NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Lawyers for former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin went before a federal appeals court to argue for reversal of his 2014 corruption convictions.
A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Monday.
Nagin, a Democrat who served from 2002 to 2010, was convicted on charges of wire fraud, bribery, money laundering and filing false tax returns. Prosecutors say graft in his administration began before Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005 and flourished afterward. Bribes included money, free vacations and truckloads of free granite for his family business.
He is serving a 10-year sentence.
Nagin has adamantly maintained that he did nothing wrong. He’s being represented by public defenders who argued that the jury that convicted him received erroneous instructions.
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