JACKSON, Miss., — Angelique Lee hesitated and appeared to hold back tears on Wednesday afternoon as a federal judge asked her if she understood that a felony conviction meant she would no longer be able to vote or run for public office.
Hours earlier, she had abruptly resigned from her position as Jackson’s Ward 2 city councilwoman, telling her colleagues on the Jackson City Council only that the decision was due to “circumstances that I am not at liberty to discuss at the moment” in an email at 9:30 a.m.
At the Thad Cochran Courthouse in front of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi Judge Daniel P. Jordan III, she pleaded guilty to a felony charge for conspiracy to commit federal program bribery. Lee said little beyond giving yes and no responses to the judges’ questions.
Lee could serve up to five years in prison and have to pay a $250,000 fine for the bribery charge, the judge told her on Wednesday. She will appear in court again on Nov. 13 at 10 a.m. for sentencing.
The U.S. Department of Justice sought Lee’s indictment for conspiring to take thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for using her power as a city councilmember to vote in favor of a fictitious real-estate development project in Jackson, the federal indictment alleges.
FBI Agents Posed As Real-Estate Developers
The indictment says that in February and March of this year, Lee received several payments that two purported real-estate developers paid for with their own credit cards, including $10,000 in an electronic transfer through an unnamed co-conspirator identified only as “Co-conspirator A,” $3,000 in cash and approximately $6,000 of goods from a luxury retail store.
Unknown to Lee, both of the individuals posing as developers were working undercover with the FBI.
“Lee accepted cash, deposits and other gifts” from two unnamed individuals posing as real estate developers from Nashville, Tenn., “seeking to invest in and develop a property in downtown Jackson, Mississippi,” the indictment states.
The FBI raided Lee’s home in May, searching for several items that investigators allege she received as bribes, an attorney with the Department of Justice said during her arraignment.
As part of her plea, Lee agreed to forfeit the items outlined in the indictment—including shoes, clothing and jewelry.
The raid on Lee’s home is not the only one the FBI has carried out in Jackson in recent months; in May, FBI agents raided Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens’ office as well as his private business and visited City Hall, though the agency still has not disclosed the purpose of that raid.
‘A Tough Chapter for Her’
Following the hearing, Angeilque Lee’s attorney, Aafram Sellers, spoke with reporters outside the federal courthouse. “I believe she sought the position to help change Jackson. Good people make bad decisions at times, but I must say that for her to come in and take full responsibility for her actions says a lot about her and her character,” he said. “This is a tough chapter for her, and hopefully this is the beginning phase of rehabilitating her character for her constituents and the people of Jackson, and she wishes the city continued growth and success.”
On Wednesday, Ward 7 City Councilwoman and Council President Virgi Lindsay announced that the remaining council members must now plan a special election to fill Lee’s vacated seat.
Under state law, because the remainder of Lee’s term is longer than six months, the Jackson City Council must meet within 10 days to order a special election that must take place within 30 to 45 days following the meeting.
“Under these unfortunate circumstances, the Ward 2 seat is now vacant,” Lindsay said during a brief press conference at City Hall. “My intent today is to reassure the people of the City of Jackson that the urgent legislative affairs of the city will continue uninterrupted.”
Correction: This story incorrectly stated that FBI agents raided Angelique Lee’s home in March. In fact, agents raided Lee’s home in May. We apologize for the error.
