New Orleans’ former mayor Ray Nagin’s trial started today with jury selection. Nagin first appeared in the national spotlight after Hurricane Katrina struck his city in 2005 and his cries of help went unheeded by the George W. Bush Administration.
Nagin is now facing 21 charges of federal corruption including bribery, money laundering, fraud and the filing of false tax returns. Prosecutors contend that Nagin took private trips to Jamaica and Hawaii as well as received cash kickbacks facilitated through wire transfers and money drops. He allegedly funneled city contracts worth over $5 million to businessmen. Two businessmen have plead guilty to bribing a public official and have made plea deals with federal prosecutors.
U.S. District Judge Helen Berrigan issued strict rules regarding conduct by parties involved in the trial. She’s banned all recording devices and closed nearby restrooms to the media and public until after the jury has been selected. There is a fear of misconduct because in the 2011 Danziger Bridge Trial – where five police officers were charged with shooting an unarmed family and others who were attempting to flee to safety across the bridge during the Hurricane Katrina destruction and devastation – prosecutors posted comments to online news sites and social media that later caused charges to be dismissed in 2013.
The charges Nagin faces will be tough to prove stated CNN legal analyst Ashleigh Merchant. “You’re going to give the work to who you know, who you trust, who you perhaps took a family vacation with. The issue is going to be the testimony of those people, as to whether or not they expected to get something back in return for taking the family on vacation. And if prosecutors can show that Nagin promised city business in exchange for their favors, then he’s done.”
Many supporters of Nagin are calling his trial retribution for his comments against then President Bush and the government’s slow response of disaster relief for New Orleans which led to the firing of the FEMA director Michael Brown and the restructuring of how the federal government responds to natural disasters.
