It appears former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba will serve between three and four years in federal prison for his conspiracy to commit bribery conviction.
Lumumba, former Jackson City Councilman Aaron Banks, and former Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens pleaded guilty to the crime in July. U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan, III sentenced Owens to 41 months in prison and Banks to 45 months in prison Thursday.
Lumumba was not sentenced with his fellow conspirators Thursday. Judge Daniel Jordan instead held a motion hearing after the former Jackson Mayor filed several objections to his presentence investigation report (PSI).
Chief among Lumumba's objections was the calculation of loss. Such calculations are included in federal sentencing guidelines and assist in determining the length of the prison sentence. Posted below is a partial list of the applicable sentencing guidelines for Lumumba.
The resentence investigation report calculated total losses at $177,000: $50,000 paid to Lumumba, $50,000 bribe promised to Lumumba, $70,000 in for the costs of the trip to Miami. The source of $7,000 in claimed loss was not disclosed.
Lumumba's lawyer Gerald Evelyn objected to the loss calculations, arguing the $70,000 was a cost of the investigation and should be excluded. Evelyn argued the promised bribe should be omitted as well.
"The government arranged this affair", as it paid for hotel rooms, use of a private jet, nightclubs, and the use of a yacht. The money spent by 22 agents was not itemized, argued Evelyn.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Fulcher wasted no time in firing back at the Lumumba team. "The probation officer got this right. We have submitted receipts for the money spent. This was a trip to South Florida planned by Mr. Owens. It was part of the bribe conduct, a benefit received, all-expense paid vacation on private jets, hotel rooms, and visits to a club. Those are costs of reasonable value for the trip. Chokwe Lumumba could have accepted those bribes in Jackson but part of these bribes are a vacation getaway.
Fulcher pointed out nearly half of the cost of the trip was $30,000 spent on the private jet. The money spent on entertainment for the defendants was part of the inducement. Payment for such entertainment is part of the indictment and thus is not an expense.
Evelyn did not present any case law showing such inducements are expenses, a fact observed by Judge Jordan.
Lumumba continued to argue a Fifth Circuit case, U.S.A. v. Roussell (2013) prevented the Court from considering the promised bribe as a loss. The case involved New Orleans police officers soliciting bribes from Entergy in exchange for storm-related work. The government paid one bribe. The Court held the promise of the future bribe was speculative and thus could not be considered at sentencing. However, Judge Jordan said the case at hand differed from Roussell.
The bribe in the New Orleans case would only take place if a future storm caused severe damage in New Orleans, a rather uncertain condition. A specific promise of a bribe was made to Lumumba. Owens and the Undercovers (sounds like a band) gave the former Mayor $50,000 as a down payment on the bribe.
Judge Jordan held the entire bribe, paid and promised, could be included in the loss calculations. The Court pointed out all bribery activity occurred after Lumumba agreed to the conspiracy.
Judge Jordan decreed Lumumba would be classified at level 21. The prison term for such a classification is 37 to 46 months. The former Mayor will be sentenced on November 20.
34 comments:
Good riddance of BAD RUBBISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That $7K was for the Gratuity....
kumbaya lumumba.
Translation: Chowke: "Yes, I took bribes but they could have been much larger. Right?"
Does this mean that Sista Rukia will be running the family business for 3-4 years? A family that grifts together stays together. Right?
The Mayor should be held to a higher standard than the District Attorney and Councilman. I was hoping he would get far more than this slap on the wrist.
Who ordered tha gratuity?
He will goto federal camp. Its prison for rich people
How much of that time will he end up serving in a Jail? (not home confinement or half-way house)
None.
a sentence that low is somewhat of a slap in the face to the city of Jackson w/ consideration to the damage he did to this city while in pursuit of how he could use his office to enrich himself. His violation of public trust and his oath of office should tack on no less than 10 years w/ no chance of probation, served behind bars in a jail facility
What a joke this country, state, and city is. This dude set the whole city back 15 years
Crime pays at Club Fed (golf course included).
He should have to make restitution for the costs. And, ideally for the times he didn't get caught, too. 😏
How long have they dragged this out. After his prison term he will move to Alanta and become a hero for being entrapped by whitey.
You're nuts, Kingfish. Why would he get a lesser sentence than his two subordinates?
Why? Because I said he is not going to jail? Because he isn't going to jail. Banks got toughest sentence because he would not cooperate. That is included in the guidelines from what I understand.
He's not rich and neither is his sister.
The question was how much jail time he would get and you said 'none'.
I hope you're wrong, KF, that he won't get any prison time. I agree that Jody was the ringleader here and deserves the most time. He's the one that started this whole thing and got the others involved (the Mayor, 2 Councilmen/women, and his cousin). But the Mayor, our supposed city leader, still engaged in a crime and should not walk away with no time served, in my opinion. If Jody got 41 months, the Mayor should at least get 24-36 months. Banks got 45, but his sentence was a little longer since he had 2 prior DUI convictions.
I'm curious about your comment that Jody didn't cooperate and the Mayor did so the Mayor's sentence should be shorter. My outside view was that they both fought these charges until the last minute. How did the Mayor cooperate more than Jody ? Did he provide evidence against the others or someone else ? I'm not arguing your point; I just don't understand it.
Oh, he will get prison time, he just won't get any jail time.
Y’all don’t know nothing about the Law! This ain’t TV nor Mississippi Justice. The Law is complicated and the Verdicts more complicated! The good out of all this is his services are no longer needed.
They don't get it KF.
I take it "jail" is different from "prison". If "jail" is none; how much time will he spend in "prison"?
No. We don't. Please explain. 5:09, 7:42. I assume u have done time and know. I haven't.
Time won't matter. They will be right back at thievery soon enough.
That’s who Jackson voted for to be mayor and we all wonder why the city is shit. Keep up the good work Jackson. Someday you will get it right.
Jail is indeed not the same thing as prison, although many people, perhaps most, use the two words interchangeably. And ignorant is not the same as stupid. @9:19 PM, now, I’m not saying you are either one of those; just pointing out another such example of native speakers not knowing their own language.
Yes prison is harder than a jail cell. He did the crime & will do his time! Who paid for his out of state attorney? Did COJ pay attorney fees? Asking for a friend.
Jails are for pretrial detainees. Prison is for convicted felons. Federal prison is preferable to state prison. The inmates at Unit 29 in Parchman destroyed the building in just a few years.
Nothing is worse than a jail cell at Raymond. The Jackson Zoo is superior to the Raymond jail.
Other folks get a slap on the risk all the time, if you know what I mean
It's OK to TAKE a risk, but you should never SLAP one.
Many convicts (those convicted for committing a crime) serve their sentence at a local police house, station or jail. They get some measure of freedom, running errands, maybe, doing stuff for the Chief, straightening up, typing, etc, etc. They were sentenced to prison but are in jail for the duration of their sentence.
Post a Comment