Kilpatrick Enterprise Corruption Trial – Businessman’s Testimony

Are you following the Kilpatrick Enterprise Corruption Trial?

Happy Friday! Today, we are sharing a review on what has happened in court this past week.

Wealthy businessman and CEO of Lakeshore Engineering presented testimony this past week that revived a key government theme in the federal public corruption trial against former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his associates. That theme is: Keep Bobby Ferguson happy or risk losing millions.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Avinash Rachmale took the stand on Thursday testifying that after he rejected Bobby Ferguson, a lifelong friend of Kwame Kilpatrick and co-defendant, his firm lost 15 million dollars in contracts.

Rachmale testified that he believes in 2003, Ferguson killed two city contracts worth a combined $15 million because Rachmale wouldn’t give Ferguson a big enough cut on one of the deals. He said that when he later made Ferguson part of his team, he won city contracts.

Rachmale became “smart” and chose to get on Ferguson’s good side by giving him $1 million for a payout for Ferguson to get off of a Detroit water project. The Detroit Free Press quotes Rachmale as stating:

We just did not want to upset him,” Rachmale testified.

Today, the defense is cross examining Rachmale.

The Kilpatrick corruption trio that consists of ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his father, Bernard Kilpatrick and Bobby Ferguson were indicted in December 2010 with operating a criminal enterprise through the former Detroit mayor’s office with the aim of making money. According to the Free Press,

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 and shaking down contractors.

Each one denies the charges.

How do you feel about this trial? Do you want to see it come to an end?

Kilpatrick Trial Recap

The David Kramer Law Firm has been posting weekly updates about the Kilpatrick corruption trial. If you would like to read any of our previous posts take a few minutes and browse the articles below.