City contracts tied to favors, cash, trips

Detroit — A wealthy local contractor says he lavished former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick with gifts and free trips on a private jet to preserve his multi-million business dealings with the city.

Anthony Soave, the former owner of a water and sewer line repair company, told federal jurors Wednesday that he began helping Kilpatrick after the mayor "held up" a $50 million contract until Soave dumped one minority contractor and hired Kilpatrick's friend, contractor Bobby Ferguson.

Soave said he pressed Kilpatrick in April 2002 why his contract wasn't moving forward. It was finalized during the waning days of his predecessor, Mayor Dennis Archer.

Kilpatrick was blunt, Soave said: "He told me I had the wrong subcontractor. I asked him what the right one was. He told me Ferguson was the right one. I told him, 'OK, I'll make the change.'"

By Mike Wilkinson and Robert Snell
From The Detroit News:

Are you in need of a criminal lawyer in Michigan?