Why does ole Ray look so glum?
Ray Nagin came into the mayor's office in New Orleans as an avowed
scourge of corruption and led the city through the worst disaster of its
modern history.
He left a federal
courthouse a convict, after 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.
"He got a lot of media
attention as being a reformer, a non-politician, first run for office --
a businessman who was going to come in and get it right," said Pat
Fanning, a veteran New Orleans lawyer and no fan of the former two-term
mayor.
After Hurricane Katrina
ravaged the city in 2005, the onetime cable television executive would
reassure people queasy about sending taxpayer money to a state with an
epic history of corruption by telling them, "Google me. You're not going
to find any of that in my record," Fanning said, quoting Nagin. "Well,
Google him now."
Nagin, who left office in
2010, had little to say as he left the courthouse Wednesday afternoon,
telling reporters only, "I maintain my innocence." A small knot of
supporters yelled, "Keep your head up" and "He's just a patsy," CNN
affiliate WDSU reported.
His lead attorney, Robert Jenkins, told reporters his client would appeal the verdict.
"We did the best we could do," Jenkins said.
Prosecutors argued the
57-year-old 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. He faces up to 20 years in prison, but Fanning said a 14- to
17-year term was more likely.
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 January 2013 indictment.
During the two-week
trial, prosecutors brought to the stand a string of businessmen who had
already pleaded guilty to bribing Nagin. His defense did little to
challenge their stories, Fanning said.
"It was too painful
actually to watch. They just swamped him," he said. And when Nagin took
the stand in his own defense, "He did a belly flop," often answering
questions on cross-examination by saying he couldn't recall who paid for
a trip or perk.
Read More: CNN
