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Detroit mulls suing Kilpatrick over funds

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick, who could be sued by the city he once ran. (UPI Photo/Terry Schmitt)

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Published: July 7, 2011 at 4:18 PM

DETROIT, July 7 (UPI) -- Detroit has hired a law firm to pursue the idea of suing former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to recover tax dollars spent in an alleged bid-rigging scheme.

The Detroit City Council agreed Wednesday to hire the law firm to research whether the city has legal options to recover money in what federal authorities said was a racketeering plot by the indicted Kilpatrick, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Kilpatrick along with his father, Bernard Kilpatrick, friend and contractor Bobby Ferguson, former mayoral aide Derrick Miller and former director of the Water and Sewerage Department Victor Mercado were indicted in December

The department will provide the funds to research a possible lawsuit, the report said.

Any funds recovered would be returned to the department, allegedly defrauded in the bid-rigging scheme, the Free Press reported.

Kilpatrick resigned as mayor and pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in 2008.

He could be paroled as early as this month from a correctional facility where he is serving 18 months to five years for violating his probation, the Free Press said.

Topics: Bernard Kilpatrick

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