杰克逊市前市议员班克斯贿赂案判刑45个月
密西西比州杰克逊市前市议员亚伦·班克斯11月5日被联邦法院判处45个月监禁，并处罚金1.5万美元。美国地区法官丹尼尔·乔丹三世当天在杰克逊市的联邦法院宣判，班克斯须于2027年1月4日报到入狱，法官建议将其关押在亚祖城联邦惩教中心。
班克斯曾代表杰克逊市第六选区担任市议员，今年7月6日承认一项共谋罪，承认自己在一宗贿赂案中收受现金和其他好处，以换取对一项开发计划的支持。这宗案件由联邦调查局卧底探员设局揭发，探员假扮开发商，声称要在杰克逊市中心兴建一座会议中心酒店。案件还牵涉前市长乔奎·安塔尔·卢蒙巴和前欣兹县地区检察官乔迪·欧文斯，欧文斯在同一天早些时候也已宣判。
这起调查于2024年11月公开，当时联邦检察官公布起诉书，震动了杰克逊市政厅和欣兹县检察官办公室。班克斯是最新一名获刑的涉案官员。法官在量刑时指出，公职人员利用职务谋取私利，损害了公众对政府的信任。班克斯的律师没有当庭表示是否上诉。
（来源：克拉里昂纪事报）
Former Jackson Councilman Aaron Banks Sentenced to 45 Months in Bribery Case
Former Jackson, Mississippi, city councilman Aaron Banks was sentenced in federal court on November 5 to 45 months in prison and a $15,000 fine. U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III handed down the sentence in federal court in Jackson; Banks must report to prison on January 4, 2027, and the judge recommended he serve his term at the Federal Correctional Institution in Yazoo City.
Banks, who represented Jackson's Ward 6 on the council, pleaded guilty on July 6 to one count of conspiracy, admitting he took cash and other benefits in a bribery scheme in exchange for supporting a development project. The case was uncovered by an FBI undercover operation in which agents posed as developers proposing a convention center hotel in downtown Jackson. The case also implicated former mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and former Hinds County district attorney Jody Owens, who was also sentenced earlier the same day.
The investigation became public in November 2024 when federal prosecutors unsealed indictments, shaking Jackson City Hall and the Hinds County prosecutor's office. Banks is the latest official in the case to be sentenced. The judge noted at sentencing that officials who use their office for personal gain damage public trust in government. Banks' attorney did not say in court whether he would appeal.
(Source: Clarion Ledger)
来源：克拉里昂纪事报
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：杰克逊密西西比州议会大厦（图：Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0） / The Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
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