Ex-Detroit mayor sentenced to 28 years on public corruption conviction

DETROIT (Reuters) - A federal judge sentenced former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on Thursday to 28 years in prison on his conviction for public corruption charges including bribery and extortion that prosecutors said exacerbated the city's financial crisis. Kilpatrick, 43, was once seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party and has been held in custody since his conviction in March on two dozen charges that included racketeering conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, and tax counts. Kilpatrick spent lavishly at the helm of a conspiracy that damaged Detroit's reputation and cost taxpayers millions of dollars, Judge Nancy Edmunds said, adding that the sentence was intended to send a message that corruption won't be tolerated. (Reporting by Steve Neavling; Writing by David Bailey; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)