A man who used to be the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, was caught in a bribery scheme. According to reports, someone brought him a suitcase that was entirely full of money. They boldly took it right to his office and gave it to him there. He has recently been sentenced, and he has been given four years behind bars.
This was a federal case, and so he will go to federal prison. The city of Charlotte had a very upright reputation before this case, which cast a new light on the way that the city was run.
The man apparently put in his guilty plea quickly and cooperated with the authorities during the case. He has even paid a few thousand dollars — and will have to pay much more, according to the ruling, which asked for $50,500 — to cover the expense that it took to investigate.
Because he did all of this, he was hoping to get a sentence of 37 months. However, the judge pointed out that it would have been hard for him to make any other case, seeing as how he was caught with such compelling evidence. The judge then gave him 44 months in jail. He will also have to go to an alcohol abuse program.
The judge did call him a good man but stressed that the ruling had to make a statement to show that this could not happen again.
Anyone who has been accused of federal crimes, such as bribery, must know what rights he or she has on the federal level, as these cases can be different than local or state cases.
Source: Lexington Herald-Leader, “Charlotte, NC, ex-major gets jail in bribery scheme” Mark Washburn, Michael Gordon, Ames Alexander and Rick Rothacker, Oct. 14, 2014