He's spent the past months involved in a federal corruption trial, but Kwame Kilpatrick's reported probation violations run the risk of sending the former mayor of Detroit back behind bars.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Kilpatrick missed his last scheduled restitution payment -- a $500 check that was supposed to be sent to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office in November.
Kilpatrick, who was released from prison in August 2011, is still required to report to a parole officer until August 2013. He violated his probation by hiding assets in his plea deal negotiation after being convicted of two felonies in the text messaging scandal that resulted in his resignation from Detroit's highest office. He still owes $856,062.60 in restitution to the city of Detroit.
The office says the former mayor's last payment was made on Oct. 31.
The Detroit News also reports that Kilpatrick almost received a parole violation for failing to prove he performed community service until Dec. 3. The former mayor is being allowed to perform service at a Texas megachurch run by pastor T.D. Jakes, which received $13,000 in donations from him.
What's more, the News wrote that Kilpatrick "is receiving breaks from the state Department of Corrections," whom reportedly allowed the former mayor to skip working 16 hours of court-ordered community service in October if he worked 32 hours in November. Kilpatrick didn't complete the necessary hours, despite a three-week trial hiatus that began in late October.
MDOC spokesman Russ Marlan said the missing restitution payment is under investigation and declined further comment, the Free Press reports.
Kilpatrick's restitution was increased from a monthly $160 payment to $500 earlier this year. At the current rate, it would take him more than 140 years to pay the full amount.
According to the Free Press, Kilpatrick says he makes a living from booking speaking engagements around the country. Profits from sales of his book Surrendered! The Rise, Fall And Revelation of Kwame Kilpatrick must also go towards restitution payments.
Kilpatrick, longtime friend Bobby Ferguson and father Bernard Kilpatrick are currently on trial in federal court, fighting charges that they ran a criminal enterprise out of Detroit's City Hall. The trial is expected to continue through 2013.
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