SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WJBK) -
U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade and Detroit FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Foley joined us live to talk about the Kilpatrick public corruption case after Monday's verdict where we saw convictions for former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his friend Bobby Ferguson and his father, Bernard Kilpatrick.
"It was a hard case, and it's not a day for celebration for us, but it's a case that was hard and it was necessary and it was important," said McQuade. "Although we're not joyful to see anyone go to prison, we are satisfied that justice was done."
Does McQuade feel the government piled on in this case?
"Not at all. In fact, if you listen to the jury, who are the people who really heard all the evidence in the case, there was one juror who said I'm a Detroiter. I voted for Kwame Kilpatrick twice for mayor, but what I heard in court made my stomach turn. And we felt it was necessary to hold them accountable," McQuade said.
"This case isn't about looking back and about punishing people for what they did in the past, but about looking to the future because we want any candidate for public office to know that they're going to be held accountable if they don't serve the public," she added.
Is the FBI trying to track down the money we heard about during the trial?
"We're looking into all other issues surrounding the money, forfeiture issues and other concerns about the booty from the efforts and the corruption. I can tell you that we're spending a lot of time looking at that, and we have spent a lot of time looking at that," said Foley.
McQuade also talked about the diverse jury in this case.
"I think a diverse jury is always a good thing because they bring different perspectives to the table. We're sure that we're getting a fair evaluation of all the evidence, and I also think it instills more public confidence in that ultimate verdict when they know that... jury contained representatives from all walks of life," she said.
The jury could not decide on the racketeering count against Bernard Kilpatrick. Will there be another trial on that charge?
"No final decision has been made, but I think it's highly unlikely," said McQuade. "The fact that this jury was so conscientious and worked so hard was hung and could not reach a verdict on that makes it unlikely, but we'll go back and evaluate that and make a decision."
Finally, is this hopefully the end of corruption in Detroit?
"I hope so," McQuade remarked. "As we said, we hope this case is not about the past, but about the future. The Bing administration is an honorable one, and we hope that going forward we'll see that in the future."
U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said, "We are satisfied that justice was done." (Credit: Fox 2 News)
