Kilpatrick restitution payments to go up

DETROIT, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's monthly restitution payments will likely be increased from $160 to about $500, a Michigan prison official said.

The move follows concerns Kilpatrick has been hiding assets and living beyond his means, The Detroit News reported Thursday.

Kilpatrick, who now lives in Texas, is to pay the monthly fee toward the $860,000 he owes in restitution as part of his plea bargain.

Kilpatrick pleaded guilty in 2008 to obstruction of justice and resigned as mayor. He agreed to pay the city restitution in the plea-bargain deal that enabled him to avoid trial on charges including lying under oath during the text-message scandal.

He went to prison in May 2010 for failing to make payments based on a finding he had hidden or squandered hundreds of thousands of dollars. He agreed to make the restitution payments on his release from prison in August.

The News said new figures indicate Kilpatrick's nationwide tour in support of his autobiography has been a financial failure.

He visited several cities and gave a speech at Eastern Michigan University but reported no income in November, said Russ Marlan, a spokesman for the Michigan Corrections Department.

Kilpatrick said in an e-mail Thursday would comply with all conditions of his parole.