The mayor of Charlotte, N.C. — the state’s largest city and the site of the 2012 Democratic National Convention — was arrested Wednesday on public corruption charges and accused of taking bribes after an FBI sting.
Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon, a 47-year-old Democrat, is facing theft and bribery charges, U.S. Attorney Anne Tompkins said. Cannon is accused of soliciting and accepting bribes from undercover FBI agents posing as real estate developers who wanted to do business in Charlotte.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, the FBI first learned that he may have been involved in illegal activities years ago and started an investigation in 2010.
During the course of that probe, the mayor allegedly accepted bribes from undercover FBI agents on five separate occasions, in exchange for access to city officials responsible for planning, zoning and permitting.
h/t Keith H
