Prosecution rests in Ray Nagin corruption trial

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday rested their 21-count corruption case against Ray Nagin after spending nearly four full days calling more than a dozen witnesses who testified that the former mayor of New Orleans accepted bribes, filed fraudulent tax returns and used his political influence to win lucrative contracts for his family's granite business.

A trio of prosecutors presented their case to the jury scheme by scheme, starting by outlining allegations of bribes and kickbacks they say Nagin accepted from city contractors.

In total, the prosecution trotted out 26 witnesses, including now-convicted business associates of Nagin's who said they bribed the former mayor, unflappable federal investigators who painted a picture of a fraudster and executives who testified to Nagin's penchant for mixing city and personal business.

Defense attorney Robert Jenkins countered the assertions of the businessmen-turned-convicts by calling their testimony self-serving. And Jenkins, in cross-examinations that often were brief, highlighted a lack of smoking gun evidence like wiretaps.

More at http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2014/02/prosecution_rests_its_case_in.html#incart_m-rpt-2