Former Charlotte, N.C., mayor faces sentencing for corruption

[October 14, 2014]  CHARLOTTE N.C. (Reuters) - Former Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon is due to be sentenced on Tuesday after admitting to using his public positions in North Carolina's largest city for personal financial gain, including taking at least $50,000 in bribes.

Cannon, a Democrat who served on the 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 resignation in March.

U.S. prosecutors said Cannon accepted bribes from a strip club owner and two undercover federal agents posing as investors in exchange for helping them navigate city government and zoning issues through his elected positions.

Prosecutors said he took cash, paid travel to Las Vegas and use of a luxury apartment from the undercover agents.

Cannon has remained free on bond as he awaits sentencing on a charge of honest services wire fraud, which could lead to a maximum prison term of 20 years and a $250,000 fine. The charge holds that he deprived the city of his "honest and faithful services" by carrying out the bribery scheme dating back to December 2009.

He has agreed to pay restitution as part of his guilty plea.

(Reporting by Emily Harris; Writing by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Will Dunham)

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