Barely four months after being sworn in as mayor of Charlotte, Patrick Cannon is fighting to save both his career and his freedom. Earlier today, he was arrested on federal charges of taking tens of thousands of dollars in bribes dating back to his tenure on the city council.
In return for the money, trips, hotel rooms and access to a luxury SouthPark apartment, Cannon promised to help agents posing as potential commercial investors with zoning, parking and other city-related issues.
Cannon, a Democrat, was charged with theft and bribery after the FBI sting operation, said Anne Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. He was released on $25,000 unsecured bond, pending indictment, which could come as early as next week. The court file shows Charlotte attorney James Ferguson is representing Cannon.
If convicted on all charges, the 47-year-old mayor faces up to 50 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines. He remains mayor until he either resigns or is convicted, according to city officials. The case is still being investigated, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Read the full complaint
here and the press release from the U. S. Attorney
here. It is the culmination of a nearly four-year investigation that started in August 2010, when FBI agents got a tip that he was engaging in "pay for play." Some of the lowlights:
- In November 2010, an undercover agent passed himself off as the prospective owner of a nightclub, and then-mayor pro tem Cannon reportedly promised to use his influence to get the needed zoning changes.
- In December 2012, the undercover agent promised that he would invest $12,500 in a feminine-products business Cannon was ramping up in return for Cannon's assistance in getting the zoning changes for the nightclub.
- In the summer of 2013--shortly after Cannon announced his candidacy for mayor--another agent posing as a real estate broker approached Cannon for help in securing investors for a $125 million development along a streetcar line from downtown to Charlotte's westside. The agent flew Cannon and his wife to Vegas in July. While in Vegas, Cannon received a total of $6,000 in cash from the agent.
- After Cannon returned to Charlotte, he had several meetings with another undercover agent posing as a real estate investor in a tony apartment in SouthPark on Charlotte's southeast side. The agent gave Cannon a total of $10,000, and at one point promised him use of the apartment.
- On February 21 of this year, two agents posing as real estate investors met with Cannon at his city office. They paid him $20,000 for the streetcar development project, and Cannon reportedly asked for a one percent payoff from the proceeds of the project.
As a native Charlottean, this is disheartening to say the least. It's the first major corruption scandal here in recent memory. The thing that boggles my mind is the prospect that Cannon ran for mayor knowing full well that he was under the federal microsope. If he did--and it's hard to believe he didn't know--then it would be an act of staggering arrogance on the level of John Edwards running for president in 2008 knowing that his affair with Rielle Hunter could blow at any time. And now Charlotte could potentially get hit with the shrapnel.
Cannon is charged with bribery, honest services fraud and extortion. He faces a minimum of 5 to 6 years in federal prison if convicted. If there is anything at all to these charges, Cannon needs to resign while he can still do so decently. After all, as Democrats we don't care what your party label is if you're corrupt.
4:31 PM PT: The Charlotte Observer and WSOC-TV in Charlotte both report that Cannon has resigned as mayor. Which makes it very likely that a guilty plea is in the offing. A sad day for Charlotte and the nation.