CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Former Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon was expected to plead guilty Tuesday in a corruption case after an FBI sting recorded him accepting thousands of dollars in cash and airline tickets from undercover agents posing as businessmen, according to court documents. 
 
 Cannon agreed to plead guilty to a single count of honest services wire fraud, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to documents filed Monday at U.S. District Court. Cannon was set to appear Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Cayer. 
 
 Cannon, 47, was arrested March 26 and the Democrat resigned the same day, less than six months after taking office. Cannon's lawyer, James Ferguson of Charlotte, did not immediately respond to a message left at his office. 
 
 Cannon's admission of guilt ends a remarkable rise for a man raised by a single mother in one of the city's poorest neighborhoods. He went on to start his own company that manages 25,000 parking spaces, mostly in the city's central business district. 
 
 Cannon was first elected to the City Council in 1993 and became mayor in November, replacing Anthony Foxx, who was named Transportation Secretary by President Barack Obama. 
 
 According to the federal criminal complaint, Cannon accepted more than $48,000 in cash, airline tickets, a hotel room and the use of a luxury apartment from FBI agents posing as real estate developers who wanted to do work with North Carolina's largest city. Cannon is also accused of soliciting up to $1 million more in bribes from the undercover agents. 
 
 If he had been convicted on all charges at trial, Cannon faced up to 50 years in prison and more than $1 million in fines. 
 
 The investigation began in August 2010 after a tip from a local undercover officer about public corruption. At the time, Cannon was a city councilman. 
 
 The complaint said Cannon bragged to agents about his close relationship with former Charlotte mayor and current North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, as well as a recent meeting he had at the White House with Obama. In exchange for the bribes, the mayor promised the undercover agents access to city officials responsible for planning, zoning and permitting, according to the complaint. 
 
 On the last occasion, a private meeting in the mayor's office on Feb. 21, the agent reportedly gave Cannon a briefcase filled with $20,000 in cash. 
 
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 Biesecker reported from Raleigh. Follow him at Twitter.com/mbieseck 

 First Patrick Cannon said he was guilty. Then he said he was sorry. 
 
 In a matter of a few extraordinary minutes, the former mayor of Charlotte faced both his accusers and his community – pleading guilty to a federal corruption charge, then walking out into the glare of a high-noon press conference to apologize to the city he betrayed. 
 
 Speaking publicly for the first time since his March 26 arrest, Cannon appeared to battle his emotions as he gave a 218-word statement to a teeming semicircle of reporters and cameras. Charlotte’s new face of public corruption said he had indeed trampled on the public’s trust. 
 
 “For that, I am deeply sorry. ... I regret having hurt the city that I love,” Cannon said. 
 
 “... I understand the anger, frustration and disappointment that my actions have caused. I can only hope that the life I live from now on will reflect both my remorse and my desire to still make a positive impact upon our city.” 
 
 When Cannon finished, one woman in the crowd applauded. An hour later, Cannon’s chief prosecutor did not. 
 
 “Mr. Cannon betrayed us all,” U.S. Attorney Anne Tompkins said. 
 
 Cannon tripped and fell in the media crush that awaited him as he walked up to the front doors of the federal courthouse on West Trade Street. At 11:28 a.m., when U.S. Magistrate Judge David Cayer called “The United States vs. Patrick Cannon” into session, five years of the defendant’s admitted ethical stumbles became a matter of public record. 
 
 The bureaucratic-sounding charge – honest services wire fraud – belies the seriousness of Cannon’s crime. The 47-year-old Democrat acknowledged taking bribes and other gifts in exchange for using his political influence to help those who paid him. 
 
 Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Savage told the crowded courtroom that Cannon, the target of a nearly four-year FBI investigation, accepted seven bribes totaling $50,500 during a 14-month period beginning in January 2013. 
 
 Most of those illegal payoffs came from undercover FBI agents posing as out-of-town real estate investors. Cannon also took regular bribes from a Charlotte businessman, now identified as strip club mogul David “Slim” Baucom. 
 
 In fact, Tompkins said, Cannon was a mayor and City Council member on retainer – receiving a steady stream of cash and gifts, while being paid extra when something needed to be done. 
 
 Throughout the hearing, Cannon stood before Cayer with his attorneys, James Ferguson and Henderson Hill. He wore a dark gray suit, white shirt and a black-and-white striped tie, ending the parade of orange-jumpsuited defendants whose cases had preceded his in court. At several points, Cannon hung his head and appeared at the point of tears. 
 
 At 11:32 a.m., the man accused of lying repeatedly to his constituents and the FBI put his hand on the Bible and swore to tell the truth. 
 
 “You fully understand the charge against you?” Cayer asked Cannon five minutes later. 
 
 “Yes sir, your honor,” Cannon replied. 
 
 “Are you in fact guilty of the one count?” the judge asked. 
 
 “Yes sir, your honor. I am guilty,” Cannon replied. 
 
 He will be sentenced later this year. His crime carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. 
 
 Under federal sentencing guidelines, Cannon’s actual range of sentence stands now at between 63 and 78 months. That is just a starting point. His case now undergoes a lengthy presentencing examination by federal probation officials who will make a punishment recommendation to Cayer. The judge could add or subtract time from there. 
 
 Cannon has also agreed to forfeit assets to match the amount of his bribes. 
 
 As part of his plea, Cannon pledged to fully cooperate with the investigation that ultimately disgraced him. In return, prosecutors promise to limit the charges that will help determine his sentence to what Savage read in court. 
 
 Randall Eliason, a George Washington University law professor and a former federal prosecutor, estimated Tuesday that Cannon will serve three to four years in prison, depending on his cooperation. 
 
 Suffice it to say, the longtime elected official who joked on tape with the FBI agents who were paying him bribes about not looking good in “an orange suit” may indeed wear one. If so, Charlotte’s 55th mayor would be the first sent to prison. 
 
 When he is sentenced, Cannon officially becomes a felon, and a public figure who made a career out of soliciting votes will no longer be able to cast one himself. 
 
 Cannon’s wife, Trenna, who appears in an FBI affidavit thanking an undercover agent for one of the illegal payments her husband received, did not appear in the courtroom Tuesday. 
 
 Monday night, the Cannons attended their son’s baseball game in south Charlotte. Both declined to comment, and Patrick Cannon walked away when approached. 
 
 Asked if the former mayor’s wife is still a part of the probe in any way, Tompkins’ spokeswoman said she could not comment on an ongoing investigation. 
 
 Ferguson, who told reporters that neither he nor Cannon would answer questions Tuesday, asked that they respect the privacy of his client’s loved ones. 
 
 In his closing remarks, Cannon thanked his friends, family and “the many people whose expressions of unconditional love and support have been, and continue to be, sources of strength and encouragement.” 
 
 A staccato burst of applause from a Cannon supporter followed. Then Cannon tried to leave. As was the case in much of his 20-year political career, the cameras followed, all the way to the curb of Trade Street, where Cannon climbed into a black SUV with his lawyers and headed east toward uptown. Hannah Jeffrey, Helen Schwab, Jennifer Rothacker and Rick Rothacker contributed 

 By Mark Becker, Jim Bradley, Stephanie Coueignoux and Jenna Deery 
 
 Former Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon pleaded guilty Tuesday to a public corruption charge, ending a remarkable rise for a man raised by a single mother in one of the city's poorest neighborhoods. 
 
 READ MORE: Patrick Cannon Bill of Information 
 
 Cannon's guilty plea was on a single count of honest services wire fraud, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. An FBI sting recorded him accepting thousands of dollars in cash and airline tickets from undercover agents posing as businessmen, according to court documents. 
 
 READ MORE: Patrick Cannon plea agreement 
 
 "Yes, sir, your honor, I am," Cannon, 47, told U.S. Magistrate Judge David Cayer when asked whether he was guilty. Cannon also said he understood that he faced a potential sentence of 20 years. 
 
 
 
 Cayer accepted the guilty plea, and Cannon left the courthouse free on bond. A sentencing date will be set at a later hearing before a U.S. district court judge. Prosecutors said Cannon's continued release would help promote further cooperation with the ongoing FBI investigation. 
 
 At a news conference following Cannon's guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Anne Tompkins said their investigation is far from over. 
 
 "We need to determine whether this bribery scandal was only Cannon deep and Cannon wide or if it extended beyond the mayor's office,” she said. "We are working tirelessly to follow every lead to sift through all of the evidence and get to the bottom of any wrongdoing." 
 
 Tompkins and John Strong, special agent in charge of the FBI in Charlotte, declined to give any hints about who might also be under investigation. 
 
 Tony Scheer, a former prosecutor who has represented clients in state and federal court says as mayor and City Council member Cannon would have talked with many business people and city officials about projects on the table. 
 
 The key is whether Cannon took money from someone or passed it on to others. 
 
 "If they can make cases against individuals -- businessmen or otherwise -- who were bribing the mayor or other city officials, they'll be prosecuted," Scheer said. 
 
 TIMELINE: Patrick Cannon investigation 
 
 
 
 "I am deeply sorry. I love Charlotte. It is the city of my birth," Cannon said in prepared remarks before a bank of TV cameras outside the federal courthouse. "Today I have acknowledged being guilty of accepting monies for constituent services, something that should never have been done while serving in elected office." 
 
 
 
 Cannon was arrested March 26. The Democrat resigned the same day, less than six months after taking office. The investigation began in August 2010 after a tip from a local undercover officer about public corruption. At the time, Cannon was a city councilman. 
 
 North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory reacted to Cannon's guilty plea Tuesday. 
 
 
 
 "Well it breaks my heart that he did such a thing and breaks my heart for the city I love and breaks my heart for an individual. I cared a great deal about," McCrory said. 
 
 SEE FULL COVERAGE: Patrick Cannon special section 
 
 One new allegation Channel 9 found in the paperwork says Cannon offered to help a strip club owner, in exchange for $2,000. 
 
 The city demolished Twin Peaks on North Tryon Street and University City Boulevard. It was in the path of the proposed Blue Line extension for the Lynx Light Rail. 
 
 
 
 Documents say Cannon offered to help the owner obtain zoning approval to re-open the club. 
 
 
 
 Investigators say Cannon accepted payments and offered to set up meetings between city workers and the club owner. 
 
 
 
 City council gave approval last year for the strip club to re-open, but it has not. 
 
 Cannon was first elected to the City Council in 1993 and became mayor in November, replacing Anthony Foxx, who was named transportation secretary by President Obama. Cannon also started his own company that manages 25,000 parking spaces, most of them in the city's central business district. 
 
 
 
 According to the federal criminal complaint, Cannon accepted more than $48,000 in cash, airline tickets, a hotel room and the use of a luxury apartment from FBI agents posing as real estate developers who wanted to do work with North Carolina's largest city. Cannon also is accused of soliciting up to $1 million more in bribes from the undercover agents. 
 
 Dan Clodfelter was sworn in to office in April, replacing Cannon. 
 
 Mayor pro tem responds to being named in Cannon documents 
 
 
 
 Some city leaders were written about in the documents outlining former Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon's scheme to use his office to get rich. 
 
 
 
 Mayor Pro Tem Michael Barnes was one of the people mentioned. 
 
 
 
 He released a statement to the Charlotte Observer saying he wanted to clarify what he did and did not do. 
 
 
 
 Federal documents said Cannon solicited Barnes' support to help the owner of Twin Peeks strip club keep his business open. 
 
 It sat in the way of the Blue Line Extension light rail project. 
 
 
 
 Federal documents said Cannon took $2,000 from the owner for his work to save the club from demolition. 
 
 Barnes said he spoke to Cannon about the project. 
 
 
 
 In a statement, Barnes said it’s not unusual to hear from concerned business owners when projects affect them and he works with city staff to solve those problems. 
 
 
 
 He said he did that for Twin Peeks and his work ended there. 
 
 
 
 “My conduct was consistent with what I believe almost all elected officials strive to do for their constituents. Whether it has been a concern about a neighbor's tall grass, a broken street light, a pothole or in this case, the light rail's impact on businesses, since 2005 I have always made an effort to lawfully assist people when I can," the statement reads. 
 
 
 
 Check back with wsoctv.com for updates throughout the day on this developing story.
– Metaphor alert: The former mayor of Charlotte, NC, literally fell today as he walked to court to plead guilty to corruption charges. And a bit later, the guilty plea itself was "the coda to a spectacular fall" for Patrick Cannon in city politics, reports the Charlotte Observer. The 47-year-old admitted to one count of "honest services wire fraud," which translates into an admission that he accepted bribes from developers. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, reports WSOC-TV. Cannon got caught during an FBI sting earlier this year, when he had been mayor for less than six months. Authorities, however, say his corruption began years earlier as a city councilman. In the sting, Cannon accepted about $50,000 in cash, plane tickets, and other perks from agents posing as real estate developers. He had been all-star local politician, with a compelling life story that began with him being raised by a single mom in one of the city's poorest neighborhoods, reports the AP.