Cannon to appear in court Tuesday

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Flip to the back of our pages and you'll see we have a lot in common with good ol' Patrick Cannon: Both CL and the former mayor count strip clubs as a source of income! (Ours is just legit.)

In a bill of information - a fancy legal document used by the federal government to bring charges against someone - released Monday, an unnamed owner of a "certain live adult entertainment club" in town paid Cannon a couple thou to help the owner move his club away from the proposed Blue Line extension so that it could remain open as an adult club. Several sources have named the business man as David "Slim" Baucom, who's gotten in trouble before for questionable donations to politicos.

Cannon contacted unnamed city officials on Baucom's behalf but "willfully failed to disclose the extent" of their relationship.

Cannon is set to appear before a magistrate judge tomorrow at 10:45 a.m. to plead guilty to a charge of corruption. A press conference with an FBI agent and the U.S. attorney for the Western district is scheduled for 1 p.m. Cannon faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The current mayor and city manager issued a statement today in response to the bill of information:

Today we learned about the filing of the Bill of Information by the U.S. Attorney in the Patrick Cannon case. It is our hope that this filing will advance the resolution of the case at the earliest possible date. The City continues to cooperate fully with federal investigators in order to deal appropriately with any allegations of wrongdoing. Until the federal investigation is complete, it is inappropriate for City personnel to comment on any of the specifics of the case.