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发帖数: 2946 | 1 NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, the colorful and
controversial spokesman for the city after the devastating Hurricane
Katrina in 2005, is under investigation by federal authorities, a source
with direct knowledge of the probe said.
The source told Reuters on Friday that several people linked to Nagin or the
New Orleans city administration during his two terms as mayor ending in
2010 were cooperating with the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI.
The investigation includes whether Nagin received favors or items of value
from vendors to the city in return for contracts they received while Nagin
was in office, the source said.
Nagin, who was in Minnesota for a speaking engagement on Friday, spoke to a
WWL-TV reporter at the New Orleans airport on his return. Asked about
allegations he benefited personally while in office, he said:
"They're three years old, and they keep coming up. I only want an
opportunity to finally deal with them. Hopefully we can have an honest, open
approach where truth and justice can prevail, but I'm starting to worry
about that now," Nagin said.
A Justice Department spokeswoman in Washington had no comment. The U.S.
attorney in New Orleans, Jim Letten, did not return a call requesting
comment. A spokeswoman for FBI Special Agent in Charge David Welker declined
to comment on whether an investigation is underway.
Nagin was thrust into the national spotlight in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina
overwhelmed levees and flooded 80 percent of the city, killing 1,500 people
and causing more than $80 billion in damage.
Thousands of New Orleans residents were displaced, especially poor African-
Americans, and many were relocated to other cities in the region for months
or left New Orleans permanently.
As mayor during the crisis, Nagin publicly clashed with federal and state
officials over relief efforts and was accused of making statements during
the crisis that inflamed passions.
Nagin, who is black, was criticized for racial divisiveness after Katrina
for urging residents to rebuild a "chocolate New Orleans," referring to its
majority African-American population.
He was re-elected mayor in 2006 but critics said he did not do enough to
revive the city in his second term.
Since leaving office in 2010, speculation has swirled that Nagin would
eventually become the target of a federal probe after a former associate and
close personal friend pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the city.
Gregory Meffert, the city's former chief technology officer under Nagin,
pleaded guilty in 2010 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bribery in
connection with a city program receiving federal funds, and filing a false
tax return. He is scheduled to be sentenced in May.
New Orleans attorney and Loyola University law professor Dane Ciolino said a
probe of Nagin was no surprise.
"Ever since Meffert pleaded guilty there has been serious speculation that
he was cooperating against Ray Nagin," Ciolino said Friday. |
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