NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans city councilman has pleaded guilty to plotting to misuse federal money intended to help a nonprofit organization after 2005's Hurricane Katrina and divert some of it to one of his political campaigns.
Sixty-three-year-old Jon Johnson faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He said Wednesday he would resign from his council seat.
In a statement, Johnson says he agreed to plead guilty that he used Federal Emergency Management Agency money for his 2007 Senate campaign and filed a false statement on an SBA loan.
Johnson was involved in city politics for three decades.
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft of government funds and to submit false documents. Federal prosecutors are trying to sort out how much Johnson stole, saying it was thousands of dollars.
