Kwame Kilpatrick
⚠️ All Corruption Flags (3)
On March 11, 2013, a federal jury convicted former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on 24 federal felony counts, including mail fraud, wire fraud, and racketeering (RICO), as part of a wide-ranging racketeering conspiracy that included extortion, bribery, and fraud. Per the FBI, during Kilpatrick's six years as mayor of Detroit, he 'pervasively and systematically corrupted city government.' Bank records revealed more than $840,000 in unexplained expenditures above and beyond his mayoral salary, none of which was disclosed on his tax returns.
A federal judge sentenced Kilpatrick to 28 years in federal prison for his role in the racketeering conspiracy — one of the longest federal sentences imposed on a municipal official in American history.
On January 20, 2021, with less than 12 hours remaining in his first non-consecutive term, President Donald Trump commuted Kilpatrick's sentence. Kilpatrick was released from federal prison after serving approximately 7 years of his 28-year sentence — approximately 20 years early. The commutation did not vacate the underlying conviction or the 24 felony counts.