Former-mayor Ray Nagin, the face of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, was convicted Wednesday of accepting bribes and favors from contractors while in office.
Nagin left the federal courthouse in New Orleans a convict after a jury found him guilty of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and other favors from contractors looking to get in on the rebuilding action after Hurricane Katrina. The jury convicted Nagin on 20 of 21 counts of corruption.
Prosecutors argued that the disgraced mayor was at the middle of a kickback plan in which he received checks, cash, wire transfers, personal services and free travel from businessmen looking for contracts and preferential treatment from the city. Nagin faces up to 20 years in prison.
A January 2013 indictment listed more than $200,000 in bribes to Nagin. His family members supposedly got a vacation in Hawaii. There was also first-class airfare to Jamaica as well as private jet travel and a limousine for a New York City trip. Mr. Nagin also received cellular phone service from contractors. In exchange, Nagin hooked up these contractors with over $5 million in city contracts, according to the January 2013 indictment. Nagin also accepted truckloads of granite for Stone Age LLC, a business he and his sons owned.
The two-week trial heard a string of businessmen snitch on Nagin and when he took the stand in his own defense, he belly flopped rather significantly. Nagin now faces up to 20 years in jail. Is it enough?
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