Staff Writer
Patrick
Cannon, former mayor of Charlotte, was sentenced to 44 months in prison on
Tuesday, October 14. Cannon was arrested
on March 26 after being caught on tape accepting over $50,000 from undercover
FBI agents. The agents presented
themselves as real estate developers and offered the money in exchange for
expedited zoning approvals. In addition
to the years spent in prison, Cannon must repay over $50,000 worth in assets
and pay a $10,000 fine. Cannon is the
first mayor in the city’s history to go to prison on corruption charges.
Since
Cannon was caught accepting the bribes, other allegations of corruption have
surfaced. On top of the five separate
bribes that were covered by his corruption charge, he has admitted to being
paid off by a local strip club owner named David Baucum. He also has been accused of accepting $1.25
million while still in office last February, but the prosecutors chose not to
include this.
Cannon
pleaded for the judge, Frank Whitney, to have a “forgiving spirit” during the
sentencing. However, Whitney rejected
his plea. He also asked to not go to
prison until Dec. 30 in order to celebrate Christmas and birthdays with his
family, but this was also rejected.
Prior to the sentencing, Cannon’s defense blamed his actions on his
marijuana addiction. Due to this, he
will receive alcohol and substance-abuse treatment.
Ever
since his corruption was exposed, Cannon has been very remorseful during public
appearances, saying, “I failed as a husband. I failed as a servant leader. I
failed as a citizen.” His wife and
mother were present with him in court, and Cannon hugged them and cried. Prior to his corruption, Cannon had a
reputation as a man with character who rose out of a hard upbringing in order
to become a public official. This case
has been huge for Charlotte, but the fact that Cannon admitted to the charges
and resigned from office has prevented an embarrassing media circus for the
city.
