Luke Skywalker
Super Moderator
{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:
- NEW: A judge orders Nagin to pay $84,264 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service
- He was convicted this year on corruption charges
- The former mayor maintains his innocence
(CNN) -- Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday in a bribery scandal that rocked the city, the U.S. Justice Department said.
U.S. District Judge Helen G. Berrigan also ordered that Nagin pay $84,264 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
In February, a jury found him guilty of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and other favors from businessmen looking for a break from his administration.
Of the 21 counts against him, he was convicted of 20.
A reformer who led New Orleans through its worst disaster in modern history, Ray Nagin was convicted of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and other favors from businessmen looking for a break from his administration. He was convicted of 20 of the 21 corruption-related counts against him and faces up to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors said Nagin, 57, was at the center of a kickback scheme in which he received checks, cash, wire transfers, personal services and free travel from businessmen seeking contracts and favorable treatment from his city.
Charlotte, North Carolina, Mayor Patrick Cannon, 47, faces federal theft and bribery charges after being accused of taking tens of thousands of dollars "in exchange for the use of his official position," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Authorities launched a corruption investigation in 2010, using FBI agents posing as real estate developers and investors looking to do business in Charlotte, prosecutors say. Investigators allege that on five occasions Cannon took gifts from the agents, including airline tickets, a hotel room, a luxury apartment and more than $48,000 in collective cash.
Marion Barry can be considered a symbol of political disgrace and political resurrection. There was the infamous 1990 drug conviction, a six-month jail sentence and a 2005 guilty plea to misdemeanor tax charges. He was stripped of virtually all executive power when Congress created a control board to oversee the city's financial operations after his drug conviction. Barry overcame the scandal and reclaimed his office in 1994. In 2009, while Barry was serving on the city council, U.S. Park Police arrested him on what they said was suspicion of stalking, but prosecutors later declined to pursue the case.
Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced to 28 years in prison in 2013 after he was convicted of two dozen federal charges, including racketeering, extortion and filing false tax returns. He was accused of using the mayor's office to enrich himself and associates. Detroit's mayor from 2002 until he resigned in 2008, Kilpatrick was the biggest target of a years-long Detroit City Hall corruption investigation that led to the convictions of two dozen people. Those convicted included several of his closest friends and former City Councilwoman Monica Conyers, the wife of U.S. Rep. John Conyers. Federal prosecutors alleged that Kilpatrick ran a criminal enterprise through the mayor's office to enrich himself through bid rigging and extortion, and using nonprofit funds for personal gain.
In December, former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner was sentenced to 90 days in home confinement, three years' probation and fines totaling about $1,500 for assaulting three women while in office. The 71-year-old pleaded guilty in October to forcibly kissing or grabbing three women at campaign events or at City Hall -- one a felony false imprisonment charge, the other two misdemeanor battery charges. Filner entered the guilty plea under a deal with prosecutors. The three women were among 19 who accused him of offensive behavior during his tenure as mayor and as a congressman.
Former Providence, Rhode Island, Mayor Vincent "Buddy" Cianci was convicted of corruption in the summer of 2002. He was mayor of Providence for parts of four decades before he was sentenced to five years and four months in prison as part of an FBI investigation into corruption at City Hall. Speaking in court before his sentencing, Cianci maintained his innocence, said he loved the city that he had dedicated himself to and had never meant to do anything wrong. Before announcing the sentence, U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres said this is "a sad day for Providence." He said Cianci had "rare vision and boundless energy" and had "played a great role in the renaissance of the city." A federal appeals court later vacated the prison sentence and ordered that he be resentenced.
Photos: Mayors in trouble
The former mayor maintained his innocence even after the conviction.
Ray Nagin gets 10 years in prison
Prosecutors argued that Nagin was at the center of a kickback scheme in which he received checks, cash, wire transfers, personal services and free travel from businessmen seeking contracts and favorable treatment from the city.
A January 2013 indictment detailed more than $200,000 in bribes to the mayor, and his family members allegedly received a vacation in Hawaii; first-class airfare to Jamaica; private jet travel and a limousine for New York City; and cellular phone service. In exchange, businesses that coughed up for Nagin and his family won more than $5 million in city contracts, according to the indictment.
Few tears shed for Nagin in the city he once led
