Fund-raiser says she gave Kilpatrick more than $200K, pulled cash from her bra - Detroit Free Press [ournewsa.blogspot.com]
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In the most potentially damaging testimony yet, Kwame Kilpatrick’s ex-fundraiser told jurors today that she gave more than $ 200,000 in cash kick-backs to the ex-mayor, sometimes pulling wads of money out of her bra and hand-delivering it to him in a mayoral office suite near a barber chair.
“There's only two people in this room, other than God, that knows what happened. And that's Mr. Kilpatrick and myself, "a fiesty Emma Bell told jurors today, getting both teared up and fired up during her testimony.
Kilpatrick’s lawyer James Thomas attacked Bell’s credibility, citing her history of heavy gambling and tax troubles with the IRS. He also portrayed her as an untruthful witness whose testimony can’t be trusted because she cut a deal with the government in a tax case, and is now only trying to save herself.
This infuriated Bell, especially when Thomas asked her if she was only testifying to please the government.
“It’s a very unfair statement sir,†Bell said. “If I sit up here and lie then I’m making it worse … I’m not lyin.â€
Bell, who made $ 904,000 as a fundraiser for several Kilpatrick nonprofits and campaign funds, testified that she gave the ex-mayor a cut of the money she earned for him â€" at his behest. Bell told jurors that testifying against Kilpatrick was difficult for her given her history and close ties with his family. Bell said she met Kilpatrick and his parents in the 1970s, when they all attended the same church.
“It’s not easy for me to even be here sir,†Bell told the prosecutor. “It’s just not easy … based on my relationship not just with him but with his family as well.â€
Bell made the comment as she was explaining how the kickbacks started. Per her testimony, Bell had received a $ 100,000 check in 2003 for raising money for the Kilpatrick Civic Fund, and went to the mayor’s office to thank Kilpatrick for the money.
“I said thank you to Mayor Kilpatrick“ Bell testified, who paused and then added, “he said I was welcome and I’ll see you later.â€
“Is that all he said?†Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Bullotta asked.
Bell paused for at least 15 seconds â€" appearing as if she was going to back out of testifying, which had Kilpatrick’s co-defendant Bobby Ferguson on the edge of his seat. Then she started talking.
“He said I will see you later and he (asked) would I have something for him,†Bell testified. “That I would have a package for him or come back with something,†Bell said.
“Something meaning?†Bullotta asked
“Money,†Bell responded.
“Did that take you by surprise?†Bullotta asked.
“Yes sir,†answered Bell, adding she had never before been asked to give a cut of her fundraising earnings to someone.
Bell testified that she received between 10% and 15% percent of all the money she fundraised for the various Kilpatrick entities. Out of the $ 100,000 check she received in 2003, she said that she gave Kilpatrick $ 40,000 or $ 50,000.
She also told jurors how she passed along the money to Kilpatrick: She would write cashier checks to herself, cash them out, and then deliver the money to Kilpatrick in his office, or a few times at the Manoogian Mansion, where the ex-mayor lived. She said she carried the cash â€" usually in hundreds and fifties â€" in her purse, bra or pocket, and then hand-delivered the money to the mayor.
Bullotta asked Bell if it bothered her that some of the money she gave Kilpatrick came out of a fund that was meant to help kids and the community.
“Yes,†she answered.
“So why did you do it?†Bullotta asked.
“That’s really hard to answer but I did it,†Bell answered.
Thomas sought to make Bell’s story look unbelievable, and grilled for about an hour about the details, like slipping him money when no one was watching.
“You took money out of your bra, in the mayor’s office behind a closed door, and handed it to him?†Thomas asked, expressing disbelief.
Bell then demonstrated to Thomas how she plucked the money out of her bra.
“It was like this,†Bell said, pinching her thumb and forefinger together, poking them down her cleavage. “You don’t pull your shirt up.â€
She added: “Was I uncomfortable? No sir.â€
Bell, with her feisty personality and quirky comments like “I’m old school†caused the jurors to laugh several times. They laughed the hardest when Bullotta, in questioning her about her gambling habit, asked her to explain what happens when someone wins on a slot machine.
“You’ve never used a slot machine?†she asked the prosecutor. The courtroom erupted in laughter.
The defense table even chuckled a few times.
Thomas and Bell shook hands during one break, but things got ugly toward the end.
Thomas asked Bell to concede that there is no proof â€" not even in her banking records â€" that Kilpatrick ever took money from her, other than her story.
“That’s correct sir, and it is true,†Bell said, raising her voice.
Bell acknowledged all of her gambling and tax problems, and a lie to the federal agent. Per courtroom testimony, Bell had initially said that she only split money with Kilpatrick on amounts more than $ 25,000, but days later said she actually gave him money on anything $ 5,000 or more.
In court, Bell told jurors that she became worried that if she didn’t tell the whole truth, she would get into more trouble. Her lawyer also told her that she had to tell the agents the full truth â€" that she was giving Kilpatrick more money than she had originally told them â€" or that he couldn’t represent her, she testified.
Bell also said that she didn’t want to make Kilpatrick look “greedy,†a comment that drew the ire of Thomas.
“You didn’t want him to look greedy?!†a visibly frustrated Thomas asked Bell. “You thought that that would help him!â€
Bell had supposedly used the word “petty†not “greedy,†when she explained her story to the agents, per courtroom testimony. Thomas asked her to clarify herself. She acknowledged using the word “petty†not “greedy.â€
Thomas also grilled her about her plea agreement.
Bell pleaded guilty to tax evasion in 2011, admitting she received more than $ 500,000 from various Kilpatrick fund-raisers, but never paid taxes on it. She agreed to testify against Kilpatrick in exchange for leniency at sentencing. She faces up to 18 months in prison, although federal prosecutors have offered to cut her prison time in half depending on her cooperation in the Kilpatrick case.
“You have made a deal with them … You don’t’ want to go to prison,†Thomas said.
“I don’t want to go to prison sir,†Bell responded, adding “That’s not just my hope. It’s my prayer.â€
Kilpatrick, his father, Ferguson and the city’s ex-water boss Victor Mercado are charged with running a criminal enterprise out of the mayor’s office to enrich themselves. They deny all charges.
Testimony resumes Friday morning.
• A brief history of the Kwame Kilpatrick public corruption trial
• Who's who: Cast of characters in the 'Kilpatrick Enterprise' case
• Timeline: How the Kilpatrick public corruption case unfolded
• List of criminal charges against Kwame Kilpatrick, Bernard Kilpatrick, Bobby Ferguson and Victor Mercado
• Complete coverage: Kwame Kilpatrick public corruption trial
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