Worthy keeps eye on Kilpatrick

Detroit --Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy is demanding to know why former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick hasn't been charged with probation violations, prompting his attorney to complain that she's treating him like the "devil incarnate."

Worthy's office filed a motion Friday asking Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner to make corrections officials in Michigan and Tarrant County, Texas, explain why they haven't charged Kilpatrick for being behind in his restitution payments and failing to prove he's signed over his state pension or disclosed his assets or gifts.

Kilpatrick, who was ordered to repay the city $1 million for his role in the text-message scandal, paid only $2,500 of his $6,000 monthly payment in May. Worthy alleged he "misrepresented" himself when asking probation officials to travel to the United Arab Emirates and other nations on business, even though his employer, Covisint, disputed that account. The trip was canceled.

Legal experts described Worthy's motion as unusual among Michigan's 58,000 probationers. They disagree on whether she's overstepping her bounds or warning officials not to let Kilpatrick fall through the cracks.

"This motion is going overboard," said Michael Alan Schwartz, a Kilpatrick attorney.

"Prosecutor Worthy got what she wanted. Mr. Kilpatrick is out of office, he got some jail time and he has to pay restitution. This is giving in to some people out there who believe Kwame Kilpatrick is the devil incarnate. He is so horrible that he didn't get enough punishment and he got away with something. That's inappropriate and unfair."

Schwartz said corrections officials are bound to report to sentencing judges, not prosecutors. Russell Marlan, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections, said "we keep judges apprised because it is the court that remains involved in probation normally, not the prosecutor's office."

Kilpatrick moved to Southlake, Texas, in March, a month after his release from jail this spring. Supervision of his probation was transferred to Texas authorities, but Groner, as Kilpatrick's sentencing judge, retains ultimate authority.

Curt Benson, a professor at Cooley School of Law, said Worthy's motion is a warning to probation authorities here and in Texas to be wary of Kilpatrick.

"The criminal class, as a group, tends to be manipulative. But Kwame Kilpatrick brings to the picture a much higher and more sophisticated level of this than any probation officer is accustomed to with the average street criminal," Benson said. "She's warning people in the system, especially the good men and women of Texas, that they don't know who they are dealing with. He has shown himself to be a great one for gaming the system."

Benson added that Worthy is also alerting Kilpatrick that "she is still paying attention to him."

George Ward, a former assistant Wayne County prosecutor, said Kilpatrick isn't an average probationer.

"He had power. His parents still have political power. Plus, he's on probation out of state so there is a lot of opportunity for things to slip through the cracks," Ward said. "She has discretion to act in this situation. She is indicating she wants more vigilance."

But Schwartz protested that "if it's a message, then that's a bad thing."

"We are talking about coercion," he said. "Agencies of government shouldn't be hitting each other over the head over who is doing a bad job."

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