Former New Orleans city vendor Frank Fradella was in federal court Wednesday morning to plead guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of conspiring to bribe ex-Mayor Ray Nagin. The Times-Picayune reported at about 11 a.m. that court documents reveal former Mayor Ray Nagin accepted a $50,000 payoff and shipments of free granite from city vendor Frank Fradella while Nagin was still in office, and after leaving City Hall, he became a highly paid consultant to Fradella. Fradella was in federal court Wednesday morning to plead guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of conspiring to bribe Nagin.
Fradella pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan, with U.S. Attorney Jim Letten and Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux among those in attendance, according to the T-P. His plea agreement calls for a prison term of no longer than seven years. The statutory maximum for the crime Fradella admitted committing is 15 years.
Letten is expected to hold a news conference shortly.
Read the T-P story here.