A second person in the Jackson bribery scandal was indicted Thursday, relating to the case that brought down former Ward 2 Jackson City Councilwoman Angelique Lee. At least two other elected officials are involved.
An indictment was unsealed Thursday morning for Sherik Marve’ Smith, who is associated with Owens’ “Facilities Solutions Team.” Smith was working with “Unindicted Co-Conspirator B” and “Unindicted Co-Conspirator C,” who are both elected officials of the City of Jackson, according to the indictment.
An anonymous source said that Smith was present at the meetings between Owens and FBI agents, who posed as out-of-town real estate developers. Lee also met with out-of-town real estate developers.
The indictment states that Smith agreed to give “cash payments and campaign contributions to Unindicted Co-conspirator B and Un-indicted Co-conspirator C” from the undercover FBI agents posed as real estate agents.
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The indictment is similar to that of Lee, who pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges in August. Both Smith and Lee accepted money from out-of-town real estate developers from Nashville to support a development in Downtown Jackson. Lee has not been sentenced. Her scheduled November sentencing was continued.
Smith’s LinkedIn bio lists his occupation as an insurance agent with Penn Global Marketing.
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Owens’ attorney Rob McDuff declined to comment whether Smith was associated with Owens.
McDuff, confirmed in a written statement in August that Owens has “been engaged in real estate development,” which McDuff said is legal. But the statement also admits that Owens met with two men claiming to be “large-scale developers” who were interested in “the possibility of building a convention center hotel in Jackson.”
“He believed them and after multiple conversations, agreed to help them. It turns out they were operatives for the FBI,” the statement reads. “Given that status of the investigation, I don’t think it’s appropriate to say anything else at this juncture.”
This is a developing story.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson MS bribery scandal leads to 2nd indictment after Angelique Lee
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