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(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)
BY STEVEN SPARKMAN ANCHOR CHRISTIAN BRYANT
The former mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, who presided over the city during Hurricane
Katrina, has been indicted on corruption charges.
“The charges included wire fraud, bribery and money laundering. They stem from a city
hall corruption investigation that resulted in guilty pleas from two former city officials
and two businessmen.” (Video via MSNBC)
He faces a total of 21 charges. They center around those two businessmen, and accuses
the former mayor of profiting from his city’s disaster.
“This is involving two businessmen who, in exchange for paying the former mayor and
his company, in turn, this indictment alleges, got millions of dollars of contracts from
the city of New Orleans for rebuilding after Katrina.” (Video via CNN)
The Times-Picayune reports the specifics of the charges, like accepting $50,000 and truckloads
of free granite for his construction company, accepting $72,000 in bribes, giving certain
businesses special treatment, failing to report his income.
Mayor Nagin became a controversial figure after Katrina, in no small part due to his
famous “Chocolate City” speech in 2006.
“It’s time for us to rebuild a New Orleans the one that should be: a chocolate New Orleans.
… This city will be a majority African American city. It’s the way God wants it to be.”
(Video via WWLTV)
If convicted, Nagin faces between 15 and 25 years in prison.