Ex-Detroit mayor convicted of racketeering

(DETROIT FREE PRESS) Former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his longtime friend have just been convicted of racketeering and extortion, marking an end to a more than decade-long public corruption investigation.

The verdicts have all been announced. Free Press staff writer Jim Schaefer is blogging live from the courthouse right now; click here to follow the blog.

Kilpatrick, his father Bernard Kilpatrick and his contractor friend Bobby Ferguson faced a combined 45 charges accusing them of racketeering, extortion, bribery and mail fraud, among other things.