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Mayor LaToya Cantrell to repay $30k in city money spent on first-class flights . She had justified it by saying flying economy was 'unsafe' for black women .. City policy requires her to find cheapest fare or reimburse the expenses . Cantrell also admitted living rent-free in the apartment located in the city's Upper Pontalba building on Jackson Square . ... The city's Metropolitan Crime Commission sent a report to the city council Thursday asking for an investigation into Cantrell's use of the apartment . ... LaToya Cantrell, the controversial Democrat mayor of New Orleans, has said she will repay...

Ray Nagin - New Orleans Shakedown Season 10 Episode 111 Aired 03-31-2016 tv-pg Disgraced former mayor exploits the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina to pocket bribes and live large.

....Obama returns to an outwardly thriving New Orleans Thursday to mark strides 10 years after Hurricane Katrina. But underneath the visible recovery lie persistent racial and economic inequities that haven't receded.... ...according to one analysis, African-American households in the city earn more than 50% less than their white counterparts -- well above the national average. Those barometers of racial inequality aren't unique to New Orleans, and haven't dampened the city's enthusiasm for what has otherwise been a steady recovery that includes new construction, jobs and visitors. But the now-chronic gaps between rich and poor, and whites and blacks, were poised...

Video at link: The former mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, shuffled off Monday to serve a 10-year federal prison term on corruption convictions stemming from the city’s years-long recovery of Hurricane Katrina devastations. Mr. Nagin is serving out his sentence in Texarkana, Texas, Reuters reported.

NEW ORLEANS — Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison for bribery, money laundering and other corruption that spanned his two terms as mayor — including the chaotic years after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. Nagin was convicted Feb. 12 of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from businessmen who wanted work from the city or Nagin’s support for various projects. The bribes came in the form of money, free vacations and truckloads of free granite for his family business. The 58-year-old Democrat had defiantly denied any wrongdoing after his 2013 indictment and...

Kevin McGill, Associated PressJuly 9, 2014 Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his conviction on bribery, money laundering and other corruption charges. Prosecutors said the actions for which he was convicted spanned his two terms as mayor — including the chaotic years after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. U.S. District Judge Helen Berrigan handed down the sentence Wednesday morning. (snip)

Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Wednesday. Nagin, 58, the two-term mayor who was the face of the city during Hurricane Katrina, joins a list of Louisiana elected officials convicted of misdeeds committed while in office. But he is New Orleans' first mayor to be convicted and sent to prison for public corruption.

Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison for bribery, money laundering and other corruption that spanned his two terms as mayor — including the chaotic years after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. U.S. District Judge Helen Berrigan handed down the sentence Wednesday morning. Nagin was convicted Feb. 12 of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from businessmen who wanted work from the city or Nagin's support for various projects. The bribes came in the form of money, free vacations and truckloads of free granite for his family business. The 58-year-old Democrat had defiantly...

NEW ORLEANS — C. Ray Nagin, the former mayor of New Orleans who was convicted in February on corruption charges, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Wednesday in federal court in New Orleans. Mr. Nagin was found guilty in February on 20 counts, most relating to kickbacks from contractors looking for city work. The sentence was imposed by Judge Ginger Berrigan of United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Mr. Nagin, a Democrat, was arrested in January 2013, nearly three years after he left office. He was charged with taking kickbacks in the form of...

With a few nods and a clear-voiced "yes, ma'am," Stacey Jackson on Wednesday ended her year-long resistance against accusations that she orchestrated an elaborate kickback scheme to rob a federally financed anti-blight program during now-disgraced Mayor Ray Nagin's tenure in City Hall. She struck a plea deal with prosecutors and admitted to U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon that she was guilty of one count of conspiracy to receive kickbacks involving federal money. She faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and three years probation, although such a harsh sentence would be rare for first-time federal offenders....

According to its website, the Associated Press is one of the “…most trusted sources of independent news gathering.” AP journalists operate “…in more than 280 locations worldwide, including every statehouse in the U.S.” AP employees have won 51 Pulitzer prizes. The AP proudly announces that its journalists “…have gone to great lengths, overcome obstacles and, too often, sacrificed to ensure that the news has been reported quickly, accurately and honestly.” Most importantly, the AP claims that the organization “…fights for freedom of the press and the public’s right to know.” (my italics) On March 26th, the Washington Post published an...

<p>Nagin skates on count 7 but nailed on 20 counts.</p>

As part of the alleged bribes, Nagin's family members received a vacation in Hawaii; first-class airfare to Jamaica; private jet travel and a limousine for New York City totaling $23,500; and cellular phone service, the indictment said. According to the indictment, the bribing businessmen allegedly received city contracts of $1 million for consulting, more than $3 million to build a project at Louis Armstrong International Airport, and $1 million for another airport project, the indictment said. Other contracts were for sidewalk repairs in the French Quarter and professional services, authorities allege. Among the conspiracy charges is an accusation that Nagin...

Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who led the city during its darkest days after Hurricane Katrina, will be thrust back into the spotlight this week when he goes on trial in a corruption case that mushroomed at the end of his eight-year tenure. [Snip] Nagin's 21-count indictment includes bribery and wire fraud charges, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years and 20 years in prison, respectively.

Former Mayor Ray Nagin's federal trial on 21 public corruption charges was postponed again last week — for the third time. The former mayor is now set to stand trial on Monday, Jan. 27, 2014. If and when Nagin does go to trial — or if he pleads to a reduced charge — it will be the final chapter of Hurricane Katrina's political arc. Guilty or innocent, Nagin's fate will bring closure to a city that arguably suffered as much after the storm as during it, thanks in large measure to the former mayor's failure to implement a recovery program...

If you were smart you made the most of your pre-Memorial Day weekend by not watching the news. Or maybe you only watched the Sunday morning talking heads to keep up on Scandal-gate. Either way, you probably missed the big stories about our newly expanded and re-vitamized initiatives. Let me bring you up to speed. First, Lady M announced she is dramatically expanding her No Child’s Fat Behind initiative to zoos! Yup, that’s right, zoos. [Let’s be careful out there: no simian references please. We’re better than that.] Most people are not aware of the growing problem of zoo resident...

Aaron Broussard might have hoped his story would have been that of a witty, colorful and effective politician whose career in public service spanned 35 years. On Monday, however, a federal judge will write an epilogue that has the former Jefferson Parish president going to prison for what lawyers predict will be at least five years. The 10 a.m. sentencing in U.S. District Court in New Orleans will essentially end a political corruption scandal that burst open in 2009, quickly toppled the Broussard administration and became entwined with any number of unusual side stories. Judge Hayden Head Jr. was brought...

Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was indicted Friday 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 outgrowth of a City Hall corruption investigation that already has resulted in guilty pleas by two former city officials and two businessmen and a prison sentence for a former city vendor.

A federal grand jury on Friday indicted former Mayor Ray Nagin with 21 counts of corruption, alleging that while in office, Nagin took cash bribes and gifts from two city contractors and used his power as mayor to leverage a granite installation contract from Home Depot as the retailer was building a store in Central City. Despite New Orleans' reputation for political shenanigans, Nagin is the first mayor in the city's history to be indicted by a grand jury on corruption charges. [Snip] The indictment against Nagin includes six counts of bribery, one count of conspiracy, one count of money...

NEW ORLEANS — Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has been indicted on 21 corruption charges including wire fraud, bribery and money laundering. The charges announced Friday come from a City Hall corruption investigation that already has resulted in guilty pleas by two former city officials and two businessmen.