Jury Gets Ray Nagin Corruption Case

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The corruption case against former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is the hands of jurors.

The jury was given the case Monday afternoon after instructions by U.S. District Judge Helen Berrigan and closing arguments by prosecutors and the defense.

Prosecutors told jurors they saw evidence of a mayor on the take. The defense said prosecutors presented a highly misleading case built on lies from witnesses who made plea bargains and misinterpreted documentary evidence and by overstating Nagin's authority to approve city work.

A 21-count indictment alleges that Nagin sought and accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of bribes from people doing business with the city. Prosecutors say the bribes were in the form of money, free travel and free slabs of granite for a family business.

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