Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was found guilty of bribery and fraud today.
Nagin made a name for himself when he renamed New Orleans “Chocolate City.”
FOX News reported:
Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was convicted Wednesday on charges that he accepted bribes, free trips and other gratuities from contractors in exchange for helping them secure millions of dollars in city work while he was in office, including right after Hurricane Katrina.
The federal jury found Nagin guilty of 20 of 21 counts against him. He sat quietly at the defense table after the verdict was read and his wife, Seletha, was being consoled in the front row.
Before the verdict, the 57-year-old Ray Nagin said outside the New Orleans courtroom: “I’ve been at peace with this for a long time. I’m good.”
The Democrat, who left office in 2010 after eight years, was indicted in January 2013 on charges he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and truckloads of free granite for his family business in exchange for promoting the interests of local businessman Frank Fradella.
He also was charged with accepting thousands of dollars in in payoffs from another businessman, Rodney Williams, for his help in securing city contracts.
Nagin is best remembered for his impassioned pleas for help after levees broke during Hurricane Katrina, flooding much of New Orleans and plunging the city into chaos.
Nagin was found guilty of 20 and 21 counts:
Count 1: Conspiracy – Guilty
The charge: Creating, through a variety of bribes and kickbacks, “a scheme and artifice to defraud” the residents of New Orleans of his honest services as a public official. Many of the individual elements of this scheme make up the other 20 crimes with which Nagin was charged.
Maximum prison term: 5 yearsCount 2: Bribery – Guilty
The charge: Accepting $60,000 from the three principals of Three Fold Consulting, an engineering firm, in exchange for special treatment.
Maximum prison term: 10 yearsCount 3: Bribery – Guilty
The charge: Accepting a $2,500 bribe from Rodney Williams, a principal in Three Fold Consulting, in exchange for favorable treatment.
Maximum prison term: 10 yearsCount 4: Bribery – Guilty
The charge: Accepting a shipment of granite from Frank Fradella’s company, Home Solutions, in exchange for favorable treatment.
Maximum prison term: 10 yearsCount 5: Bribery – Guilty
The charge: Accepting a $50,000 bribe from Frank Fradella’s company, Home Solutions, in exchange for favorable treatment.
Maximum prison term: 10 yearsCount 6: Bribery – Guilty
The charge: Accepting a second shipment of granite from Frank Fradella’s company, Home Solutions, in exchange for favorable treatment.
Maximum prison term: 10 yearsCount 7: Bribery – Not Guilty
The charge: Accepting a $10,000 bribe arranged by Rodney Williams, a principal in Three Fold Consultants.
Maximum prison term: 10 yearsCount 8: Wire Fraud – Guilty
The charge: Accepting, via interstate wire transfer, a $12,500 check from a company associated with Frank Fradella, ostensibly for consulting services after Nagin left office, but really a reward for favorable treatment.
Maximum prison term: 20 yearsCount 9: Wire Fraud – Guilty
The charge: Accepting, via interstate wire transfer, a $12,500 check from a company associated with Frank Fradella, ostensibly for consulting services after Nagin left office, but really a reward for favorable treatment.
Maximum prison term: 20 yearsCount 10: Wire Fraud – Guilty
The charge: Accepting, via interstate wire transfer, a $12,500 check from a company associated with Frank Fradella, ostensibly for consulting services after Nagin left office, but really a reward for favorable treatment.
Maximum prison term: 20 yearsCount 11: Wire Fraud – Guilty
The charge: Accepting, via interstate wire transfer, a $12,500 check from a company associated with Frank Fradella, ostensibly for consulting services after Nagin left office, but really a reward for favorable treatment.
Maximum prison term: 20 yearsCount 12: Wire Fraud – Gulity
The charge: Accepting, via interstate wire transfer, a $12,500 check from a company associated with Frank Fradella, ostensibly for consulting services after Nagin left office, but really a reward for favorable treatment.
Maximum prison term: 20 yearsCount 13: Wire Fraud – Guilty
The charge: Accepting, via interstate wire transfer, a $12,500 check from a company associated with Frank Fradella, ostensibly for consulting services after Nagin left office, but really a reward for favorable treatment.
Maximum prison term: 20 yearsCount 14: Wire Fraud – Guilty
The charge: Accepting, via interstate wire transfer, a $12,500 check from a company associated with Frank Fradella, ostensibly for consulting services after Nagin left office, but really a reward for favorable treatment.
Maximum prison term: 20 yearsCount 15: Wire Fraud – Guilty
The charge: Accepting, via interstate wire transfer, a $12,500 check from a company associated with Frank Fradella, ostensibly for consulting services after Nagin left office, but really a reward for favorable treatment.
Maximum prison term: 20 yearsCount 16: Wire Fraud – Guilty
The charge: Accepting, via interstate wire transfer, a $12,500 check from a company associated with Frank Fradella, ostensibly for consulting services after Nagin left office, but really a reward for favorable treatment.
Maximum prison term: 20 yearsCount 17: Money Laundering Conspiracy -Guilty
The charge: Conspiring with others to accept money derived from illegal activity, i.e. bribes, and transferring those proceeds through the financial system.
Maximum prison term: 10 yearsCount 18: Filing a false tax return – Guilty
The charge: Misstating income on his 2005 tax return.
Maximum prison term: 3 yearsCount 19: Filing a false tax return – Guilty
The charge: Misstating income on his 2006 tax return.
Maximum prison term: 3 yearsCount 20: Filing a false tax return – Guilty
The charge: Misstating income on his 2007 tax return.
Maximum prison term: 3 yearsCount 21: Filing a false tax return – Guilty
The charge: Misstating income on his 2008 tax return.
Maximum prison term: 3 years
