Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon Indicted on Public Corruption Charges
Mitch Weiss, Huffington Post, March 26, 2014
Less than six months on the job, the mayor of Charlotte was arrested and accused Wednesday of accepting more than $48,000 in bribes from FBI agents posing as real estate developers who wanted to do business with North Carolina’s largest city.
Mayor Patrick Cannon, a 47-year-old Democrat, faces theft and bribery charges, U.S. Attorney Anne Tompkins said. Cannon was accused of soliciting and accepting more than $48,000 in cash, airline tickets, a hotel room and the use of a luxury apartment as bribes.
If convicted on all the charges, he faces 20 years in prison and more than $1 million in fines.
Cannon, a radio host and the owner of a parking management company, was elected mayor in November, replacing Anthony Foxx, who was named Transportation Secretary by President Barack Obama.
{snip}
FBI agents posing as commercial real estate developers paid Cannon on five separate occasions between January 2013 and February 2014, according to the complaint. Cannon accepted cash in exchange for access to city officials responsible for planning, zoning and permitting.
On the last occasion, Cannon is accused of accepting $20,000 in cash in the mayor’s office, the complaint said.
The criminal investigation began in August 2010, when Cannon still held an at-large seat on the Charlotte City Council.
Cannon was first elected to City Council in 1993. {snip}
Cannon was also accused of accepting $12,500 from an undercover agent to help him develop a feminine hygiene product called “Hers” to be marketed and sold in the United States. {snip}
{snip}
Patrick Cannon
[Editor’s Note: Readers may recall Patrick Cannon from his involvement in the cancellation of the 2011 American Renaissance conference when he was acting as mayor pro tempore.]
