Detroit bans Bobby Ferguson, ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pal, from securing city contracts

Detroit's inspector general has banned a longtime friend of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from pursuing contracts with the city.

Bobby W. Ferguson, who was convicted as part of a public corruption scandal with Kilpatrick, is debarred for 20 years, with an effective date of March 11, 2013, and ending March 11, 2033. Ferguson is also prohibited from serving as a “subcontractor or as a goods, services or materials supplier for any contract” for the city, according to the inspector general's report.

The order also means that no company Ferguson owns or for which he is an officer or has a direct or indirect financial or beneficial interest may do business with the city as a contractor or subcontractor through the debarment period.

The Office of the Inspector General opened a complaint involving Ferguson on Dec. 18.

What Ferguson still owes

Ferguson in 2013 was convicted of nine felonies, including racketeering, extortion and bribery related to city contracts. He was sentenced to 252 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $6.2 million in restitution to the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and was released in April 2021 on compassionate grounds.

To date, he owes more than $2.6 million to Water and Sewerage after payments and credit for assets seized by the federal government, according to the report. His restitution also was reduced by court-approved amendments. Shortly after his release in 2021, the inspector general discovered Ferguson opened the Ferguson Group V LLC and was informed that he approached a "high-ranking city of Detroit official" about potentially securing a contract with their department.

Inspector General Ellen Ha said in a statement that she is fulfilling the city's mandate to debar contractors who violate the law.

"The City of Detroit Office of Inspector General was established in response to major corruption in city government due in part to city contractors, like Bobby Ferguson, who spent years in federal prison for his role in a wide-ranging corruption scheme involving City of Detroit contracts. We have a clear and direct mandate to hold contractors accountable and prevent those who would violate the trust of the citizens by illegally benefitting from taxpayers’ hard earned dollars," Ha said in a statement.

A message was left with one of Ferguson's former attorneys.

The city canceled more than $1 million in contracts awarded to a firm owned by his daughter after concerns surfaced that Ferguson would profit off the company, BridgeDetroit reported. Details emerged amid questions about the connection between Ferguson and his daughter’s company, which shares a business address with Ferguson’s company.

The inspector general's full report is available online, along with the city's debarment list.

Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@freepress.com. Follow her: @DanaAfana.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Kwame Kilpatrick friend Bobby Ferguson banned from Detroit contracts