Kwame Kilstripper Reign Of Terror Is Over For Now.

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick would plead guilty to at least two felonies, pay a six-figure restitution and agree not to run for office for two years under a plea deal offered by his lawyers to settle perjury and obstruction of justice charges, the Free Press has learned.

The deal would mean Kilpatrick would automatically lose the mayor's office and his law license. Under the proposal, he would also sign over his state pension and benefits to the City of Detroit, do 300 hours of community service with homeless and disabled people, and serve up to five years probation, according to a source familiar with all aspects of the negotiations. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy hasn't accepted the deal because she wants jail time, a condition the mayor rejects.

In a letter delivered to Worthy late Friday, the mayor's defense team proposed having a neutral legal statesman assess the offer. The letter suggests U.S. District Chief Judge Bernard Friedman, former U.S. Attorney Saul Green, retired Wayne County Prosecutor John O'Hair or retired 36th District Court Chief Judge Alex Allen.

The window for a deal narrowed this past week. A judge is expected to rule Tuesday on whether Gov. Jennifer Granholm can proceed with a hearing Wednesday to remove the mayor. The hearing, sought by the Detroit City Council, was challenged by the mayor's lawyers last week. If the defense team loses, the incentive to negotiate disappears.

The extraordinary move to name an elder statesman came after talks stalled last Wednesday on whether Kilpatrick would go to jail as part of a deal. Sources close to the prosecution said jail has always been part of Worthy's position, while others said the mayor's new defense team would not have gone into plea talks if members had known she would ask for jail time. According to the source, jail time was not discussed during seven days of intense negotiations for a deal.

The deal proposed by the defense will also allow the text messages that led to the charges to be used in other investigations, said the source, who characterized the talks as professional and focused because both sides knew the clock was ticking.

Adding a facilitator is unusual

Worthy dashed cold water Saturday on the notion of an evaluator or facilitator.

The Wayne County Prosecutor's office does not use facilitators to resolve our cases, Worthy spokeswoman Maria Miller said.

Friedman, reached Saturday, said he would consider being a facilitator if it is allowed by judicial ethics.

I'm flattered my name was mentioned, but I haven't heard a thing about it, he said. I'm always up for a challenge.

Allen, saying that unusual situations sometimes require fresh approaches, added, It would be unique in criminal cases. In civil cases, it does work. The percentages say it is a wise thing to do.

O'Hair and Green could not be reached for comment.

David A. Moran, a University of Michigan Law School professor, said he'd never heard of such a tactic.

I've handled hundreds and hundreds of criminal cases, and I don't believe the words mediation' or arbitration' have ever been uttered, Moran said. I suppose there's no reason not to try mediation, but it's only an option if both sides are willing to mediate. Normally, prosecutors operate by saying: Take our offer or we'll go to trial.'

Ben Gonek, a Detroit defense attorney with connections to both sides, said he doubts the letter will succeed.

Any sitting judge that hears that the mayor used the privilege of his office to negotiate a plea deal would find that conduct absolutely reprehensible and probably use it to support an increased sentence, Gonek said.

Even though the mayor's criminal case has clouded Detroit for months, serious plea negotiations on the text message case didn't begin until Aug. 21 when three new defense lawyers Gerald Evelyn, Juan Mateo and Todd Flood were brought on board, according to the source. The three lawyers have deep local ties and were seen as able to reach out to the prosecution team.

The first sessions, held Aug. 21 and 22 in the prosecutor's office at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, laid out each side's base lines.

For prosecutors, the nonnegotiable points were pleas to multiple felonies, substantial restitution and hundreds of hours of community service.

Defense attorneys said the mayor would agree not to run for office for two years, give up his state pension and pay some restitution but do no jail time.

Extended talks took place last weekend, with evening telephone calls augmenting the face-to-face sessions.

By last Sunday, it was agreed that Kilpatrick would plead guilty to two felonies, giving him a nonexpungeable criminal record, pay a six-figure restitution, sign over his state pension to the city, not run for office for two years, have the prosecutor continue investigations from the text messages and do five years probation. State sentencing guidelines for two felonies call for probation or up to 17 months in jail as a minimum sentence.

The mayor also would do community service.

The mayor would not step down until the actual sentencing date, allowing for a transfer of office and the relocation of his family from the Manoogian Mansion.

On Monday, Christine Beatty's lawyer was brought into the picture. The resolution of her case like the mayor's separate assault case under Attorney General Mike Cox depends on first settling the mayor's perjury charges, the source said. In a likely deal for Beatty, she would face significantly reduced penalties compared with the mayor.

Presenting the deal to Worthy

On Tuesday, Evelyn made his personal pitch to Worthy, stressing the financial and personal toll the mayor would suffer under the deal, both immediately and for the rest of his life. A lost law license and enduring criminal record would cost millions in potential lifetime earnings. While he could reapply, his record would be a huge burden.

The deal, Evelyn said in his two-hour presentation, was a fair and efficient resolution without further legal punishment.

Worthy said she'd think about it overnight a heartening announcement, according to the source, because she wasn't rejecting the offer outright.

But on Wednesday, Worthy said Kilpatrick would have to serve 120 days in jail. That was a deal-breaker for the defense team, which had thought that mandatory jail wasn't part of the package.

By Thursday, media leaks indicated the jail time could be 90 or even 30 days but some jail time was mandatory. As those numbers were tossed around in news reports, the defense wrote Worthy seeking continued dialogue. She did not respond, according to the source.

On Friday, Dan Webb, the Chicago-based member of the defense team, argued in civil court to stop Granholm's hearing, while other lawyers drafted the letter suggesting that a respected, neutral facilitator be named.

The source said action on a deal has to come quickly especially given the Labor Day weekend.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Robert Ziolkowski will rule Tuesday morning on the defense effort to stop Granholm's hearing. That afternoon, Kilpatrick also faces a bond hearing before Circuit Court Judge David Groner in the assault case involving him and two investigators from the prosecutor's office trying to serve a subpoena on a Kilpatrick friend. The attorney general's offer to drop one felony charge in that case in exchange for a guilty plea expires at the end of the day.

On Wednesday, Granholm's hearing starts, and if the mayor is ousted, the incentive to deal vanishes leaving the potential for months of continued bitter and costly legal fighting with an uncertain outcome.

I guess tamara greene is reaching out from her grave with a vengence.