Ex-New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin sentenced to 10 years


WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 23: New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin testifies on Capitol Hill on September 23, 2008 in Washington, DC. Mayor Nagin spoke about his city's recovery from Hurricane Katrina as well as its recent experience with hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Officials from the Gulf area were on Capitol Hill requesting lawmakers for federal funding to aid in recovery efforts for over $14 billion worth of damage after the two recent hurricanes devastated the region.

NEW ORLEANS —Former New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, the businessman-turned-politician who became the worldwide face of the city after Hurricane Katrina, was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday.

Nagin, 58, was found guilty Feb. 12 of fraud, bribery and related charges involving crimes that took place before and after Katrina devastated the city in August 2005.

Pre-sentence reports by prosecutors and others were not made public. Nagin, based on sentencing guidelines, had faced a possible range of 12 to 30 years.

A jury convicted Nagin of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes -- money, free vacation trips and truckloads of free granite for his family business -- from businessmen who wanted work from the city or Nagin's support for various hurricane recovery projects.

Prosecutors asked the court to send Nagin to prison for a long time. They argued that he was found guilty of 20 of 21 counts in the indictment, and that he participated in and orchestrated a years-long conspiracy to enrich himself and his family.

The government also argued that Nagin spent years covering up his crimes and that his testimony during the two-week trial showed an "astounding unwillingness to accept any responsibility for his actions."

The letter by Nagin's wife also details the family's financial ruin and personal anguish.

"We are mentally and financially drained," she wrote in her four-page letter dated July 1. "We have exhausted our savings, borrowed from family, gone on public assistance (for the first time ever) and even had to file bankruptcy to avoid being homeless. We have even sold much of our furniture and all of our jewelry with the exception of our wedding rings."

The letter by Nagin's wife also details the family's financial ruin and personal anguish.

"We are mentally and financially drained," she wrote in her four-page letter dated July 1. "We have exhausted our savings, borrowed from family, gone on public assistance (for the first time ever) and even had to file bankruptcy to avoid being homeless. We have even sold much of our furniture and all of our jewelry with the exception of our wedding rings."

And he was called the "Chocolate City Man".

Another racist Democrat and strong supporter of Obama shows his true criminal colors.