Beatty pleads guilty in Detroit mayor case

DETROIT, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Christine Beatty, former chief of staff to jailed former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, has pleaded guilty to two felonies, prosecutors said Monday.

Beatty will serve 120 days in jail as a result of the guilty plea, which she made during a tearful confession before Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny, the Detroit Free Press reported.

"I lied under oath," Beatty told the judge, who accepted her plea deal and set a sentencing date of Jan. 5, when she will enter the Wayne County Jail.

Beatty will join her former boss and paramour, Kilpatrick, behind bars for their parts in the so-called text message scandal, in which they were charged with lying under oath during an investigation of the firings of police officers looking into Kilpatrick's alleged use of his bodyguards to cover up clandestine meetings with women, including Beatty, The Detroit News said.

Beatty admitted guilt to two counts of obstructing justice for lying in the police case, and also will have to reimburse the city of Detroit for $100,000 in costs if she is able, prosecutors said.

"I think it's fair. I think it's a fair resolution to this," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy told the Free Press.