Judge: Kilpatrick book profits to go towards restitution

Doug Guthrie/ The Detroit News

Detroit— Imprisoned former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick can profit from his new "tell-all" book, a Wayne County judge ruled Wednesday, but only after he pays all the restitution he owes and the cost of his stay behind bars.

Circuit Judge David Groner, who sent Kilpatrick to prison last year for violating his probationary sentence on felony charges stemming from the text-message scandal, granted a prosecutor's request Thursday to create an escrow account to collect any profits Kilpatrick may receive from the sale of his book, set for release Aug. 1.

The judge also granted a defense request for a protective order to keep the public from seeing the contract between the book's publisher, Creative Publishing Consultants Inc., and Aktion Enterprises, a company run by his sister, Ayanna Kilpatrick.

Although prosecutors told the judge Kilpatrick has shown he can't be trusted to tell the truth about his personal finances, and they implied the deal with his sister may be hiding the true value of the deal, Groner noted he was presented no evidence of a deal that paid Kilpatrick himself.

Groner instead heard testimony from the book's co-author that it is Ayanna Kilpatrick who claims to own the rights to her brother's story.

Prosecutors said Ayanna Kilpatrick's corporation is promised 50 percent of the book's profits; the other half goes to the publisher. Assistant Prosecutor Athina Siringas told the judge, "I talked to the publisher, and they are collecting money. Money is in the pot."

Maria Miller, spokeswoman for Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, said her office will within a few days give the judge a proposal on how the escrow will work and what money it will capture.

After the hearing, Kilpatrick blew a kiss to about a dozen relatives and supporters in the courtroom and was escorted by armed deputies to a Wayne County Sheriff's Office van for a ride back to his Jackson prison.

"I say it all the time: I want to pay my restitution. I just don't want any more harassment from Miss Piggy," Kilpatrick said in apparent reference to Siringas.

Siringas and Assistant Prosecutor Robert Spada had argued state law requires payment of restitution before a prisoner can profit from the retelling of his crime. Kilpatrick still owes $861,399.80 of the $1 million restitution he promised when pleading guilty in 2008 to avoid trial on charges that he lied in court to hide an extramarital affair with his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty.

A Michigan Department of Corrections official told the judge the state can tap funds to cover the cost of incarceration. Kilpatrick applied for parole in July. No estimate was provided for the cost of his minimum stay of 14 months or maximum of five years.

Kilpatrick's lawyers, Daniel Hajji and Kevin McAllister, insisted the state's law, which is part of the Crime Victims' Rights Act, is unconstitutional because it restricts free speech. Groner said he disagrees.

"This was just a fishing expedition by the prosecutor to try and make public information about the publication of the book," Hajji said after the hearing. "Ayanna Kilpatrick's corporation has a lawyer, and I suspect they could bring an action against freezing their assets. But bigger than that, this was a big slap in the face to the First Amendment. This isn't just about Kwame Kilpatrick; it's about protecting free speech rights for all of us."