Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin must forfeit more than $501,000 after a February conviction for bribery, fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy, a federal judge ordered Tuesday.
Sentencing in the case is set for June 11, but Nagin’s lawyer said he is seeking a delay to allow more time to respond to a pre-sentence investigation,
The Associated Press reported. Maximum sentences for the charges range from three to 20 years and could include fines.
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Prosecutors last month filed the request for forfeiture of bribe payments and gifts Nagin received in exchange for city contracts as the city worked to rebuild from Hurricane Katrina. Nagin’s lawyer, Robert Jenkins, said others also benefited, and
Nagin should have to pay back only the portion that benefited him directly, according to the New Orleans Advocate.
The amounts disputed include gifts of granite and a Home Depot installment contract to the family’s firm, Stone Age, the Advocate reported.
The forfeiture order is considered preliminary until sentencing,
according to The Times-Picayune. Jenkins has said he will appeal.
On May 5, Nagin's wife, Seletha Nagin, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, the day before the couple’s home near Dallas was
set for foreclosure sale, according to WDSU-TV.
Nagin served as mayor from 2002 to 2010. He was indicted three years after he left office.
In connection with the case, a former city vendor was convicted, and two businessmen and Nagin's former technology chief pleaded guilty, the AP reported. Nagin testified that key witnesses lied and prosecutors misinterpreted evidence.
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