Who are the elected officials in the Jackson MS bribery scandal? What we know

Two co-conspirators named in court documents as elected officials

After the second guilty plea in Jackson’s bribery scandal, there are still questions about the identities of the elected officials who court documents allege were also involved, along with former Ward 2 Councilwoman Angelique Lee.

Sherik Marve’ Smith pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery in federal court Thursday morning. According to court documents, prosecutors allege Smith worked with “Unaccused Co-Conspirator B” and “Unaccused Co-Conspirator C,” both of whom are elected officials of the City of Jackson. Another conspirator, “Unaccused Co-Conspirator A,” was also involved in Smith and Lee’s cases.

It is common for unindicted conspirators to be named as part of another criminal investigation. It is not uncommon for these unnamed conspirators to never be charged.

The Jackson scandal revolves around a real estate project proposed by two out-of-town real estate developers who were actually undercover FBI agents. The indictment states that Smith agreed to make “cash payments and campaign contributions to unindicted co-conspirator B and unindicted co-conspirator C” from the undercover agents.

The bribes, documents in the Smith case show, were in exchange for unindicted co-conspirator B voting for the downtown real estate project, which Lee agreed to do when she was bribed. The bribes also came in exchange for unindicted co-conspirator C’s agreement to postpone a deadline in favor of the real estate project, prosecutors allege in court documents.

Councilwoman and Ward 7 Council President Virgi Lindsay confirmed that only one member of the Jackson City Council can vote to approve a development project. In addition to Lindsay, council members include Ward 1 Councilor Ashby Foote, Ward 3 Councilor Kenneth Stokes, Ward 4 Councilor Brian Grizzell, Ward 5 Councilor Vernon Hartley and Ward 6 Councilor, Aaron Banks. Lee resigned from the council just hours before her arraignment in August.

After Lee’s guilty plea in August, four council members – Foote, Grizzell, Hartley and Lindsay – confirmed that they had also met individually with out-of-town real estate developers interested in building a project in downtown Jackson. All denied taking bribes at the meetings. They also confirmed that Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens was present at each of the individual meetings. No one could confirm whether they were the same developers Lee met who turned out to be FBI agents. Banks and Stokes were the only council members who did not respond when asked if they also met with the out-of-town developers.

The same day Lee pleaded guilty in August, Stokes held a news conference in which he said he knew of several other Jackson and Hinds County officers who would also be charged. He declined to say how or who he thought would be charged.

“I believe there will be a number of charges against this community at the county and city level,” Stokes said at the Aug. 14 press conference. “I said a few weeks ago that we need to pray for the city and we need to pray for the county.”

The Clarion Ledger reached out to each council member for comment Thursday following Smith’s guilty plea. Foote, Stokes, Grizzell, Banks and Lindsay could not be reached for comment. Hartley said he wanted to review the case in more detail before making further comment, but issued this statement.

“Obviously the investigation and charges are ongoing,” Hartley said via text message. “As city leaders, we must now work even harder to restore public trust. The citizens of Jackson expect us to move forward and continue to work diligently to improve our capital city. We are committed to this work.”

As for unindicted co-conspirator C’s agreement to postpone a deadline in favor of the project, it is still unclear which of the city’s elected officials has that authority.

Matt Steffey, a law professor at Mississippi College School of Law for more than 30 years, said he believes either the mayor or the council are the ones who have that authority.

“The elected officials in question would almost certainly be the mayor or a member of the City Council. And most of the work that came to mind (from the court documents) is being done by the mayor,” Steffey said Thursday. “My first thought goes to the mayor, that you described something that is normally done by the mayor. There are circumstances where I can imagine this referring to a member of the City Council. But that seems to fall on the executive function side of things – setting deadlines as the project progresses – so I would think it’s the mayor.”

Neither the mayor nor any council member other than Lee and Smith has been accused of a crime.

Prosecutors allege that the following payments intended to be bribes were made to unindicted co-conspirators B and C:

A $10,000 cash payment from the undercover FBI agents to unindicted co-conspirator B.
Protective services for the unindicted co-conspirator B.
An employment opportunity for a family member of unindicted co-conspirator B.
A $10,000 check from Smith to unindicted co-conspirator C’s re-election committee using funds from the undercover FBI agents after the funds were routed through an account belonging to unindicted co-conspirator A.

Jackson spokeswoman Melissa Payne released this statement Thursday when asked which elected official had the authority to push back a deadline on a development project:

“We know no more about this situation than what has already been made public and it would be entirely inappropriate for us to comment,” Payne said.

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba did not hold a news conference Monday, as he typically does most weeks. Councilmen Stokes and Banks also were not present at a special City Council meeting on Tuesday.

Banks and Stokes did not respond to a request for comment about why they were not present at Tuesday’s council meeting.

Two co-conspirators named in court documents as elected officials

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