A friend of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced to 21 years in prison for running an extortion scheme with the disgraced politician.
Bobby Ferguson learned his fate on Friday, when U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds announced that he'd be getting out of the clink at 65 years old if he served his entire sentence. While Ferguson sat motionless, holding a Bible at the defense table, the judge called him the catalyst of an unprecedented and historic extortion scheme. According to the Detroit News, Ferguson snickered at a few of her comments, shaking his head at some points.
His sentence comes just one day after his close friend and ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick got 28 years in prison on bribery, extortion, racketeering, fraud and tax evasion.
Ferguson addressed the court before he was given his prison sentencing, after the judge gave him a last-ditch opportunity to try getting a shorter sentence.
"How you doing, your honor?" He started, before speaking about the criminal justice system and his shock at the high volume of black men in jail during his own incarceration, the Detroit News reported.
"I've lived a good life, maybe not to the fullest, or to someone's expectations," he told the court. "I'm trying to understand the America I live in...I pray and ask the Lord that he continues to bless my [five] children."
Ferguson was found guilty of nine crimes this past March, including racketeering, extortion and bribery, as part of a scheme that he hatched with Kilpatrick during the former mayor's six years in office. Ferguson was reportedly given $500,000 of state money that was supposed to go to children and senior services.
As the case progressed, defense attorneys said, Ferguson reportedly "lost everything." They told the court that his life "has come crashing down."
"One thing that never gets reported - Bobby Ferguson just didn't drop out of the sky," attorney Mike Rataj, who supported Ferguson, said on Thursday. "He dug Comerica Park, he dug Ford Field and this was all before Mr. Kilpatrick became mayor. He provided jobs that contributed to the economy. We'll have to wait and see what happens tomorrow."
Before today, Ferguson's defense attorney hoped for a 15-year maximum sentence, while federal prosecutors asked for 28, the Detroit News reported.
