DETROIT – The chapter closed on the Detroit water department with prosecutors reminding jurors that defendants Bobby Ferguson and Kwame Kilpatrick were working together to rig contract bids.
Kilpatrick witness: 'It was just getting too goofy'
The prosecution used a text exchange between the two about a contract Ferguson's team won but did not deserve.
Ferguson to Kilpatrick: "Hello Black. You haven't released that contract right?"
Kilpatrick to Ferguson: "Right. They know I'm holding it."
Ferguson to Kilpatrick: "Using your terms, is it still cool with you. I need you to hold it for a long time."
The defense contends the texts are out of context and no big deal. Defense attorney Jim Thomas said the texts mean nothing, "absolutely nothing."
Local 4 reporter Kevin Dietz found Karl Kado outside court on Friday.
Trial turns to contracts at Cobo Hall
Next up is witness Karl Kado. Local 4 found the Cobo Hall contractor trying to sneak out of the courthouse on Friday. When Kilpatrick went one way Kado went the other, hoping the camera would follow the former mayor.
Kado told the FBI he hand-delivered $80,000 in bribes to Kwame Kilpatrick and $250,000 in bribe money to Bernard Kilpatrick to keep his cleaning contracts at Cobo Hallo. After the money was in Bernard Kilpatrick's pocket, Kado says his contracts were extended and the money was increased.
Read more: Witness sheds light on Kilpatrick's alleged bid rigging
Bernard Kilpatrick, Kwame Kilpatrick's father and codefendant, outside Detroit federal court on Nov. 30, 2012.