Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin Sentenced to 10 Years

By Aura Bogado Jul 09, 2014

A federal judge sentenced former New Orleans, La., Mayor Ray Nagin to 10 years in prison for corruption. Nagin was convicted in February but learned his fate today. The former mayor, whose pleas for help during Hurricane Katrina drew national attention in 2005, was convicted in February of accepting bribes in the form of money, resources and vacations from companies that wanted city contacts. 

The New York Times offers details:

Mr. Nagin, a Democrat, was found guilty in February on 20 counts, most relating to kickbacks from contractors looking for city work. He was arrested in January 2013, nearly three years after he left office. He was charged with taking kickbacks in the form of cash, cross-country trips or help with the family-run granite countertop company; the bribes were handed out by men looking for city business ranging from software supplies to sidewalk repair. Many of the schemes, though not all, took place after Hurricane Katrina, when contractors crowded into the city for rebuilding work.

Many of those involved eventually pleaded guilty and testified at length against Mr. Nagin at his trial.

The corruption had been so thoroughly covered in the local news media that few people were surprised by the verdicts in February. Mr. Nagin had come into office in 2002 as a reformer from the business world and a foe of cronyism. But the city grew frustrated with his stewardship, particularly in his second term when the rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina stalled and Mr. Nagin seemed unengaged. By the time he left office in 2010, many in New Orleans had moved past frustration and were simply ready to see him go.

Nagin set to turn himself in to authorities to serve his time in federal prison in September.