DETROIT, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- An FBI investigation into alleged kickbacks has targeted the father of embattled Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, The Detroit Free Press said Saturday.
The newspaper reported that five lawyers who did not want their names used said agents were trying to determine whether Bernard Kilpatrick -- who owns a consulting firm, Maestro Associates of Detroit -- played an illegal role in the awarding of contracts at Cobo Center. The FBI is also looking at the awarding of a sludge disposal contract to a Houston company, Synagro, lawyers said.
One source said when contractors approached the mayor's office they were steered to his father.
"It's a pure pay-to-play system," one lawyer said.
The mayor faces perjury charges for allegedly lying on a deposition in a civil suit brought by fired police officers and is also charged with assaulting two Wayne County sheriff's officers.
Mayor Kilpatrick's lawyer, James Thomas, said his father's conduct has little to do with the mayor.
"We know that the mayor hasn't taken any payoffs," a spokeswoman said.
