Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin charged with corruption

NEW ORLEANS (AP) —



Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has been indicted on charges that he used his office for personal gain, accepting payoffs, free trips and gratuities from contractors while the city was struggling to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.



The charges against Nagin are the result of a City Hall corruption investigation that has already seen guilty pleas by two former city officials and two businessmen and a prison sentence for a former city vendor.



The federal indictment accuses Nagin of accepting more than US$160,000 in bribes and truckloads of free granite for his family business in exchange for promoting the interests of a local businessman who secured millions of dollars in city contract work after the 2005 hurricane.



The businessman, Frank Fradella, pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to commit bribery and has been cooperating with federal authorities.



Nagin, 56, also is charged with accepting at least US$60,000 in payoffs from another businessman, Rodney Williams, for his help in securing city contracts for architectural, engineering and management services work.



Williams, who was president of Three Fold Consultants LLC, pleaded guilty on December 5 to a conspiracy charge.



The indictment also accuses Nagin — who now lives in Frisco, Texas — of getting free private jet and limousine services to New York from an unidentified businessman who owns a New Orleans movie theater.



Nagin is accused of agreeing to waive tax penalties that the businessman owed to the city on a delinquent tax bill in 2006.



From several city contractors, Nagin is accused of accepting free travel and vacation expenses for trips to Hawaii, Chicago, Las Vegas and Jamaica while in office.



The alleged bribery plot isn't limited to Nagin's tenure as mayor. Prosecutors say Nagin, a Democrat, accepted monthly payoffs from Fradella totaling US$112,250 after he left office.