8 US mayors, including Eric Adams, were ousted because of scandal

Not all mayors have faced criminal charges, as New York City Mayor Eric Adams was on Thursday arrested on five federal counts.

Adams is accused with one count each of soliciting contributions from foreign nationals on two occasions, one count of bribery, one count of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to conduct wire fraud, government program bribery, and to accept campaign donations from foreign people. On Friday, he entered a not guilty plea to the allegations.

The indictment’s importance was discussed by Jessica Tillipman, the associate dean for federal procurement law studies at George Washington Law School, in a media story.

“It’s really important,” Tillipman said. “First, we’re dealing with a jurisdiction that is very experienced with these types of issues, so you’re getting a very serious indictment from a very serious, what I’d say, kind of anti-corruption white collar crime-related office within the U.S. government.”

Adams has said that he does not intend to step down. This, according to Tillipman, reflects a “changing dynamic” in politics and the law.

“I feel like it used to be this kind of stuff would come out, and they would resign because either there was enough pressure on them to do so and that was just kind of seen as the natural next step, or there was kind of an excuse that they didn’t want to be distracted by this and then take away from what they owe the people of whatever jurisdiction that they are representing,” Tillipman stated.

Although there have been previous indictments against other mayors around the country, Adams is the first mayor of New York City currently serving as mayor. Tillipman elucidated the factors that compel elected politicians to engage in illegal activity.

“You get to be in a position of power, and so there are people that want things from you and are willing to offer you these things,” Tillipman said. “So, I believe it’s an opportunity, but I also believe that it has a little element of ego and impunity. People believe they will never be discovered.”

Sheila Dixon is who?

When Baltimore mayor Martin O’Malley took the oath of office as governor of Maryland in 2007, Sheila Dixon became the next mayor. She went on to win the mayoral race in 2007.

When the city’s first female mayor was charged on 12 felony and misdemeanor charges in 2009, controversy rapidly engulfed her. She was accused of stealing, misbehavior, and perjury.

Dixon was charged with abusing retail gift cards valued at over $600 that were given to City Hall for families in need. It is reported that she spent around $500 at Best Buy and Target buying gifts for her employees and family.

During the trial, two of the charges against her were withdrawn because the prosecution neglected to invite a crucial witness to testify. On three charges, the jury found her not guilty, and on a fourth count, they could not agree on a verdict.

Dixon was found guilty of embezzlement by the jury. In addition to doing 500 hours of community service at Our Daily Bread and donating $45,000 to the Bea Gaddy Foundation, she was placed on four years of probation. In addition, she had to sell the things she bought with the gift cards.

Dixon was placed on probation, forced to retire as mayor, and prohibited from running for office. In 2016, 2020, and 2024, she sought reelection as mayor three times; in each election cycle, she was defeated in the Democratic primary.

Ray Nagin is who?

After winning the mayoralty for the first time in 2002, Ray Nagin guided New Orleans through Hurricane Katrina. He held office till 2010 after being reelected in 2006.

Nagin was charged with 21 crimes, including wire fraud, conspiracy, bribery, money laundering, and filing false tax returns, three years after he resigned from government. He was charged with accepting payments from businesspeople totaling more than $500,000 in return for millions of dollars’ worth of public contracts.

Nagin was convicted on twenty charges. He was given a 10-year jail term and ordered to make restitution of $585,000.

March marked the end of his jail term.

Patrick Cannon: Who is he?

Charlotte’s mayor, Patrick Cannon, was chosen in 2013. After Mayor Anthony Foxx opted not to run for office again and took a job as the United States Secretary of Transportation, he announced his candidacy.

In March of 2014, Cannon had been mayor for over four months when he was taken into custody on many counts of corruption and bribery. The FBI conducted a sting operation in 2010, when Cannon was a member of the Charlotte City Council, and it led to the allegations.

He was charged with taking bribes totaling more than $50,000.

Shortly after making his first court appearance, Cannon announced his resignation as mayor. He consented to enter a guilty plea to one count of honest services wire fraud in June 2014.

“I have had the privilege of serving the people of Charlotte for about fifty percent of my life. I have been bestowed with a great deal of public confidence. I’m sorry for the ways I betrayed that confidence. Cannon apologized profusely for it in a statement after his guilty plea.

He received a 44-month jail term. 2016 saw his release from jail after a 22-month sentence.

Cannon entered the 2022 Charlotte City Council race in an effort to return to politics. In the Democratic primary, he came in last.

Bill Campbell: Who is he?

In 1993, Bill Campbell won his first election to the Atlanta mayoralty. After winning reelection in 1997, Shirley Franklin replaced Campbell in 2002.

Two years after leaving office, in 2004, Campbell was charged with racketeering, corruption, bribery, tax fraud, and mail and wire fraud schemes.

The indictment lists crimes committed between 1996 and 2004. Campbell was charged with soliciting and receiving illicit campaign contributions, submitting fraudulent tax forms, hiding the advantages he got from contractors, and taking over $150,000 in payments from many municipal contractors.

On allegations of wire fraud, bribery, and racketeering, Campbell was found not guilty. He was found guilty on three charges of tax evasion by the jury. He was given a 30-month jail term and told to pay over $60,000 in overdue taxes.

He entered a drug treatment program, which resulted in a shorter term and his release from jail in 2007. He had previously claimed to a court that he was not having substance usage issues.

Kwame Kilpatrick: Who is he?

At the age of 31, Kwame Kilpatrick became the youngest mayor of Detroit when he assumed office in 2002. 2005 saw his reelection.

Kilpatrick was charged with eight felonies in 2008, including perjury, official misconduct, and obstruction of justice.

Both Kilpatrick and his chief of staff, Christine Beatty, testified under oath that they had no extramarital affair with one another; however, the disclosure of text conversations seemed to contradict their statements.

Beatty was included in the arrest as well. Before she was charged, she had quit as chief of staff.

In September 2008, Kilpatrick entered a guilty plea to two felonies of obstruction of justice and announced his resignation. He received a four-month prison term.

Along with his father Bernard Kilpatrick, an assistant, a contractor, and the head of the city’s water department, he was charged in 2010 on fresh corruption accusations.

In 2013, Kwame Kilpatrick received a 23-year jail term. Less than 12 hours before he left office, former president Donald Trump commuted his sentence.

“Mr. Kilpatrick’s involvement in a racketeering and bribery operation during his tenure in public service resulted in a sentence of around seven years in jail. “Mr. Kilpatrick has led Bible study groups with his fellow prisoners and taught public speaking classes during his incarceration,” the White House stated in a statement.

Tony Mack: Who is he?

Trenton elected Tony Mack as its mayor in 2010.

In 2012, Mack was charged with six felonies. He was charged with two charges of wire fraud, mail fraud, taking and consenting to take bribes, attempted obstruction of commerce by extortion, and conspiracy to impede and influence interstate commerce by extortion.

Mack was one of eight people, including his brother Ralphiel Mack, who were also charged.

The brothers were charged with planning to take in around $119,000 in cash to help two people buy and build on a land owned by the city.

2014 saw the conviction of Tony Mack on all charges. A roughly five-year term to federal prison was imposed against him. 2018 saw his release.

Larry Langford: Who is he?

In 2007, Larry Langford emerged victorious as Birmingham’s mayor, unseating nine contenders, among them the sitting mayor, Bernard Kincaid.

In 2008, bribery, fraud, money laundering, and filing false tax returns were among the 101 charges brought against Langford, Montgomery investment banker William B. Blount, and former state Democratic Chairman Al LaPierre.

Langford was charged with participating in an ongoing bribery plot and accepting payments totaling $235,000.

He was removed from office automatically after being found guilty on 60 charges. Due to serious health concerns, his 15-year jail term was reduced, and in 2018, he was granted early release.

In 2019, Langford passed away at the age of 72.

Buddy Cianci: Who is he?

With two terms as mayor of Providence, from 1991 to 2002 and from 1975 to 1984, Buddy Cianci held the record for the longest tenure.

In 1984, after his plea of not guilty to an assault charge stemming from a fight with a contractor, Cianci was legally compelled to retire. Cianci sought to run in the special election after he resigned, claiming that his sentence was five years suspended rather than going to jail. He was declared ineligible to run by the Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

In 1990, Cianci stood for mayor once again and won reelection.

Along with numerous other municipal officials, he was charged with racketeering, conspiracy, extortion, witness tampering, and mail fraud in 2001.

Although Cianci was found guilty of conducting a corrupt criminal organization and racketeering conspiracy, he was cleared of 26 other counts. In 2002, he was given a five-year federal prison term and was required by law to step down as mayor.

2007 saw Cianci’s release from jail. After that, he became a radio program presenter and entered the 2014 mayoral race. His electoral defeat was razor thin.

At the age of 74, he passed away in 2016.