MichiganRadio

Attorney: Text Messages Were Not Extortion Tool DETROIT, MI (Associated Press) -


The lawyer who acquired sexually explicit text messages that led to the downfall of a Detroit mayor says they were not an extortion tool to get money from Kwame Kilpatrick.

Mike Stefani ended his testimony Wednesday at the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board. He's accused of unethical conduct while getting an $8.4 million settlement on behalf of police officers who claimed they were illegally demoted or dismissed.

Stefani says he already had won a jury verdict. The settlement came after the 2007 trial and stopped any appeal by the city.

Stefani says he doesn't know if a Detroit Free Press story revealing the texts was based on the ones he gave the newspaper. But he says the time period appears to be the same.
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