DETROIT, MI — It's finally over.

Kwame Kilpatrick, the man whose big smile, slick suits and undeniable magnetism inspired, and some would say duped so many, is going to prison.

Federal Judge Nancy G. Edmunds on Thursday sentenced Detroit's ex-mayor to 28 years in a federal penitentiary.

When Kilpatrick addressed the court wearing his khaki prison uniform, he spoke softly and slowly.

He said being the mayor of Detroit was hard, "the hardest" thing he'd ever done. Six months in he "hated it," but said for men, and especially black men, crying or complaining is looked on as a sign of weakness. So he put on an air of confidence to push through the struggle, which Kilpatrick says many people misconstrued as arrogance.

Kilpatrick apologized to his family and residents "being held hostage" in their neighborhoods, he apologized for leaving the city in 2008 when the recession struck.

He said it's time for Detroit to move on.

"It's over," he said. "I'm done."

Throughout the six-month trial that began in Sept. of 2012, Kilpatrick's confidence never wavered as he entered and exited the courthouse nearly daily donning suits, scarves, trench coats and colorful ties. The 6-foot, 4-inch-tall former Florid A&M University football player seemed unfazed by the potential punishment that lay before him.

The first time the now-43-year-old appeared vulnerable was on March 11, when a jury of Kilpatrick's peers found him guilty of 24 felonies related to public corruption, including racketeering, bribery and extortion. His father, Bernard Kilpatrick, shed tears as his son's verdict was read.

Kilpatrick fought to remain free on bond. Edmunds denied the request. U.S. Marshals loaded him into a van destined for a federal prison in Milan with co-defendants and longtime friend Bobby Ferguson, who was also found guilty of nine crimes.

There they have lived since, filing motions for release that were never granted.

Kilpatrick is leaving behind three sons, the eldest twins, and wife Carlita Kilpatrick. His family moved to a suburb of Fort Worth, Texas when Kilpatrick went to jail after his 2008 obstruction of justice conviction for lying under oath about his affair with Chief of Staff Christine Beatty.

Kilpatrick, now 43, became Detroit's youngest mayor ever at age 32. Prosecutors say he used his position to generate enormous personal wealth for himself and those close to him, not to improve the city he claimed to love and grew up in.

While earning an annual salary ranging from $158,000 to $176,000, Kilpatrick used other means to enrich his bank account, federal prosecutors say.

He evaded taxes and spent $554,000 of funds raised by the Kwame Kilpatrick Civic Fund, which operated under the guise of a nonprofit, on campaigns, rental cars, summer camps for his children, debugging equipment, birthday parties, gifts to relatives, travel and a crisis manager after the text message scandal broke.

Prosecutors tabulated $64,000 spent on suits.

"In all, while he was mayor, he spent $540,000 in cash," Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Chutkow said during the opening statement of the trial. "This was over and above his salary, his payroll check, and it was not disclosed on his tax returns.

"And this was just a minimal, just the amount that these investigators here were able to readily trace."

Bobby Ferguson, Kilpatrick's friend since high school who operated Ferguson Enterprises, pocketed over $9 million from rigged bids he won during Kilpatrick's reign, prosecutors say.

What if any of that money made its way back to Kilpatrick, prosecutors could not prove. A lot of the money was converted into cash and cashier's checks.

Before Kilpatrick resigned in 2008, prosecutors presented evidence and testimony showing that Ferguson recruited Mahlon Cliftan, one of Kilpatrick's "best friends" who stood up in his wedding, to deliver him $90,000 dollars.

Cliftan taped the cash to his abdomen, flew to Chicago and hid the cash in the bag of a vacuum cleaner before delivering it to Kilpatrick and his wife in two installments.

Kilpatrick's former fundraiser, Emma Belle, who said she'd known Kilpatrick since he was a boy and regarded him as a son, earned over $900,000 in commissions collecting donations for Kilpatrick's nonprofit, although about half she kicked back to the mayor, she testified.

Prosecutors say Ferguson reaped more than anyone involved in the criminal scheme from contracts he secured through bids rigged with the help of Kilpatrick and water department boss Victor Mercado. Mercado bowed out of the trial early and accepted a prosecution deal to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion.

How Ferguson secured so many bids: Prosecutors say he piggybacked other companies that bid for work with the city. If he didn't get a cut as a subcontractor, he made sure Kilpatrick or Mercado didn't award the the business.

The sentencing concludes an 11-year chapter in Detroit's history that began with a rising star that burned hot and fast before twinkling away.

Since Kilpatrick's resignation, his successor, Mayor Dave Bing, has worked to restore a sense of honor to the office Kilpatrick left so tarnished.

The fallout is not complete. Ferguson faces a retrial for another public corruption indictment beginning next year, Kilpatrick's treasurer, Jeffrey Beasely, is likewise awaiting his own corruption trial. Those friends and confidants who turned on Kilpatrick — among them Belle, Mercado, aide Derrick Miller — and testified against their former leader in exchange for leniency in their own case, still await sentencing.

As he heads off for a lengthy stay in prison, the wake of Kwame Kilpatrick still ripples.