C. Ray Nagin, Former New Orleans Mayor, Found Guilty On Multiple Charges

Clarence Ray Nagin Jr., Former New Orleans Mayor, Found Guilty On 20 Charges Of Accepting Bribes

Facts:

Clarence Ray Nagin, 60th Mayor of New Orleans

• Was mayor of New Orleans from 2002 to 2010
• Was mayor during Hurricane Katrina
• Best known for his "Chocolate City" speech immediately after Hurricane Katrina

 Former New Orleans mayor, Ray Nagin, was found guilty of 20 out of 21 of the charges brought against him Wednesday. After jury deliberations, Nagin was found guilty of wire fraud, conspiracy, bribery, money laundering and filing false tax returns.

Before the verdict was read, the 57 year old told reporters, "I've been at peace with this for a long time. I'm good."

Nagin, a democrat who served 8 years in the mayoral office, is accused to have accepted bribes, trips and truckloads of granite from a local business owners. One of those business owners, Frank Fradella, pleaded guilty to federal charges of security fraud and insider trading last July.

 After the verdict was read, U.S. District Judge, Helen Berrigan, ordered that his bond be changed to allow "additional conditions of electronic monitoring and home confinement."

Ray Nagin Outside of the Courthouse

Nagin denied involvement in any of the charges, but the members of the jury didn't buy into his story. He was found guilty of all charges save one charge of bribery. Each charge carries a sentence of 3 to 20 years under federal law, but it is unclear how much time he may actually be spending in prison. His sentence will be dependent upon a pre-sentence investigation and sentencing guidelines.

As Nagin and his attorney,  Robert Jenkins, were walking out of the courthouse among a slew of media and reporters, Nagin could be heard stating, "I maintain my innocence."

Nagin's attorney said that an appeal will be filed.

Ray Nagin Giving A Speech (Courtesy of AP)

Fradella, awaiting sentencing for charges to which he pleaded guilty, testified against Nagin. Another contractor, Rodney Williams, also was charged, pleaded guilty, is awaiting sentencing and testified against Nagin.

The indictment, made in January of 2013, stated that the former mayor received more than $200,000 in bribes, a vacation in Hawaii, a first-class flight to Jamaica, private jet travel, a limousine for a trip to New York City and cellular phone service. In exchange, businesses that gave these things to Nagin won more than $5 million dollars in city contracts.

The charges stemmed from a City Hall corruption investigation that resulted in many convictions and guilty pleas from former Nagin associates.

Nagin is remembered, by many, for his "Chocolate City" speech given after the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. In this speech, he stated that, "We as black people, it's time, it's time for us to come together. It's time for us to rebuild a New Orleans, the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans. And I don't care what people are saying Uptown or wherever they are. This city will be chocolate at the end of the day."

He continued in the same speech by stating that New Orleans "will be a majority African-American city. It's the way God wants it to be."

The guilty verdict and trial come less than a week after fellow Democrat and Mayor Tony Mack was found guilty of similar charges.

Sentencing is set for June 11th of this year.