After leaving office, Nagin founded CRN Initiatives LLC, a firm that focuses on emergency preparedness, green energy product development, publishing, and public speaking.

[2] In 2014, Nagin was convicted on twenty of twenty-one charges of wire fraud, bribery, and money laundering related to bribes from city contractors before and after Katrina[3][4][5] and was sentenced to ten years in federal prison.

[9] His childhood was typical of that of urban youth,[9] and his father held two jobs: a janitor at New Orleans City Hall by night and a fabric cutter at a clothing factory by day.

He moved to Los Angeles, California, then to Dallas, Texas in 1981 to take Internal Audit Manager and Division Controller jobs with Associates Corporation.

Nagin also lobbied at the local, State, and Federal government levels, as many of the businesses he managed were regulated and required formal franchise renewals.

In 1995, Nagin received the Young Leadership Council Diversity and Role Model Award and later sat on the boards of the United Way and Covenant House.

[20] However, he periodically gave contributions to candidates of both parties, including Representative Billy Tauzin in 1999 and 2000, as well as Democratic Senators John Breaux and J. Bennett Johnston, Jr. earlier in the decade.

Shortly before the primary mayoral election, on January 17, 2002, the New Orleans Times Picayune and Gambit Weekly endorsed Nagin.

Some of his opponents were the Police Chief Richard Pennington, State Senator Paulette Irons, and City Councilman Troy Carter.

[1] The 2004 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the City of New Orleans, as certified by CPA firm KPMG, highlighted many significant accomplishments of the Nagin administration.

According to The American City Business Journal, per capita income in New Orleans was rising at the fastest rate in the nation.

Since 2002, the area had seen over $400 million of film productions, including movies like the Oscar award-winning Ray, starring Jamie Foxx, and All the King's Men, featuring Sean Penn.

According to MovieMaker Magazine, New Orleans was the fourth-best place to film a movie and had earned the title "Hollywood South".

Nagin issued a voluntary evacuation call at 6:00 p.m. on September 30th, leading to heavy interstate traffic as some 600,000 metro New Orleanians left.

Early on Friday, August 26, Mayor Nagin advised New Orleanians to keep a close eye on the storm and prepare for evacuation.

This phased approach along with "contraflow", wherein all incoming interstate highway lanes are reversed outward, ensured that additional vehicles moving onto already congested roads would not create massive gridlock.

The local newspaper reported that Nagin stopped short of ordering a mandatory evacuation because of concerns about the city's liability for closing hotels and other businesses.

The Superdome was opened as a shelter of last resort, and police went throughout the city with loudspeakers alerting all remaining citizens to head to key pickup points for free bus rides.

After hearing reports of this, Nagin criticized the federal and state response on WWL radio, and his passionate outburst went viral.

[citation needed] In response to a question at a town hall meeting in October 2005, Nagin said: "I can see in your eyes, you want to know, '[h]ow do I take advantage of this incredible opportunity?

During a subsequent interview on Telemundo with Jose Diaz-Balart, Nagin praised the great work Hispanic workers did in New Orleans and said the city would not have recovered without them.

[38] In an interview with Tavis Smiley broadcast on Public Radio International on January 13, 2006, Nagin said he used the phrase "chocolate city" in reference to a time in the 1970s when African Americans were just starting to exercise political power in places like Washington, D.C.

For example, his "100-day plan" to accelerate the rebuilding of New Orleans was bashed for what critics said was a tardy release, lack of details and activity in moving forward.

[42] Nagin administration spokesperson Rob Couhig backed away from a 100-day promise, stating that it was not meant as a "time period," but as a short-range initiative to improve quality-of-life issues.

[54] David Hammer of the Times-Picayune reported on April 23, 2009, that Nagin had taken "plenty of other trips" at the expense of NetMethods, a company owned by city vendor Mark St.

[55] In April 2009, Nagin was obliged "to sit for a deposition as part of a civil lawsuit over the city's controversial crime camera program.

"[56] The Times-Picayune had obtained information that Mark St. Pierre, who allegedly paid for the holiday, had made substantial donations to Nagin's 2006 re-election campaign.

[58] In April 2010, as a result of a FOIA request from a New Orleans news station, Nagin was investigated for destroying his official city emails.

[59] In June 2012, Frank Fradella, who was facing major securities fraud charges, pleaded guilty in New Orleans federal court to one count of conspiracy to bribe a public official.

[60] On January 18, 2013, Nagin was indicted on 21 corruption charges, including wire fraud, conspiracy, bribery, money laundering, and filing false tax returns related to bribes from city contractors.