A yacht, a hollow book and a 'war room': How the FBI ensnared a city's leaders in a bribery investigation

JACKSON, Miss. — For out-of-state developers hoping to bring a win to Mississippi’s capital, their pitch was flat.

JACKSON, Miss. — For out-of-state developers hoping to bring a win to Mississippi’s capital, their pitch was flat. 

The city had long been searching for someone to develop part of downtown Jackson, and when two men showed up expressing their interest in late February, City Council member Virgi Lindsay agreed to meet with them at an upscale steakhouse in a nearby suburb.

But they had “no vision,” Lindsay said in an interview, and they were short on details. She could not recall whether they even offered a business card.

Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens invited several City Council members, including Virgi Lindsay, pictured, to meet with developers.Lauren Witte / Clarion Ledger / USA Today via ImagnShe left the dinner — after having paid for her own meal, a personal policy that is a holdover from her days as a newspaper reporter, she said —  not expecting to join them at a ribbon-cutting any time soon.  

“I just thought I would never see them again, because I just felt like they were so poorly prepared,” Lindsay said. “I certainly did not suspect they were connected to the FBI.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-ensnared-jackson-leaders-bribery-investigation-rcna179660

---