Fed prosecutors don't always have text messages to bolster their cases.
But Mike Wilkerson and Robert Snell of the Detroit News report that the text messages in the Kwame Kilpatrick cases could help sink the former mayor, who has been in trial in federal court since September on public corruption charges.
The reporters write:
With few expecting Kilpatrick or contractor Bobby Ferguson to testify in their ongoing racketeering trial, their intimate conversations have provided jurors with a rare insight into their private actions. Tuesday might have been the worst day so far for the defense.
"Your team got Heilmann," city official Vincent Anwunah told Ferguson in a text on June 18, 2003, referring to Ferguson's pending bid for a $7 million contract to build an east-side recreation center.
"Yeah I know. Thanks," Ferguson replied.
One problem: The contract wouldn't be awarded by the Detroit Building Authority until the next day.
The News reports that the feds have used dozens of text messages in trial to try and show that Kilpatrick and Ferguson conspired to financially benefit from have power at city hall. Interestingly, it was text messages that helped send Kilpatrick to prison in his state case after he was caught lying in a civil case.
The News wrote of the texts:
It's a powerful tool that's rarely available — most phone companies delete text messages after just a few days. In the Kilpatrick case, however, hundreds of thousands were retrieved years ago, giving investigators a real-time glimpse into the inner workings of the Kilpatrick administration.
"What's in the text messages is both contemporaneous and tells you what was going on," said Peter Henning, a Wayne State law professor and former federal prosecutor. "Documents don't have a faulty memory and they don't make deals."
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20121219/METRO/212190347#ixzz2FUpqJqMr
