Officials in Jackson have set a special election date to fill the vacancy of embattled City Councilwoman Angelique Lee amid the FBI’s ongoing investigation into corruption in Mississippi’s capital.
On Tuesday, Oct. 1, voters in Ward 2 will vote to replace Lee, who stepped down from her post last week and pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy to bribery charge.
The 48-year-old is said to have accepted bribes of $13,654 in cash and used an additional $6,000 on a credit card provided by undercover FBI informants between February and March 2024.
On top of the monetary bribes, Lee received designer handbags, and Golden Goose shoes, among other items, to vouch for a major convention center hotel, retail developments, and the closure of a road related to the FBI-staged project through her role as a city council member.
Two individuals were named as “a confidential human source” employed by the FBI and “purported to be a real estate developer from Nashville, Tennessee, seeking to invest in and develop a property in downtown Jackson, Mississippi,” per the five-page filing.
Lee waived her right to a grand jury before entering the guilty plea last week. Her sentencing date is set for Nov. 13. She faces a maximum of five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. A federal judge will determine the former councilwoman’s sentence.
This comes months after FBI agents raided the business and office of Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens while paying a visit to City Hall. An unidentified co-conspirator mentioned in court documents has yet to be indicted.
While other possible bad actors in the corruption scandal have not yet been publicly identified by the Department of Justice, Lee’s council colleague Kenneth Stokes weighed in on whom he thinks is in for a rude awakening.
“We can go with rumor,” Stokes said on Mary Wieden & You. “Rumor has it that it’s going to be the DA, Jody Owens. Rumor has it that’s going to be the mayor, and rumor has it that it might be Councilman Aaron Banks.”
Stokes is confident that the public will know who else is facing charges in connection with the case within the next 90 days.
Ben Milam contributed to this report.
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