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Matthew Hinton / AP
Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin arrives at the Hale Boggs Federal Building and U.S. District Courthouse to appear in federal court for an arraignment on public corruption charges in New Orleans.
Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin pleaded not guilty to a slew of federal corruption charges Wednesday afternoon, including bribery, conspiracy, and money laundering.
Nagin, 56, who gained national prominence after Hurricane Katrina devastated his city, is accused of accepting bribes or kickbacks from three prominent city contractors while New Orleans struggled to recover from the disaster. The graft schemes included $50,000 in free granite for Nagin's family countertop business and nine wire-transfer payoffs totaling $112,500.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Sally Shushan set Nagin's trial for April 29 at 10 a.m. The former mayor's bond was set at $100,000 during Wednesday's arraignment. His travel is confined to Louisiana and Texas, where Nagin now lives.
Wednesday's afternoon in court was his first public appearance since a federal grand jury delivered a 21-count public corruption indictment in January, Reuters reported.
Two of three city contractors who allegedly bribed Nagin -- Frank Fradella and Rodney Williams -- have signed plea deals that require them to testify against Nagin at his trial this spring.
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Williams has acknowledged a graft scheme in which he gave Nagin and his sons $72,500 in cash in exchange for the mayor's promise to direct city engineering contracts to Williams' former firm, Three Fold Consultants. Fradella has admitted to bribing Nagin with $50,000 and gifting him at least two truckloads of granite to Stone Age, LLC, Nagin's family countertop concern.
A third contractor, technology vendor Mark St. Pierre, is currently serving out a nearly 18-year prison sentence for bribing Greg Meffert, Nagin's one-time chief technology officer, who pleaded guilty to conducting under-the-table deals with St. Pierre.
Nagin, a former cable TV executive, emerged on the political scene in 2002, with his first successful run for the top spot at City Hall. He was a fixture of news coverage after Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast, known for his brash and unorthodox style.
But after Nagin was re-elected for a second term in 2006, he was criticized for what was widely seen as a slow post-Katrina recovery and fell out of favor with many of his constituents.
Mitch Landrieu, who ran against Nagin in the 2006 election cycle, succeeded him in 2010. Term limits prevented Nagin from seeking a third stint in office.
Leave a Comment:
Willy Wonka & his Chocolate City is being framed by the Vanilla Government.
myname123: nagin called New Orleans after Katrina "the chocolate city that nobody cared about"
study up on past events before you start calling people racist !
Mr chocolate city, will reside in a chocolate prison !
I wonder if he'll be charged for the theft of the legal firearms stolen at his direction from the citizens of New Orleans.
That should equate to numerous felonies and quite a bit of jail time.
Will they prosecute him for the violation of the citizens Constitutional rights?
I doubt it the media has already swept those crimes under the rug.
Will he be blaming George Bush for this too?
my first thought, too
Hey, This is New Orleans we are talking about. Corruption is not tolerated, it is a requirement.
Just like Chicago.
C'mon,you know it's white peoples' fault.NOLA is a stinkhole.Next time it floods they need to let the ocean have what it wants
New Orleans was a cesspool before Katrina, during Katrina and still is today.
Suck off. You have to had been there flavor the savor. If you haven't then shut the PHUCK UP.
Gee, another corrupt liberal.
Who will be the biggest loser? Nagin or Jesse Jackson, Jr.?
.
steven
I guess you can take the man out of the Republican Party. But you can't take the republican out of the man.
notwithstanding that he switched to the Democratic party in order to get elected, and ran his entire elective career as a Democrat. The company you keep, I guess.
He's either going for Jackson Jr.'s apartment in Chicago, or the salvage rights to Detroit.
This Punk and all those associated with this fiasco need to be put away for a good long time. This punk, spent the other half of his time berating every external resource that was trying to provide assistance, raised the race card and all the time, was spending more time making sure he got HIS money, before the citizens got the help and assistance. Let's also keep in mind, this PUNK 'hero' was executing all of this from Texas, since he abandoned his post as Mayor. Nagin, You have to be a very special person to accomplish all this. Hope you enjoy your new cellmate, I am sure he will look to give you a lot of love!
The problem we have here is that there are "people" out there that voted for him and still believe in him.
Nagin types only get there because some pretty stupid people voted for him.
Nothing good about NO except for the food.
A slap on the wrist. After all, He has the big D after his name
river
Or is it because he still has the big R tattooed on his back?
Sounds like the former mayor of Richmond, VA (Doug Wilder), and his son--wasting city funds to the tune of a couple million $$ and son using political campaign funds for his personal use. Documented in Richmond Times Dispatch. Wilder also fiddled with funds donated for a slave museum in Fredericksburg, VA. City of Fredericksburg started the process of claiming the land for back taxes. However, contributors bailed him out on this at the last minute. Wilder thought he was a dictator with no accountability to the taxpayers.
These politicians become so arrogant and self serving that they let their greed ruin their good name.Another person who could have done some good but chose to go down the wrong road.When he spoke up after Katrina I had the highest respect for this man.
Regardless of how long he served as mayor of New Orleans, he deserves a longer stint in the Federal Penitentiary. NOLA is a very poor city, with huge needs for its citizens. And this guy, like so many other Louisiana politicians, turns out to be just another common thief. What a disgrace! I hope he gets a cell mate who will really extract some justice on behalf of the people. And, I don't think Mr. Nagin will find that as much fun as eating and drinking (and stealing) in the French Quarter.
Everyone seems to have forgotten about the 200 invisible police officers the Feds were trying to find after the hurricane. It was originally thought they were mia in the storm , blew out to sea or something, but it was later discovered that they were only present on paper.
Nagin and the police chief were using the funds for these imaginary workers and keeping their benefits and wages fro themselves.
gotta love all this chocolate love.
I guess they will blame Bush.
Lazarus
I sorta liked that guy.. shows you don't it.
Politicians=Crooks. They are a dime a dozen. You see it everyday. They are in for themselves. Mayors, Governors, House, Senate. How many stories have come out this past 10 years? Now that cities are going bankrupt and tax funds dry up who can you turn to for help? Hard to find good help these days.
why would anyone want to be in government unless it was corrupt.
Like dysfunctional and corrupt Detroit, this mayors desire to Chocolatize his city was far too ambitious. If he had only followed his buddy Kwame Kirkpatricks approach to steal the city dry and then give the millions to his poor wife and kids to keep them from becoming destitute in their current Texas mansion. City government pay so well these days when run by people that look like this guy.
Politician is like a Prostitute - It's just a matter of Price.
That's all he's accused of stealing, $200K+/-? Then no, he didn't do it. Too little to bother with.
Folks, it's each man for himself these days. Your government can't do a thing for you, as corporations have taken over and shipped our jobs to china to make larger profits for their executives. They have bought off these government reps like Pelosi, who seems to have engaged in insider trading for some time, and smiles away each accusation, just like Hillary Clinton and Bill used to do. Blowjob Bill Clinton, Alcoholic George Bush, and now Weak-For-China Obama have all been fools in office. Grab what you cab folks, and hide it. The government is coming for more money because they need it to pay themselves large salaries and free healthcare and huge pensions. Are you sick of it? I can't hear you. ARE YOU SICK OF IT?
Howdy School Bus Nagin How ya doin?
New Orleans is a "CHOCOLATE CITY." According to mayor School Bus Nagin.
Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate, Ray Nagin was a Chocolate Lover.
That is too bad I always thought he was OK - too bad!!@!