Bell, who receives two years probation
for tax evasion.

I think the important thing in this case
is, out of all the people that we've

charged, 100 % of them have been
convicted.

There were no acquittals of anybody.

But it's no victory for Detroit.

On July 18, 2013, the city files for
Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

With debts of nearly $20 billion, it's
the largest municipal bankruptcy filing

in U .S. history.

While the corrupt regime of Kwame
Kilpatrick didn't cause the city's

many say that he failed to do anything
to stop it.

He did not cause the bankruptcy, but by
not paying attention.

I mean, you can't be running a criminal
enterprise and dealing with the city's

financial collapse simultaneously.

Even if you're talking $10, $20, $50
million in stolen money, it's nothing in

the bankruptcy.

But it's the perception that Detroit is
dirty.

So who's going to come and invest in
Detroit?

The man who many residents thought was
going to be the key to revving Detroit's

revival instead helped drive it over the
financial cliff.

And I'm not saying he would have been
Barack Obama, but who knows?

He could have taken a city that was
hopeless and brought it back.

He used his powers to figure out how to
steal and how to collect as much money

for him and his friends and his family
as he could. He just crushed.

The city that he says he loves.

And he ruined his life in the process.

Kingpins, smugglers, murderers, and
money men go inside the blood -drenched

business of drug trafficking.

Cocaine Cowboys, next on CNBC.