JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – A recording released by the U.S. District Court on Monday reveals more details about the bribery scheme implicating a Jackson City Councilwoman, including the conversations she had with FBI informants.
Last week, Ward 2 Councilwoman Angelique Lee pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery in connection with receiving cash and gifts from FBI informants in exchange for her support for a “fictitious” proposal for a development project in downtown Jackson.
Those bribes included a $10,000 electronic transfer to cover campaign debt, a $3,000 cash payment, and $6,000 in luxury items she purchased using an FBI agent’s credit card.
Records also show that on the night of March 27, Lee asked agents if she would have to report the funds as income tax, and told the FBI informants that “you’ve got more votes coming.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kirkham read some of the dialogue between the councilwoman and the informants to the court. That dialogue is below:
FBI informant: “Take this. That’s yours. Thank you. All of that. And there’s $800 more in there, so that’s $3,000.”
Lee: “Oh, my God.”
Informant: “No, no. Take that.”
Lee: “I don’t have to report that?”
Informant: “Huh? Don’t report it. I wouldn’t. I mean, it’s cash. Why would you report it?”
Lee: “Oh, my God.”
Informant: “Listen, thank you.”
Lee: “Thank you.”
Informant: “Thank you for helping us and thank you for your vote. That’s huge for us.”
Lee: “You’ve got more votes coming.”
Listen to more from the proceedings below.
It’s unclear what Lee meant by that final comment. One councilperson said it sounded like Lee would be working to curry support among other members.
Responses to an RFQ are evaluated by a team of officials from the mayor’s administration. The winning proposal is then taken to the council for consideration. For any proposal to be approved, it must be signed off on by at least four Jackson City Council members and then executed by the mayor. A five-vote majority by the council is required for a veto-proof majority.
Lumumba has stated numerous times over the years that he is not involved in scoring or choosing proposals submitted.
On March 28, Lee used the FBI informant’s credit card to make some $6,000 in purchases at a luxury retailer in Northeast Jackson. Items included Valentino wedge sandals, a Christian Louboutin tote bag, additional sandals, clothing, earrings, and perfume.
As for the credit card, she was told to go “[expletive] crazy” but “don’t go too crazy.”
The informants were posing as developers out of Nashville and seeking her support for a convention center hotel and to close off a street to make that project happen.
That firm is believed to be Facility Solutions Team, one of three companies that submitted a response to Jackson’s request for qualifications seeking a hotel developer.
Jackson issued an RFQ seeking developers interested in developing the roughly 8-acre site across from the convention center in January. The city issued the new document after the previous request for proposals received no responses, WLBT was told at the time.
Jackson has been working to bring in a convention center hotel for years, saying it would help boost revenues at the Capital City Convention Complex.
According to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s website, FST was established on March 19, a week after proposals were due to the city.
The formation papers were submitted by Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens.
It is believed that Owens introduced the agents to Lee and other council members in an attempt to elicit bribes. WLBT knows of at least four council members who met with the informants including Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote and Ward 5 Councilman Vernon Hartley.
[READ: Mysterious Meetings: Foote and Hartley meet with DA, developers weeks before FBI raids]
Council President Virgi Lindsay told WLBT on Tuesday that she also met with Owens and the developers back in February at Ely’s Restaurant and Bar.
“I felt like it was a meeting where they wanted to get to know me because they came with no documents or proposals,” she said. “I didn’t think they had it together.”
Lindsay echoed some of the same observations raised by Foote and Hartley, both of whom said the so-called developers offered no concrete plans for them to consider.
Also like Foote and Hartley, the Ward 7 leader paid for her own meal. “They were really unprepared and somewhat unprofessional,” she said. “I thought I would never see or hear from them again.”
On May 22, FBI special agents executed a search warrant at Lee’s home, where they recovered all items except for the perfume, which she hid to give as a gift to her boyfriend, Kirkham told the court.
If Lee is convicted she faces up to five years in prison, a fine of not more than $250,000, up to three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. She also must forfeit all the property she received in the form of bribes.
Chief District Judge Daniel Jordan told Lee that had she gone to trial, the United States would have to prove that Lee was an agent of the city of Jackson, and that the city “was a local government that received in any one-year period benefits in excess of $10,000 under a federal program involving a grant, contract, subsidy, loan guarantee, insurance, or other form of federal assistance.”
Prosecutors also would have to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Lee “agreed to accept anything of value from any person with the intent to be influenced in connection with any business transaction or series of transactions of the city… and that the business transactions or transactions involve anything of value of $5,000 or more.”
Lee is expected to be sentenced on November 13. As a condition of her bond, the former councilwoman is prohibited from traveling out of state and was required to surrender her passport to the United States Probation Office. She also is prohibited from owning a firearm, from using alcohol excessively, and from contacting victims or witnesses involved in the investigation.
It’s unknown if the city is still moving forward with reviewing submissions to the hotel RFQ. We reached out to Jackson’s director of communications, Melissa Faith Payne, and are waiting to hear back.
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