(Image source from: North Carolina Mayor quits post over bribery and theft charges})

Charlotte mayor was compelled to relinquish his top job on Wednesday after prosecutors arrested him on federal public corruption charges. The 47-year-old Mayor, Patrick Canon, is accused of taking more than $48,000 in bribes from undercover FBI agents. Cannon is accused of soliciting and accepting bribes from federal agents posing as commercial real estate developers and investors wanting to do business in Charlotte.

"These charges will create too much of a distraction for the business of the city to go forward smoothly and without interruption," the beleaguered mayor wrote in his resignation.

Cannon has been booked under the charges of theft and bribery, wire fraud and extortion. If convicted, he could face up to 50 years of imprisonment.

Currently, he is out on bond.

A Democrat, he won his first term as mayor in November and has a long, impressive record of public service in his hometown.

The FBI, acting on a tip, initiated an undercover investigation into Cannon's actions as an elected official in August 2010.

AW: Suchorita Choudhury