Even if Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick resigned, it would not spare him a trial on perjury and obstruction of justice charges, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy told the Detroit Free Press. Worthy said her team is ready to take on Dan Webb, a nationally renowned defense attorney and former federal prosecutor from the Chicago area. Worthy gained fame in 1992 for helping prosecute Larry Nevers and Walter Budzyn, two Detroit cops found guilty of beating Malice Green to death during a traffic stop outside a crack house. “I really think that the Nevers-Budzyn case was a bigger case for many reasons because of the time that it happened, because of what I think it gave people information about the justice system,” Worthy said.
Referring to the 12 felony counts she brought against Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, she added: “Certainly this is a major political figure that we did charge today, but I guess time is really going to tell about the impact that this case is going to have.” Worthy said, “There are 8.4 million reasons why we need to take a look at it and take a look at it seriously.” She was referring to the $8.4 million Kilpatrick asked the city to pay three former cops in exchange for a promise to keep secret the text messages between the mayor and Beatty that the Free Press later disclosed.
Link: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080325/NEWS01/803250395