10-15-2014, 08:53 AM
And they all fall down
Prosecutors are really going after corrupt politicians these days. Good.
![[Image: uptown-patrick-cannon.jpe]](http://uptownmagazine.com/files/2014/03/uptown-patrick-cannon.jpe)
Patrick Cannon ^, a Democrat who served on Charlotte City Council before being elected mayor last November, pleaded guilty in June to a public corruption charge.
A nearly four-year investigation resulted in his arrest and immediate resignation in March.
Cannon, 47, told Chief U.S. District Judge Frank Whitney he was ashamed of tarnishing the reputation of the city he first began serving in 1993, when at age 26 he became the youngest person in Charlotte city history to win a council seat. "I'm sorry," Cannon said. "I let a lot of people down."
U.S. prosecutors said Cannon secretly solicited and accepted gifts and cash bribes from a strip club owner and two undercover federal agents posing as investors in exchange for using his official influence to help them navigate city government and zoning issues.
Prosecutors said the bribes also included paid travel to Las Vegas and use of a luxury apartment from the undercover agents. In February, Cannon accepted $20,000 in cash delivered to him in the mayor's office, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors are really going after corrupt politicians these days. Good.
Patrick Cannon ^, a Democrat who served on Charlotte City Council before being elected mayor last November, pleaded guilty in June to a public corruption charge.
A nearly four-year investigation resulted in his arrest and immediate resignation in March.
Cannon, 47, told Chief U.S. District Judge Frank Whitney he was ashamed of tarnishing the reputation of the city he first began serving in 1993, when at age 26 he became the youngest person in Charlotte city history to win a council seat. "I'm sorry," Cannon said. "I let a lot of people down."
U.S. prosecutors said Cannon secretly solicited and accepted gifts and cash bribes from a strip club owner and two undercover federal agents posing as investors in exchange for using his official influence to help them navigate city government and zoning issues.
Prosecutors said the bribes also included paid travel to Las Vegas and use of a luxury apartment from the undercover agents. In February, Cannon accepted $20,000 in cash delivered to him in the mayor's office, prosecutors said.