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Corrupt US mayors |
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 Corrupt US mayors pose athreat to decency in society Research by City Mayors* April 2019: The preamble to the City Mayors’ Code of Ethics states that honest local government is the foundation of any nation that strives to provide its citizens with happiness, security and prosperity. It continues to say that corruption and misconduct by local government officials threaten fundamental decency in a society. America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which warns that public corruption poses a fundamental threat to national security and the US way of life, has over the past four decades brought to justice thousands of elected officials, who used their positions to enrich themselves. Among those convicted are leaders of some of the largest US cities, including Nashville, Detroit, New Orleans or Baltimore, but also many mayors from small-town America.  On 25 April 2019, FBI agents raided the homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh after she was placed under federal investigation over the sale of thousands of children’s books, written and self-published by her, to organisations that conducted business with the city. According to the Baltimore Sun, Mayor Pugh received $500,000 from the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) for 100,000 copies of the books that would go to schools while she was on the hospital system's board. In addition, health provider Kaiser Permanent said it had paid more than $100,000 for 20,000 copies of the books while it was negotiating a contract to become the medical insurance provider for Baltimore city employees. Mayor Pugh, who is currently on leave due to ill health, described the UMMS book deal a regrettable mistake and said she had returned a $100,000 payment. Catherine Pugh became the Democratic candidate for Mayor in 2015 after she defeated former Mayor Sheila Dixon in the primaries. Dixon was forced to resign after, in 2009, she was found guilty of fraudulent misappropriation.In April 2019, former Reading (PA) Mayor Vaughn Spencer was sentenced to eight years in prison for bribery. A jury found the ex-mayor guilty of bribery and conspiring to solicit campaign contributions from companies in exchange for lucrative municipal engineering contracts. Spencer served as Mayor from January 2012 to January 2016. Nashville (TN) Mayor Megan Barry resigned on 6 March 2018 after pleading guilty to theft. Court documents revealed that the Mayor had committed felony theft – theft of property of more than US$10,000. She was sentenced to serve three years probation and has also agreed to reimburse the City of Nashville $11,000. Earlier, Nashville City Hall’s former Head of Security, Rob Forrest, pleaded guilty to theft of property over $10,000. According to CNN, he agreed to serve three years supervised probation and to repay the city of Nashville $45,000. In January Mayor Barry admitted to an affair with Rob Forrest. According to Nashville’s District Attorney, the Mayor spent over $10,000 of city funds on Rob Forrest. Allegedly, Rob Forrest earned more than $170,000 in overtime pay while serving as Megan Barry’s bodyguard. Also in March 2018, Allentown (PA) Mayor Ed Pawlowski was found guilty of 47 counts of rigging city contracts. During the trial, the jury heard that the Mayor gave city contracts to law firms and businesses that gave him money for campaigns for governor and US Senate. He retaliated against companies that refused to play along or didn't give sufficiently, according to prosecutors. The Mayor, who was re-elected to a fourth term in November 2017 despite the indictment hanging over him, claimed he was not aware campaign staffers and city employees were involved in an alleged pay-to-play scheme for kickbacks and campaign contributions. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison. The title of the most corrupt US mayor in recent years must go to Detroit’s Kwame Kilpatrick, who took office in 2002, promising to revitalise the city. Instead he used his position to steal from the citizens he had promised to serve. FBI Special Agent Robert Beckman, who investigated the mayor and his corrupt regime for eight years, said that criminal activity was a way of life for him. “He constantly used the power of his office to look for new opportunities to make money illegally.” In July 2013, Kwame Kilpatrick was given a 28-year prison sentence for racketeering, extortion, bribery and fraud. In its submission the FBI said that Kilpatrick and his associates established a ‘pay to play’ system that made breaking the law standard operating procedure. “Kilpatrick extorted city vendors, rigged bids, and took bribes. He used funds from non-profit civic organisations to line his pockets and those of his family. And he was unabashed about it.” Trenton’s (NJ) former mayor Tony Mack received a 58-months prison sentence in May 2014 after being convicted of extortion and bribery. Together with his brother Ralphiel, the former mayor operated a scheme of accepting bribes in exchange for assisting local businesses. A member of the US Attorney’s office told the court that within 10 weeks of moving into City Hall, the mayor started to sell influence. “Instead of providing transparent government to the citizens of Trenton, Tony Mack and his brother allowed themselves to succumb to self-interest and greed.” Ray Nagin, who served as Mayor of New Orleans from 2002 to 2010, came to national and international prominence in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which destroyed large parts of the city. In 2009, three years after being re-elected to a second term, allegations began to emerge of the mayor using his office to obtain benefits from local companies supplying the city. In February 2014, a court convicted Ray Nagin of bribery and extortion. The court was told that the mayor took more than $500,000 n payouts from businessmen in exchange for millions of dollars' worth of city contracts. The former mayor’s sentencing brought to a close a sordid chapter in New Orleans’ history in which the man charged with leading a city out of crisis instead chose to enrich himself, his family and friends. Despite New Orleans' long history of political corruption, Nagin was the first mayor to be criminally charged for corruption in office. List of American mayors who used their offices to enrich themselves and/or their associates
Other cases of mayors arrested, indicted and / or convicted for offences while in office: • Mayor of West New York, NJ, arrested for computer hacking (2012) • Mayor of Walnut Grove, Mississippi, for witness tampering (2012) • Mayor of Upland, CA, convicted of accepting bribes (2012) • Mayor of Nogales, Arizona, charged with bribery, theft and fraud (2012) • Mayor of Cedarville, Arkansas, convicted of theft (2012) • Mayor of Vicksburg, Mississippi, convicted of bribery (2013) • Mayor of Junction City, Kansas, convicted of bribery (2012) • Mayor of Melissa, Texas, indicted on bribery (2012) • Mayor of Barceloneta, Puerto Rico, arrested for bribery (2012) • Mayor of Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, indicted on bribery and extortion (2014) • Mayor of St Gabriel, LA, indicted on racketeering (2010) • Mayor of Ball, LA, convicted of hurricane disaster fraud (2011) • Mayor of Sweetwater, Florida, convicted of corruption (2014) • Mayor of South Pittsburg, TN, convicted of running illegal gambling business • Mayor of Grandview, Missouri, convicted of charity fraud (2014) • Mayor of Cudahy, CA, pleads guilty to extortion and bribery (2012) • Mayor of Port Allen, LA, convicted of racketeering (2012) • Mayor of Kinloch, Missouri, convicted for fraud and embezzlement (2011) • Mayor of Mandeville, LA, convicted for tax evasion (2010) • Mayor of Pineville, Kentucky, pleaded guilty to vote buying (2009) • Mayor of Niagara Falls, NY, pleaded guilty to fraud (2010) • Mayor of Hamilton, NJ, charged with attempted extortion (2012) • Mayor of New Roads, LA, indicted on racketeering (2010) *City Mayors used source material supplied by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Offices of the United States Attorneys © Copyright: City Mayors. All rights reserved Follow @City_Mayors |