BY JOE SWICKARD and BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
A probation-violation warrant could be issued for ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick as soon as Monday after Friday’s deadline passed without him making the full payment of $79,011 toward his $1-million restitution.
Instead, he sent $14,048 — and he paid it with money orders.
A request would come from the Michigan Department of Corrections. Wayne County Circuit Court Judge David Groner, who ordered Kilpatrick to make the payment by Friday, could then issue a warrant calling him back to Detroit for a hearing.
Groner warned Kilpatrick earlier that he faced possible jailing if he didn’t make the payment.
Richard Krisciunas, a University of Detroit-Mercy law professor and former high-ranking Wayne County prosecutor, said judges do not like to be defied, especially in high-profile cases. “Everybody’s going to be watching to see what he does,” Krisciunas said of Groner.
He said he expected little sympathy for claims by Kilpatrick that he no longer has the scads of money that records show passed through his family bank accounts.
“It’s like saying I don’t know where the money went. And in the meantime, pass me a steak, and I’ll have two potatoes,” he said.
One of Kilpatrick’s lawyers, Daniel Hajji, said the former mayor wanted to make good on his obligation, but the situation “is getting out of control.”
Another $240,000 payment is due by April 22. Hajji has said Kilpatrick doesn’t have the resources to meet the stepped-up repayment schedule.
Groner had warned Kilpatrick that failure to pay the full amounts by the deadline could lead to penalties, including incarceration. The Michigan Department of Corrections could seek a warrant for probation violation on Monday.
If Groner issues a warrant, Kilpatrick would have to appear for hearings to determine whether he willfully violated the repayment order.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said: “We expect that a violation of probation warrant will issue. When that comes, we will be prepared to attend any hearings set by the court.”
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