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Kilpatrick
arraigned
on 19
federal
charges,
wants
tax
payers
to foot
defense
bill
By Karen
H.
Samuels/Tell
Us
Detroit
A low
murmur
of
surprise
rippled
through
a
federal
courtroom
in
downtown
Detroit
Tuesday
as
former
Mayor
Kwame
Kilpatrick
appeared
wearing
an
orange
prison
jumpsuit
for his
arraignment
on
felony
fraud
and tax
charges.
The
former
mayor
entered
a not
guilty
plea on
charges
stemming
from
improper
use of
thousands
of
dollars
donated
to the
Kilpatrick
Civic
Fund. He
is
alleged
to have
used the
funds
for cash
and
personal
use.
The
fund,
managed
by the
mayor’s
sister,
Ayanna
Kilpatrick,
was a
tax free
status
civic
group,
intended
to serve
Detroiters
with
training
and
neighborhood
improvement.
Kwame
Kilpatrick’s
failure
to
report
cash
taken
from the
fund led
to
income
tax
charges.
Kilpatrick
attorney,
James
Thomas
told the
Court
that his
client
requested
a court
appointed
attorney;
that
request
was
turned
over to
the
federal
defenders
office
for
action.
The
state
prison
in
Manistee
is where
Kilpatrick
is
serving
a
sentence
for
parole
violation
related
to his
conviction
in the
text
scandal
case.
However,
Kilpatrick’s
attorney,
speaking
to
reporters
following
the
arraignment
said,
he’d
like to
Kilpatrick
moved to
a state
prison
in Milan
which
has
computer
access
to a
computer
and is
closer
the U.S.
District
Court in
Detroit.
Outside
the
federal
courthouse,
Ayanna
Kilpatrick
was
asked
about
the
proceedings,
she said
“it’s in
God’s
hands
now.”
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