(WWJ) Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, out of federal prison for nearly a year, has announced he's launching a new business.
In an interview last weekend with Deadline Detroit, the 51-year-old political heavyweight turned-preacher said "Movemental Ministries" will feature Saturday services, Bible studies and workshops... all online.
"It's a virtual ministry," Kilpatrick told Deadline, "so we'll be everywhere."
While this sounds like a venture that could see success, what about the money Kilpatrick owes to Detroit?
While the ex-mayor got out of prison 16 years early — his sentence commuted by President Donald Trump in January, 2021 — he remains on hook for something like $4.7 million in restitution he owes to Detroit and the IRS.
So, could the city see some money out of this?
WWJ Legal Analyst Charlie Langton says absolutely yes.
"He's gonna have to pay it back!" Langton told WWJ's Jackie Paige and Tony Ortiz on the air on Tuesday. "Listen... I think the citizens of the city of Detroit, especially the water department and the taxes, the IRS, and anybody else that is owed money from Kwame Kilpatrick would love to see him start a business.
"Why? Because when President Trump commuted the sentence of Kwame Kilpatrick, he only commuted the sentence, the prison part of it. But the president, the former president, kept in place the restitution, the amount that he owes."
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Basically, Langton said, Trump could have erased Kilpatrick's debut, but ended up making what amounts to a very expensive paperwork mistake.
"So, he's paid his debt to society behind bars with his freedom, but now he's got to pay the money part of it back," Langton said.
"And he has a ministry, good for him, you know? If he's going to do everything...abide by the law, good for him! And if he makes some money in the process, that's great, because now he can take care of the money that he owes the people of Detroit."
Kilpatrick has served only seven years of a 28-year sentence on racketeering, extortion, bribery and other charges related to various crimes during his time as mayor from 2002-2008.
Kilpatrick remains on supervised probation for about two more years. Under Michigan law, he wouldn't be able to run for political office in Michigan until 2033.
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