U.S. Former Detroit mayor sentenced to 28 years in prison

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DETROIT — Detroit's former mayor, convicted earlier this year on wide-ranging corruption charges, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court to 28 years in prison.

Prosecutors had asked for at least that long a sentence.

Kwame Kilpatrick, 43, was found guilty March 11 of 24 of 30 counts of corruption, including five counts of extortion, racketeering, bribery and several mail, wire and tax fraud charges. On three counts he was found not guilty, and on the remaining three no verdict was reached.

Kilpatrick's lawyer, Harold Gurewitz, had asked for 15 years. U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds made the final decision, commenting on the tens of millions of dollars lost to city workers' pensions and how Kilpatrick took bribes from vendors. She said she would have a hearing within 90 days to determine restitution.

"One thing is certain," Edmunds said. "It was the citizens of Detroit who suffered."

Kilpatrick, son of former congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, was elected mayor of Detroit in 2001 and was forced to resign from office on Sept. 17, 2008.

The former mayor, in custody since his conviction, entered court shortly after 10 a.m. ET Thursday in handcuffs and a prison jumpsuit. The judge handed down her sentence about three hours later.

After her ruling, Edmunds told Kilpatrick that he can appeal. She is recommending that he go to a federal prison in Texas.