The mayor of Charlotte, N.C., was arrested by FBI agents on Wednesday on charges of public corruption and stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of bribes "in exchange for the use of his official position," CNN reported.
After an FBI sting, 47-year-old Patrick D. Cannon was found to have taken bribes through receiving programs of federal funds, honest services wire fraud and extortion under color of official right, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney Anne Tompkins of western North Carolina.
Posing as commercial real estate developers and investors looking to do business in the North Carolina city, FBI agents were used by federal authorities to start a corruption investigation in August 2010, Tomkins' office said.
"Investigators documented five separate occasions between January 2013 and February 2014 in which Cannon allegedly took more than $48,000 in cash, airline tickets, a hotel room and a luxury apartment from the undercover agents," CNN reported.
Cannon received $20,000 in cash in the mayor's office in the final incident, authorities said.
Using his stature as a City Council member, mayor pro tem and, eventually, mayor, Cannon allegedly accepted the largesse in exchange for returning the favor.
"First elected to City Council in 1993 -- when he was 26 and two years removed from graduating from North Carolina A&T State University -- Cannon served through 2005, including the last four years as mayor pro tem," CNN reported.
Serving as the president of a private parking business for four years, Cannot was elected again in 2009 to the City Council. Until his election as mayor in November 2013, he acted as both a council member and mayor pro tem between 2010 and 2013.
After appearing in court on Wednesday, the mayor was released on bond.
According to the U.S. attorney's office, he could be sentenced to as many as 50 years in federal prison and pay as much as $1.5 million in fines if he gets convicted on all the charges, CNN reported.
The Charlotte mayor's office declined a CNN request for comment.
