Charlotte, NC mayor facing corruption charges

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Less than six months on the job, the mayor of Charlotte was arrested and accused today of accepting more than $48,000 in bribes from undercover FBI agents posing as businessmen who wanted to do work with North Carolina's largest city.

Mayor Patrick Cannon, a 47-year-old Democrat who rose from the city's public housing projects to become a successful businessman and politician, faces federal theft and bribery charges. Cannon was accused of soliciting and accepting more than $48,000 in cash, airline tickets, a hotel room and the use of a luxury apartment as bribes.

If convicted on all the charges, he faces 20 years in prison and more than $1 million in fines.

Cannon, a longtime radio show host and the founder of E-Z parking, a parking management company, was elected mayor in November, replacing Anthony Foxx. Foxx was named Transportation Secretary by President Barack Obama.

Telephone messages left for Cannon were not immediately returned.