Bribery charges brought against Mississippi mayor, prosecutor and council member

[November 08, 2024]  By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The mayor of Mississippi's capital city, the top prosecutor in the state's largest county and a Jackson City Council member have been indicted on conspiracy and bribery charges in a case that has already forced the resignation of another city council member, according to federal court records unsealed Thursday.

The charges against Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens and council member Aaron B. Banks were brought after two people working for the FBI posed as real estate developers who wanted to build a hotel near the convention center in downtown Jackson and provided payments to officials, including $50,000 for the mayor’s reelection campaign, according to court documents.

Lumumba, Jody Owens and Banks each pleaded not guilty Thursday during an appearance before a magistrate judge, with supporters of the mayor filling the small courtroom. The three men will remain free while awaiting trial.

Outside the courthouse, Lumumba said he is grateful to people who have reached out to him locally, nationally and internationally.

“I am not guilty, and so I will not proceed as a guilty man,” Lumumba said. “I will continue to handle the business of the city of Jackson while my attorneys continue to handle the business of these court proceedings.”

The mayor released a video statement Wednesday saying the indictment is a “political prosecution” to hurt his 2025 campaign for reelection. He also said: “I have never accepted a bribe of any type.”

Owens told reporters outside the courthouse Thursday that the indictment is “a horrible example of a flawed FBI investigation” and “an assassination attempt on my character.”

“We think the truth has to come out, that cherry-picked statements of drunken, locker-room banter is not a crime,” Owens said. He said he will fight the charges, “but right now, I'm going to get back to protecting Hinds County and being the district attorney that you've elected us to be.”

Banks declined to speak to reporters as he left the courthouse.

Lumumba and Banks were elected in mid-2017. Owens was elected in 2019 and took office in 2020. All three are Democrats.

Jackson City Council member Angelique Lee, a Democrat, first elected in 2020, resigned in August and pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges as the result of the same FBI investigation. Her sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 13.

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba watches a debate at the Mississippi Capitol on Feb. 7, 2023, in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

In May, FBI agents raided Owens' office and a cigar bar he owns in downtown Jackson. Among the items found in the district attorney's office was a lockbox made to look like a book labeled as the U.S. Constitution, containing about $20,000 in cash, with about $9,900 showing serial numbers confirming it was paid by the purported developers to Owens, according to the newly unsealed indictment.

Owens boasted to the purported developers about having influence over Jackson officials and “facilitated over $80,000 in bribe payments” to Lumumba, Banks and Lee in exchange for their agreement to ensure approval of the multimillion-dollar downtown development, according to the indictment.

The document also says Owens “solicited and accepted at least $115,000 in cash and promises of future financial benefits” from the purported developers to use his relationships with Lumumba, Banks and Lee and act as an intermediary for the payments to them.

Lumumba directed a city employee to move a deadline to favor the purported developers’ project, and Banks and Lee agreed to vote in favor of it, according to the indictments unsealed Thursday.

Sherik Marve Smith — who is an insurance broker and a relative of Owens, according to court documents — waived indictment and pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge in the case on Oct. 17. He agreed to forfeit $20,000, and his sentencing is set for Feb. 19.

Smith conspired to give cash payments and campaign contributions to two Jackson elected officials, and the money came from the purported developers who were working for the FBI, according to court documents.

Owens, Lumumba, Smith and the purported developers traveled in April on a private jet paid by the FBI to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to the newly unsealed indictment.

During a meeting on a yacht that was recorded on audio and video, Lumumba received five campaign checks for $10,000 each, and he called a Jackson city employee and instructed that person to move a deadline for submission of proposals to develop the property near the convention center, the indictment says.

The deadline was moved in a way to benefit the purported developers who were working for the FBI by likely eliminating any of their competition, the indictment says.

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