Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon took bribes from undercover FBI agents, federal prosecutors in North Carolina said Wednesday as they announced his arrest.
Cannon, a Democrat, was released on bond. FBI agents searched his city office, his home and his business office at E-Z Parking Inc.
U.S. Attorney Anne Tompkins said the investigation began in 2010 when Cannon was on the city council. He was serving as mayor pro tempore when he was elected to the office in November.
Cannon, who has not yet been indicted, faces charges of theft and bribery. Tompkins said he took $48,000 and a Las Vegas jaunt from FBI agents posing as business people.
“On five separate occasions between Jan. 17, 2013 and Feb. 21, 2014, Cannon accepted cash payments from undercover FBI agents in exchange for access to city officials with responsibility for planning, zoning and permitting,” the FBI said in an affidavit.
Cannon, now 46, was the youngest person to serve on the Charlotte city council when he was elected in 1993 at 26.
[Charlotte Observer]
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