Promise of appeal
The defendants were defiant up to the end.
Kilpatrick’s lawyer James Thomas said they will appeal, and Kilpatrick maintains his innocence.
“He is definitely going to pursue that with every ounce of his being,” he said. “I would expect that the judge is going to sentence him to a very difficult time. If that is the case, would you expect him to not do anything?”
Thomas said it was a difficult trial.
“It’s a disappointment, obviously,” Thomas said. “He’s a very strong individual. And it is disappointing to him, too. He has not lost his resolve to fight.”
Ferguson also proclaimed his innocence Monday and remained upbeat.
Coming out of the courthouse after the verdicts were announced, he said: “God is good.”
He answered a few questions, including whether he still maintains his innocence.
“Yes, sir,” he replied.
As he walked away, minority contractor Craig Davis Sr., owner of Craig’s Carpentry, shouted: “That’s what you get, Bobby Ferguson!”
Davis said he was glad to see a guilty verdict.
“I am extremely glad that the people voiced their concerns about this and that the prosecutors came forth and found this is a legitimate case, and that the jurors after months and months of deliberation decided their fate, and their fate was guilty,” he said.
When Bernard Kilpatrick was asked whether the jury got it wrong, he said: “Absolutely.”
Michael Rataj, Ferguson’s attorney, said he was surprised by the verdict and is considering an appeal.
“Anytime you put your heart and soul into something like we did with this, you’re disappointed,” he said. “You never really prepare yourself for this. I’m definitely shocked by the verdict.”
John Shea, Bernard Kilpatrick’s attorney, also expressed surprise and said his client “was very emotional.
“Like any father, his thoughts are with his son.”
Straight to jail
In most white-collar crime trials, defendants are allowed to remain free on bond until they are sentenced.
After the verdicts were announced, the prosecution argued Kwame Kilpatrick and Ferguson should be locked up immediately.
The government argued Kilpatrick has repeatedly ignored court orders, lied about and hidden assets in his state case and violated his parole conditions stemming from the text message scandal. Kilpatrick also has access to cash, the government argued, stressing he can’t be trusted not to flee.
Attorneys for Kilpatrick and Ferguson argued they should remain free on bond pending their sentencing and said they weren’t a flight risk.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds, who said it was the defendants’ burden to prove they can be trusted to remain free on bond, concluded Kilpatrick hadn’t proven that. She concluded the same for Ferguson, who has a 2005 felony conviction for pistol-whipping an employee and, the government says, was later found in possession of guns when he wasn’t supposed to have them.
Ferguson also has access to large amounts of cash and could use it to flee, the government argued.
“I think this is a close call,” Edmunds said after hearing arguments from both sides. Still, she ordered that both men be locked up pending their official sentencing dates, which have not yet been determined.