Nov. 8 (UPI) — The mayor of Jackson, Miss., a city council member and a district attorney have been indicted on charges of participating in a bribery scheme,federal prosecutors said.
The three defendants — Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, 41, Jackson City Councilman Aaron Banks, 47, and Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens II, 43 — made their initial court appearances Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge LaKeysha Greer Isaac in Jackson.
After pleading not guilty, Lumumba, a Democrat, told the press outside the courthouse that he will continue to function as mayor of Jackson, the capital city of Mississippi that is home to some 143,000 people.
“I will continue to handle the business of the city of Jackson while my attorneys continue to handle the business of these court proceedings,” he said.
“We will move forward.”
According to the indictment, between October 2023 and May 2024, Owens orchestrated bribes to be paid by two FBI undercover agents posing as real estate developers. Prosecutors said that Owens told the agents that if they wanted their development project to proceed, they would have to bribe Lumumba, Banks and Jackson City Councilwoman Angelique Lee.
Prosecutors said Lumumba accepted a bribe payment of $50,000 — concealed as five $10,000 campaign donation checks made by third parties — from the purported developers to act on their downtown Jackson development.
Lee allegedly accepted $10,000, $3,000 of which was in cash, as well as a shopping trip valued at some $6,000 in order to secure her votes in support of their project.
Banks, who is accused of soliciting a $50,000 bribe in support of his votes, allegedly accepted an initial $10,000 in cash and promises of employment for a family member as well as a protective detail service, prosecutors said.
“As alleged in the indictment, from campaign donations generated through laundered money to stacks of cash bribes, the members of this conspiracy allegedly offered and accepted bribes in exchange for official acts,” U.S. Attorney Todd Gee for the Southern District of Mississippi said in a statement.
“Leaders who are awarded the public’s trust should be focusing on the needs of the Jackson community, not looking to line their own pockets and benefit themselves.”
Lee resigned as a Jackson City Councilwoman in August and pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery.
Lumumba and Owens face a series of charges, the most severe of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Banks’ most serious offense comes with a maximum penalty of 10 years behind bars.
Rukia Lumumba, the mayor’s sister, told reporters Thursday that her brother is determined to run for mayor next year.
“He has done great things for Jackson and so he will continue to do that work,” she said.
“We understand that this is just an attack, it is an attack and an attempt to assassinate his character to prevent his re-election, but we will continue to do the good work that he has always done.”
