DETROIT – Ex-Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick had tears in his eyes outside federal court Friday when talking to Local 4 Defender Kevin Dietz about not being able to return to Texas this weekend for his son's birthday.
Kilpatrick is not allowed to leave the state after being late on a mandatory $500 monthly restitution payment to the city of Detroit and failing to perform his 16 hours of community service.
"It seems petty, Kevin. It is just unfortunate this weekend is my son Jonas' birthday. The department knew about it. The department also knew the payment was late," he said. "They have that information. We're not going into specifics. It seems like politically they felt like they had to do something. So, what they did was punish my 10-year-old, soon to be 11-year-old son, they punished him. It is sad. I know it is open season on Kwame Kilpatrick but when they start doing that kind of stuff it is sad."
Read more: Kwame Kilpatrick accused of missing restitution payment
Kilpatrick has been ordered to return to court Wednesday. For the record, according to Wayne County Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman Maria Miller, Kilpatrick's late $500 November payment was received Wednesday. It was mailed in.
Kilpatrick issued an apology to Detroit residents on Wednesday with the following tweet:
"Detroit, I deeply regret my role in yet another distraction from the far more critical issues of crime, finances morale and progress."
Read more: Witness: Kilpatrick took lavish gifts, trips on private jet