Former New Orleans Mayor Nagin Begins Prison Term
Published at(TEXARKANA, Texas) — Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who gained national prominence in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina pounded the city, began serving a 10-year prison term Monday.
Nagin, 58, turned himself in to authorities at a federal prison in Texarkana, Texas, after saying goodbye to his wife and three children.
He was sentenced in July following his February conviction for receiving more than a half-a-million dollars in bribes in return for city contracts.
Nagin, who served as New Orleans mayor from 2002 to 2010, became a controversial figure when Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in late August 2005.
Critics accused him of failing to properly coordinate rescue efforts of those left stranded by the storm even as he decried the federal government’s response to the catastrophe.
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