Kwame Kilpatrick argues he doesn't owe Detroit $1.6M restitution

DETROIT (WJBK) - Kwame Kilpatrick, the disgraced mayor of Detroit who was convicted of extortion, bribery, conspiracy, and other crimes, has filed paperwork arguing that he shouldn't have to pay restitution to the city of Detroit.

Kilpatrick argued that he shouldn't have to repay the city because it's it's not possible to determine exactly how much damage he caused taxpayers.

In December 2013, he was ordered to apy $4.5 million in restitution after his conviction. That was later vacated y the Court of Appeals, citing the need for additional evidence, a hearing, and further proceedings. In November 2016, the federal government recommended that amount be reduced to $1.6 million.

That number was decided on after the courts subtracted bids from unsuccessful bidders who were bidding on projects done by Bobby Ferguson, Kilpatrick's brother-in-law. Ferguson was also convicted in the case.

In March, 2013 he was found guilty of two dozen crimes, including tax evasion and bribery. A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in August affirmed the conviction.

Kilpatrick's appeal which was declined by the U.S. Supreme Court in June, 2016, centered on an alleged conflict among his trial attorneys, among other very technical reasons. He quit office in another scandal in 2008 and is in a federal prison in Oklahoma.

He has maintained his innocence behind bars and wrote a scathing diatribe that he gave to his brother-in-law in 2016.

It will be up to a judge to decide if the restitution amount is correct. There's no timetable on when that may happen.