Ex-New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin Indicted On Corruption Charges
New Orleans, LA – Former mayor Ray Nagin has been indicted on 21 corruption charges. The federal allegations levied against Nagin include bribery, wire fraud, and money laundering. The charges stem from a corruption investigation at New Orleans City Hall.
The New Orleans corruption case already resulted in four guilty pleas. Two former officials and two businessmen pleaded guilty in the case, USA Today reports. Before being elected as New Orleans mayor, Ray Nagin was a cable television executive.
Nagin is accused of taking gifts and bribes from city contractors, the Times Picayune. The former mayor is also charged with using his power to leverage a contract from Home Depot. The charges also include nine counts of deprivation of honest services. The former mayor is charged with four counts of filing false tax returns.
Nagin was elected to office in 2002. When Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Crescent City, Nagin was thrust into the national spotlight. The former New Orleans Mayor’s colorful phrasing often landed him into hot water. During an interview after Hurricane Katrina Nagin had this to say:
“Get every doggone Greyhound bus line in the country and get their a***s moving to New Orleans.”
The mayor publicly apologized in 2006 for stating that New Orleans would be a “chocolate city” during MLK Day speech. A surge in violent crime in NOLA after Hurricane Katrina and the city hall corruption investigation took a toll on Nagin’s popularity.
Ray Nagin’s Twitter profile noes he is an author, green energy entrepreneur, and a public speaker. Nagin self-published Katrina’s Secrets: Storms After the Storm, after leaving office.
