Mayor Ray Nagin and wife Seletha Smith were a picture of regret and despair when they left the court house earlier today.

Ray Nagin, who married Seletha Smith in 1982, was convicted Wednesday on 20 criminal counts stemming from his two terms as New Orleans mayor from 2002 to 2010, including the recovery that followed Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He is scheduled for sentencing June 11 — his 58th birthday.

Nagin, who has been married to Seletha Smith for more than 20 years, was a cable company executive and political newcomer when he succeeded Marc Morial in 2002.

Soon after taking office, Nagin announced a crackdown on municipal corruption, starting with the city's vehicle safety inspection stations and issuing permits to non-eligible taxi drivers.

But federal prosecutors say his own corrupt acts began during his first term, continued through the Katrina catastrophe and flourished in his second term.

"We, in my family, thought of him as the 'cleanup man,'" said Rainelle Smith, 64, a New Orleans resident who said she had voted for Nagin. "Instead he gets in office and he soiled it more."

"The heat got hot during the storm. He couldn't handle that, so he said, 'Forget the people; I'm going to line my own pockets.' It's a disgrace," said Jason Roland, 32, a former New Jersey resident who moved to New Orleans a few years after Katrina for a teaching job.

"It was a just verdict, fair trial, so no excuses there," he said.

Nagin is perhaps best remembered for his impassioned pleas for help after the levees broke during Hurricane Katrina, and his city descended into chaos. He was convicted of accepting bribes in exchange for helping businessmen secure millions of dollars in city work.

The federal jury found Nagin guilty of 20 of 21 counts. He sat quietly at the defence table after the verdict was read. His wife, Seletha, cried quietly as she sat behind him on the front row of spectators.