On a tip from my brother Gary
Ray Nagin: Former New Orleans Mayor Indicted for Bribery
Which one is the biggest crook?
The one on the left should be in jail. Second one is going. Third is already there.
It's a touching family portrait. Like the black version of the The Sopranos.
He was the guy who was going to make New Orleans "chocolate again". But it appears he is better suited at making license plates.
BTW... imagine the repercussions if a white Republican had said... We're going to make New Orleans Vanilla again.
Boy was Bush right about this guy!
Excerpt from [Decision Points] which I highly recommend reading especially if you happen to hate Bush.
Bush speaking on Air Force One:
"Who's in charge of security in New Orleans? My question silenced the raucous discussion in the Air Force One conference room on Friday Sept. 2, 2005. The governor is in charge," Mayor Nagin said, pointing across the dark wood table at Gov. Kathleen Blanco.
"Every head pivoted in her direction. The Louisiana governor froze. She looked agitated and exhausted. 'I think it's the mayor.'
This from Wikipedia. Remember the buses in the parking lot sent to help evacuate the city?
They all drowned.
How many taxpayer dollars were wasted on this stunt alone?
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was also criticized for failing to implement his evacuation plan and for ordering residents to a shelter of last resort without any provisions for food, water, security, or sanitary conditions. Perhaps the most important criticism of Nagin is that he delayed his emergency evacuation order until less than a day before landfall, which led to hundreds of deaths of people who (by that time) could not find any way out of the city. Adding to the criticism was the broadcast of school bus parking lots full of yellow school buses which Mayor Nagin refused to be used in evacuation. When asked why the buses were not used to assist evacuations instead of holing up in the Superdome, Nagin cited the lack of insurance liability and shortage of bus drivers.
They couldn't find any bus drivers because it was in their best interest to stay behind... I mean..you were expecting them to miss out on the looting?
Federal prosecutors today announced a 21-count indictment against former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, accused of enriching himself as the city struggled to rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Nagin is accused of using the office of mayor to steer city projects to business associates who, in turn, allegedly paid kickbacks and bribes and flew him on lavish free trips to Hawaii, Jamaica, and Las Vegas.
Nagin was charged with bribery, honest service wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and filing false tax returns.
"The defendant C. Ray Nagin, knowingly devised a scheme and artifice to defraud the City of New Orleans and its citizens of his honest services through bribery and a kickback scheme, whereby Mayor Nagin used his public office and his official capacity to provide favorable treatment that benefitted the business and financial interests of individuals providing him with bribery/kickback payoffs in the form of checks, cash, granite inventory, wire transfers personal services and free travel," the indictment said.
The indictment charges that Nagin established a family company in 2005 called Stone Age LLC and allegedly put bribes and kickback checks into the firm's accounts.
"Nagin on or about May 23, 2006 accepted a bribery/kickback payoff from Businessman 'A' in the form of private jet travel and limousine services to New York City," the indictment alleges.
The indictment says that on the same day, Nagin allegedly waived penalties that were owed by the businessman on a delinquent tax bill owed to the City of New Orleans.
The indictment also alleges Nagin accepted $50,000 from businessman Frank Fradella as well as monthly wire transfers of $12,500 that totaled $112,500. Fradella pleaded guilty to bribing a New Orleans city official in June 2012.
Prosecutors alleged that on June 20, 2009 Nagin awarded a $1 million Katrina sidewalk repair project to a local businessman. On June 21, the very next day, a Nagin family member allegedly was paid a $10,000 kickback from that businessman.
"This indictment should serve as a reminder to current and former public officials that, in the interest of full accountability, the FBI pursues corruption even after an official leaves office," said Michael Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's New Orleans Field Office.
A defense attorney for Nagin could not be identified from the court docket. Nagin, who served as New Orleans' mayor from 2002 to 2010, is expected to have a court appearance later this month.
