Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon resigned after being arrested Wednesday on public corruption charges, allegedly accepting more than $48,000 from undercover FBI agents.
Cannon accepted bribes from undercover agents posing as real estate agents between January 2013 and February 2014 in cash, airline tickets, hotel rooms and use of a luxury apartment, according to a Department of Justice release.
Cannon’s conversations with agents were released in the affidavit.
“OK, so I mean, ‘cause I’m not, I’m not one of those Chicago or Detroit type (of) folk,” Cannon told an undercover agent, according to the affidavit.
Cannon ended the conversation by saying he looked good “in an orange necktie, but not an orange suit.”
Later Wednesday, Cannon resigned from office.
“In light of the charges that have been brought against me, it is my judgement that the pendency of these charges will create too much of a distraction for the business of the city to go forward smoothly and without interruption,” he said in his resignation letter.
After a four-year investigation, Cannon is being charged with theft and bribery, wire fraud and extortion.
Cannon, who had been on the Charlotte City Council since 1993, was the longest serving public official in Charlotte. He became mayor in November when Anthony Foxx left the position to lead the U.S. Department of Transportation.
