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It’s been a wild ride for Kwame Kilpatrick, the (now) ex-mayor of Detroit, Michigan. Besieged with scandals, court cases, prosecutions, and calls for his head, Kilpatrick finally bowed to the inevitable and resigned on Thursday, bringing a tumultuous tenure to an inglorious end.

Along with the resignation, Kilpatrick pled guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice and pled no contest to assaulting or obstructing a public officer. This all came as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

As part of the deal, Kilpatrick will serve two concurrent four-month sentences at the Wayne County Jail and also pay the city $1 million over the next five years. Kilpatrick also will lose his law license, his pension, and be ineligible to run for any elected office during that same five-year period.

The deal helps bring to a close one of the most bizarre stories this year involving a mayor. Kilpatrick had been charged with ten felony counts, so pleading guilty to two of them saves him on the other eight.

Kilpatrick, who was once a rising star in the Democratic party and had been praised by none other than current Democrat presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama, has had a lurid and highly public fall from grace.

In short, Kilpatrick lied under oath in an attempt to smear two Detroit police officers, resulting in the city of Detroit having to compensate the two men after Kilpatrick’s lies became public. He also tried to cover up a racy relationship with his then chief of staff, Christine Beatty. Beatty is also facing charges.

Kilpatrick had been hearing calls to resign for months now, as his guilt became increasingly apparent. Much like what happened with Richard Nixon, the cover-up became worse than the crime and eventually led to Kilpatrick’s downfall.

The plea deal was increasingly necessary, as it came under the wire for Kilpatrick. Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, a fellow Democrat, had been forced to start proceedings to have Kilpatrick removed from office by legal means. And if that had happened, there likely would have been no plea deal available at all for the former mayor.

Kilpatrick has been succeeded as mayor by Ken Cockrel, Jr., head of the city council, until a special interim election can be held.

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