Kwame Kilpatrick
1 December 2012. In one of the biggest public corruption cases in Detroit’s history, the ex-mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, his father Bernard Kilpatrick, his long-time friend Bobby Ferguson and ex-water department director Victor Mercado were indicted in December 2010. They are charged with running a criminal enterprise through the mayor’s office to enrich themselves through a water department scheme that involved rigged contracts. The next government witness is man named Karl Kado. The former Cobo Hall contractor is expected to tell the jury that he gave at least $360,000 in bribes to former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his father Bernard Kilpatrick, and former Kilpatrick aide Derrick Miller. Kado is in his 70’s and has health issues which may or may not impact his ability to testify. Kado’s testimony has the potential to be very damaging. But Kilpatrick’s lawyer, Thomas, says that Kado is not going to be different from any other witness.
