Former Detroit Treasurer Under Kilpatrick Sentenced to Prison for Bribery, Extortion
Former city treasurer is handed an 11-year sentence as feds probe of corruption in Kilpatrick Administration nears end.
A federal judge is sentencing a former Detroit city treasurer during the Kilpatrick Administration to 11 years in prison for extortion and bribery.
Former Detroit Treasurer Jeffrey Beasley was convicted last fall on two counts of extortion and one count of bribery.
Federal prosecutors argued that Beasley defrauded Detroit’s pension funds because he took bribes and kickback payments in exchange for approving $200 million in crooked deals.
The city’s two pension funds eventually lost almost $100 million because of the agreements.
Even as he was sentenced, Beasley maintained that he never took a bribe or extorted anyone.
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was an acquitted co-conspirator in the case because some contributors to the pension funds were coerced into donating money to his non-profit group.
Beasley’s sentence is the third-longest handed down in the federal public corruption investigation into Kilpatrick and his Administration.
The probe has resulted in almost 40 people being convicted.
