After tough day of court, Kwame Kilpatrick reunited with old jail friend

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Going to war with the feds can make any man feel lonely.  So when Kwame Kilpatrick emerged from federal court Thursday after taking a beating from prosecutors, he was no doubt relieved to see a familiar face.

Even if he met him in prison. 

The former mayor warmly greeted "Tony," an old friend he'd met at the Robert Cotton Correctional Facility, first giving him a handshake, then pulling him in for a hug.

"He's my main man," Tony said smiling.  He declined to give us his last name.

The two became fast, if not unlikely friends inside the Jackson, Michigan prison.  They worked out together, chatted during breakfast and even traded dishes during lunch. Kilpatrick really liked the prison's chicken. Tony wasn't a fan. 

"I'd been in prison 14 years by the time he got there. I'd had enough of the chicken," Tony said with a smile. 

And Kilpatrick didn't just give his friend food: he offered him advice, too. Tony said they often talked about studying law, even though Kilpatrick's law license was taken away in 2008.  He's started taking law classes, and says his life is on the right track.