Remember Hurricane Katrina? Remember how New Orleans got swamped? Remember the cost in lives?

[PHILIP SCHNEIDER]

Remember the mayor of New Orleans? Remember Ray Nagin and Louisianna Senator Mary Landrieu? Remember how they and the democrat machine media savaged the Bush administration for the devastation of the Gulf Coast?

Well cheer up. At least ONE of the two has just received justice;

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Ray Nagin, the former two-term mayor of New Orleans indicted after he left office, was convicted Wednesday of 20 federal corruption charges for illegal dealings with city vendors, dating back to 2004. A jury delivered its verdict just before 1 p.m., after six hours of deliberations that followed a nine-day trial.

Nagin, 57, joins a list of Louisiana elected officials convicted of misdeeds while in office, but he is New Orleans' first mayor to be convicted of public corruption. Under federal sentencing guidelines, he could face a 20-year prison term, possibly more, lawyers have said.

In a case that relied heavily on the testimony of businessmen-turned-convicts -- and a paper trail that showed money changing hands and lucrative city contracts doled out -- prosecutors described a public official "on the take." Nagin was an opportunist who pursued businessmen under pressure to get government work, targeting them to line his own pockets, prosecutors said. (Get up-to-the-minute updates from the federal courthouse.)

Nagin's defense attorney, Robert Jenkins, characterized those contractors -- some of whom suffer from their own legal and financial problems -- as scheming to use Nagin without his knowledge, and now eager to testify to help their own situations.

Nagin sat expressionless, staring straight ahead, when the verdict was read. His wife, Seletha Nagin, sobbed. Relatives tried to console her.

Making a call to one of their sons, Jeremy Nagin, she could be heard saying, "Jeremy, Jeremy, calm down."

Nagin was somber and silent as he made his way through a crush of reporters outside of the courthouse -- a far cry from the confidence he showed when he first arrived more than two weeks ago at the start of his trial.

Addressing the press, Jenkins said, "Obviously, I'm surprised. Now we're moving on to the appeal process."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Coman, the lead prosecutor on the case, gave a brief statement. "We are pleased with the verdict and obviously we are very thankful to the jury and the court," he said.

Jurors acquitted Nagin of a single bribery charge involving a $10,000 payment from Three Fold Consultants to Nagin's sons, Jeremy and Jarin. The check was made out to cash, and written to the Nagin family's granite countertop business, Stone Age LLC. The sons were not charged in the case and did not testify.

Jurors began deliberating Monday, spending about three hours in discussions before breaking for the day. A medical issue with a juror postponed proceedings on Tuesday, but they went back to work Wednesday at 9 a.m.

Nagin, a Democrat, was the public face of the city during Hurricane Katrina, making national headlines as he lambasted the federal government for its response to the storm and subsequent flood.

He now lives in Frisco, Texas, where he has avoided the spotlight, staying quiet save for an occasional tweet, since his indictment a year ago. 

Reacting to the verdict in the afternoon, Nagin successor Mayor Mitch Landrieu called it a "terribly sad day for New Orleans." 

"So hopefully this closes a very kind of ugly chapter in the history of the city of New Orleans," Landrieu said.

Sentencing is set for June 11 before U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan.