Donors to Detroit mayor's legal fund owe taxes

Chicagotribune.com

Three of more than 30 companies and individuals who have contributed to Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's legal defense fund owe more than $820,000 in state and federal taxes, according to records reviewed by The Detroit News.

The newspaper reports Saturday that the tax delinquents include the company that owns the Sheraton Detroit Riverside hotel. The owners of the former Hotel Pontchartrain donated $3,000 despite owing $501,299 in state taxes.

Brian Jeffries, president and chief executive of Detroit-based Ambassador Capital Management, gave the fund $10,000. Jeffries and his wife owe the Internal Revenue Service $290,803 in federal income taxes, according to filings with the Oakland County Register of Deeds office.