Discussion for article #227239
Not even enough to take the family to Café du Monde for beignets and café au lait
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Seems ridiculous to single out one man in a famously corrupt city. Wouldn’t it be a greater public benefit to clean up the police force first?
Someone in N.O. has made an example of this guy; I wonder who benefits from his downfall.
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This guy is being brought up for bribery and doesn’t even have $25 bucks in the bank?
Um, dude, you are supposed to SAVE your bribes.
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If I was reporting to a Texas prison on Monday my bank account would not even have that much in it.
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They usually require a $25 minimum balance to keep an account open.
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damm you stop it now Im friggin hungry…lol
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hey nagin one nawlins guy to another maybe you shouldn’t have been such a cheap date now ya cant afford a cab home…figuratively get your corrupt ass to prison where ya belong Im a progressive dem and I say I don’t give a rats ass what party ya belong to if your dirty you belong in prison along a good ole fashioned ass kickin from the people who voted for ya
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Well Mayor you have a $1.15 in your account more than I do,and you are locked up.
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“In addition to reporting Nagin’s diminished bank account, the Times-Picayune noted he is living on food stamps, remains underwater on a car loan, and owes $176,510 on a Texas townhouse.”
I’m not as bad off as I thought.
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It was that last big trip to Costco that emptied his wallet.
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If that is truly your situation, Mr. Nagin, I’d say the three hots and a cot the government is giving you for up to ten years should be welcome.
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The Apparent Heir to the Mayor Oliver Thomas (former NOLA City Counsil President) also went down to major corruption charges. So, yes, famously corrupt city, but there are frequently bad actors who need to face court charges.
As to who benefits, I couldn’t tell you. Nagin pissed off a lot of people, including hammering some very rich and powerful nihilists with his rhetoric post-Katrina (rolling into the 2006 New Orleans Mayoral race).
The list of potential enemies ranges from current Mayor and former Nagin opponent Mitch Landrieu (Senator Mary’s brother) and the Landrieu machine, state level politicians who never liked him/want to take out enemies in advance of the 2015 state reshuffle, federal politicians who were on Wall Street when Nagin defended his lack of progress by saying WTC was still a crater (such as Eric Holder), and even intra-city political machines.
As I recall, the two biggies in 2002 when Nagin won election were BOLD and PACE. Nagin, then an ex-VP of Cox Cable, got endorsed in the run-off by the more corporate sided one, whereas outgoing mayor Marc Morial and then-Rep “Dollar” Bill Jefferson sided with the Police Commissioner. I remember the run-off campaign used some really ugly radio ads - 2002, mind you, not post-Katrina - against Nagin, esp on stations with a large black audience share.
I specifically remember:
Man 1: “Who are you voting for?”
Man 2: “I’m not sure yet. I’m leaning toward Ray Nagin.”
Man 1: “Oh, you mean Ray REAGAN?”
[List of reasons Nagin is different from other candidate, mostly calling him a golf playing sell-out, saying he has lost touch with the New Orleans black community, etc.]
Man 3: “Are you talking about Ray Reagan?”
Man 1: “That’s not his name. I’m pretty sure his name is Tom.” (emphasis original)
So yeah, as far as who benefits, it could be anyone. And I wouldn’t discount that it’s simple revenge.
BTW, I totally agree that the NOPD needs attention too. When voting at City Hall in 2006 I was hassled by an officer with a post in City Hall, who said I can’t have headphones and if I said anything else he’d “confiscate” my iPod. (I think he just wanted the iPod, personally, but it might have been voter intimidation also.)
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As with Southern politics in general, there’s more to this than us peasants will ever know…
Who’s paying his defence fees ?
Does it matter? Someone who is blatantly corrupt should go to jail, even if other blatantly corrupt figures (who should also go to jail) are running around free for the time being. “Everybody does it” is not a defense, not even in New Orleans. Nobody has claimed that he was framed and is actually innocent.
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Thanks for all the inside info. I read accounts a couple times about the progress of his trial and, softy that I am, I felt sorry for him. If I were local maybe I’d know better. Or at least not see him as some kind of scapegoat.
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