Metro Councilwoman C. Denise Marcelle says she plans to delete an item on tonight's agenda calling for a discussion about whether the police chief should be an elected position. She says it's "certainly" something she intends to bring before the council in the future, when she's armed with essential data. "I'm waiting on a report from the [law enforcement] unification committee, and I'm not ready to bring it back tonight," she says. The issue, which was first raised and placed on the agenda in March, was most recently deferred at the council's last meeting, on April 24. It came about following the controversial firing of former Chief Dewayne White. In order to change the police chief position from one selected by the mayor to one selected by a vote, the Plan of Government would need to be changed, which would also require voter approval. Meanwhile, a search for a permanent replacement for White continues. "It's going to be difficult to pass, yes. It's difficult to even get it on the...
An attempt to ban posting to Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites while driving is nearing final passage in the Louisiana Legislature. The proposal, approved today by the House transportation committee, is designed to close what lawmakers call a loophole in the state law that prohibits texting while driving. The Senate-approved bill would add accessing, reading and posting to social media sites to the prohibition. It heads next to the full House. Livingston Sen. Dale Erdey, the Republican sponsor of the bill, says he's trying to cut down on distracted driving and improve public safety. If passed into law, violators would face a fine up to $175 for the first offense and up to $500 for second and subsequent violations.
For then-23-year-old Michelle Downey Messina, the grisly discovery of her mother's body in the trunk of a car on a humid September afternoon was an unimaginable conclusion to an already troubling, confusing tale. Messina's mother, Kathleen Downey, went missing in early August 2010. A year earlier, Downey has been charged with felony theft, accused of stealing from her employer, Ron Duplessis, who owns a Buick GMC dealership on Airline Highway. Since Downey's death, Messina and Duplessis have teamed up to keep the case at the top of Baton Rouge police officers' minds. "We've been very frustrated with law enforcement," Duplessis says. "For some reason, they're not motivated at all to investigate this case." Read Adam Kealoha Causey's full article from the current issue of 225here.
A federal court has permanently barred Ann Williams and her tax preparation firm, Ann's Tax Service, from preparing federal tax returns. The Department of Justice says that the civil injunction order—to which Williams and Ann's Tax Service agreed without admitting the allegations against them—has been signed by U.S. District Judge James J. Brady of Baton Rouge. The government alleged that Williams, of Morganza, and her business had repeatedly prepared false federal income tax returns that understated customers' tax liabilities. According to the complaint, Williams inflated or fabricated business expenses, reported fictitious business income, and fraudulently claimed the earned-income credit on customers' tax returns. Prosecutors allege Williams' fraudulent practices may have resulted in as much as $2.2 million in lost tax revenue.
R. Allen Stanford's investors may now be able to recoup some of their losses more than four years after the Stanford Group Co. founder was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and put out of business. As Bloomberg reports, Ralph Janvey, the receiver appointed by a federal judge to marshal and liquidate Stanford's personal and business assets in February 2009, is asking a judge for permission to make a $55 million interim distribution—or about one penny for each of the $5.1 billion dollars lost in the fraud scheme. The proposed payout trails the more than $5.4 billion paid to victims of Bernie Madoff, who was arrested in December 2008, about $4.9 billion paid clients of the MF Global Inc. brokerage after its parent MF Global Holdings Ltd. failed in October 2011, and the $123 million interim distribution for victims of Peregrine Financial Group Inc. founder Russell Wasendorf, who prosecutors last year said stole $215 million. Read the full story
As if its reality show on Discovery Channel weren't enough, Red Jacket Firearms is the subject of another drama unfolding in Baton Rouge federal court involving federal agents and an ex-wife. In a civil case itself filled with intrigue worthy of an episode or two, Sons of Guns star Will Hayden and the company he founded are being accused by former family members of securities fraud for allegedly issuing worthless stock certificates. The suit concerns 17 shares that Hayden and then-wife Trudy Lee issued in 2002, just as the firearms business was getting off the ground. Using generic stock forms they downloaded from the Internet, they gave 10 shares in Red Jacket Firearms to Joseph Radford in return for carpentry work on their retail store; two shares to Lee's son, Joshua Currey, for his birthday; and two shares to Earl Lee, Trudy Lee's father. The problem came eight years later, when Hayden had to forfeit his federal firearms license issued to Red Jacket Inc. after running into...
A new state-by-state analysis of gun violence released today by the Center for American Progress says Louisiana, on several key measures, "has been hit harder by gun violence than any other state in the country." Ranked No. 1 for gun violence per capita, Louisiana has a gun-murder rate that is more than two-and-a-half times higher than the U.S. average. With one person killed by a gun every 10 hours in the state, the analysis says Louisiana's gun-homicide rate is 9.5 per every 100,000 residents—compared to a national average of 3.6 per every 100,000. Louisiana also has the highest gun-homicide rate among children aged 19 and younger, and the second-worst rate among women. "Louisiana not only has rampant gun violence within its borders, but it contributes to crime in other states as well," the analysis says. "In 2009, Louisiana had the15th-highest rate of guns sold in the state that went on to be used in crimes in other states." Behind Louisiana on the rankings for states with...
LSU and the state of Louisiana spent just less than $1 million defending its decision to fire former Hurricane Center deputy director Ivor van Heerden. Documents obtained today by Levees.org indicate the university paid the Baton Rouge law firm of Kantrow Spaht Weaver & Blitzer more than $457,000 over two and a half years to handle the case. That's on top of the $435,000 settlement the Louisiana Office of Risk Management paid to van Heerden last month. Levees.org notes the $892,000 total doesn't include any amounts LSU paid its own staff to comply with court orders, respond to subpoenas and appear for depositions. Van Heerden alleges he was fired for statements in his post-Katrina levee failure investigation funded by the Louisiana Department of Transportation, namely that the Army Corps of Engineers' faulty levees caused the flooding during Katrina. The Association of American University Professors censured the university in 2011 for firing van Heerden. "LSU has chosen to hound a...
The trial of former Pizza Hut magnate Larry Lundy, who was forced to shutter his 44 restaurants in 2011—including 16 in the Capital Region—after years of worsening relations with the restaurant chain is now slated to begin in September, The Times-Picayune reports. The trial had been scheduled to start on April 29, but Judge David Godbey of Federal District Court in Dallas has rescheduled the trial for Sept. 30. The trial is set to last one week. "It is extremely unlikely that any further continuances will be granted," Godbey says in his order. The pizza chain filed suit Jan. 3, 2011, claiming Lundy Enterprises had fallen behind on royalty payments. Pizza Hut and Lundy Enterprises, which had 1,200 employees across 64 stores in south Louisiana at its height a decade ago, spent much of 2011 in arbitration. Both sides reached a deal that would have transferred Lundy's assets to Pizza Hut, federal court records show, but the value of the assets, pegged at $7.8 million,...
Justin Mannino, a third-year law student, is satisfied with his career choice. The student bar association president at LSU Law Center says, “Lawyers, more than a lot of professionals, are afforded the opportunity to think freely, which is a very important [career] aspect for me.”
More than 50 years ago this Thursday, seven Southern University students challenged the "whites-only" lunch counter at the Kress building downtown. The building's current tenant, Kress Gallery, will host a special "Honoring Our Past" luncheon, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday, in memory of those seven students. The event will also feature a showing of the documentary Taking a Seat of Justice. An original painting by Taufeed Muhammad honoring the sit-in will be unveiled. For more information on Muhammad's painting, check out Matthew Sigur's article here. Tickets for Thursday's event are $35 and reservations are required. Catering will be provided by Stroubes Seafood and Steaks. Call 931-0134 to make your reservation, or e-mail lslade@kressgallerybr.com.
Murphy Painter's plea to dismiss all the federal charges against him has been rejected, and his trial has once again been rescheduled. U.S. District Judge James Brady recently denied a motion to throw out all 42 counts of computer fraud, making false statements, and aggravated identity theft resulting from his alleged misuse of computerized criminal history and motor vehicle databases while Painter was commissioner of the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control. Painter's attorney, Tim Meche of New Orleans, had argued in an October motion that the government was "overreaching" in its charges. In a memo to the judge, the attorney implies that Painter is merely the victim of political retribution from the governor's office for failing to issue an alcohol and beverage permit for Champions Square, being built outside the Superdome after the New Orleans Saints won Super Bowl XLIV. Meche adds that background checks are "exercised at astounding rates," noting that Louisiana law...
The most common organizational structures are sole proprietorships, general and limited partnerships, C and S corporations, and limited liability companies. Below are characteristics of the most common structures, provided by the Small Business Administration. It's a good idea to discuss these options with a business counselor or attorney to determine which is best for you.
Imagine you've been doing business for 11 years or more. Your brand has been so successful that you've opened two additional locations elsewhere in the state and are contemplating two more. Plus, you're about to go international with an online store.
When the Louisiana Legislature gave a thumbs-up in 1992 to a new business structure called a “limited liability company,” businesspeople around the state hailed it as the greatest invention since sliced bread. Freeing small and medium-size businesses from many burdens of operating as traditional corporations or partnerships, the LLC introduced new simplicity and flexibility to business formation. At the same time, the structure offered individual owners protection from potential liability down the road.
In his office's annual report released today, East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner William "Beau" Clark says there were six more homicides in the parish compared to the previous year, while there were 400 more natural deaths investigated and 25 more accidental deaths. A total of 96 homicides were investigated by Clark's office last year, in addition to 2,509 natural deaths and 148 accidental deaths. Also, at 24, there were two more infant deaths, and at 45, two more suicides in the parish last year. The number of undetermined cases was unchanged from 2011. Overall, the Coroner's Office investigated 2,824 deaths in 2012, 435 more than the year previous. Clark's budget expenditures in 2012 totaled just more than $1.7 million, which he says included money to buy three new vehicles, install a security system and buy investigative and pathological supplies. Clark also says he increased the number of full-time death investigators to seven, from three, within five months of being on the job. He...
Transocean's defense takes center stage today as the fourth week of the civil trial over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill begins. As The Houston Chronicle reports, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf off Louisiana is expected to call to the stand experts and company officials who will seek to rebut testimony that the rig was not seaworthy at the time of the 2010 disaster. Drilling expert Calvin Barnhill is among the witnesses scheduled to be on the stand today. Transocean, a Swiss drilling contractor, also is expected to call its CEO Steven Newman to the stand. That will likely occur on Tuesday. British oil giant BP was leasing the rig from Transocean to drill its Macondo well a mile beneath the sea. The well blew out, causing an explosion on the rig that killed 11 workers. The resulting oil spill was the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. During the first phase of the trial—which is expected to last up to three...
While the new city-parish crime-fighting initiative known as the Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination program, or BRAVE, targets violent criminals in the 70805 ZIP code, District Attorney Hillar Moore III and Mayor Kip Holden's office have applied for three additional federal grants worth a total of nearly $1.7 million to focus on other trouble spots around Baton Rouge. Two of the grants in particular would be used to bring targeted policing and beefed-up patrols to the 70802 ZIP code, which is adjacent to 70805 in northwest Baton Rouge. The two ZIP codes collectively account for nearly half the city's crime, Moore says, despite comprising just 3.5 square miles and having just 13,800 residents. The grant application notes that additional policing is needed in those areas, particularly as BRAVE cracks down on known drug gangs and repeat offenders in 70805. Data shows that "as crime goes up in 70805 it goes down in 70802 and vice versa," the application reads. "GIS mapping clearly...
Expressway Park sits in the shadow of the I-10/I-110 split, with the rumble of traffic echoing off the huge concrete pilings that separate the busy interstate above from the inner-city green space below. The South Baton Rouge Jaguars youth football team often practices on a field here, between the overpass bridges. At night, the interstate lighting high above isn't enough to illuminate the practice field, so parents of the young players use the headlights of their vehicles to keep evening practices going.
In his latest column, Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister says he likes the idea of consolidating the city police, sheriff and constable—a notion that has been revived recently by Metro Councilman Joel Boé but was previously discussed in the 1960s, 1970s, 2002 and 2011. "You may remember a TV campaign this past fall, 'Fight, Not Fear', funded by businessman Lane Grigsby, which promoted this idea," McCollister writes. "Grigsby points out that other major cities have reduced crime by as much as 45% with the unification of [law enforcement] agencies—cities such as Charlotte, Indianapolis, Louisville and Las Vegas. The question seems to be: If they can do it and it helps, why not Baton Rouge?" The timing also seems right for the consolidation conversation to resurface in light of the controversy surrounding the recent firing of Police Chief Dewayne White by Mayor Kip Holden. "Boé says the committee's first...
The five-member committee that has been formed to look into the possibility of consolidating the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office is meeting this afternoon for the first time.
Leading state officials remembered former U.S. District Judge Frank Polozola as a man who lived for the law. He died at the age of 71 on Feb. 24. Polozola had been battling cancer for years, says Chief Judge Brian Jackson of the Baton Rouge-based Middle District of Louisiana.
Metro Councilwoman Denise Marcelle is sending a formal request today to the U.S. Department of Justice to find out whether the department will investigate allegations made by fired Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White. Marcelle previously toldDaily Report she wanted the feds to look into White's allegations and firing. Since then, she and council members Tara Wicker, Donna Collins-Lewis and Ronnie Edwards met with the parish attorney's office to discuss the situation. At that meeting, they asked to be included in a regularly scheduled meeting between the parish attorney's office and officials from the Department of Justice, who periodically come to town for updates on the police department's compliance with a 1980 consent decree. That regularly scheduled meeting was canceled, however, as a result of the federal budget cuts...
The judge presiding over the trial of BP for its role in the 2010 oil spill is set to hear from a survivor of the fatal rig explosion that sent millions of gallons of oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico, according to a witness list prepared for the case. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier is slated to hear testimony this week from Randy Ezell, a drilling supervisor who performed safety tests on the Deepwater Horizon rig before the explosion, according to a witness schedule shown to Bloomberg. The trial resumes today in New Orleans federal court as the U.S. and Gulf Coast states continue talks with BP about a possible settlement of pollution claims over the spill, a person familiar with the negotiations says. Evidence presented by the government and spill victims in the case's first week "may have encouraged BP to think twice about whether it wants to proceed with a long, expensive trial," says David Uhlmann, a former federal prosecutor who teaches law at the University of...
If the Baton Rouge police chief were ever to become an elected position—as some are calling for in the wake of the recent firing of former Chief of Police Dewayne White by Mayor Kip Holden—only voters living within city limits would be allowed to cast a vote for their choice at the polls. Furthermore, state law requires city-position candidates to have lived within city limits for at least a year prior to an election, says Parish Attorney Mary Roper. It gets trickier: Most police chiefs historically have come up through the ranks of BRPD, but under state law, existing officers on the force who wish to campaign for police chief have to resign in order to do so. "It's a prohibitive practice to be employed in the classified service and be a candidate for a public office," Roper explains. And then there's the potential confusion created by the bizarre boundaries of the Baton Rouge city limits, which exclude a large portion of southeast Baton Rouge between interstates 10 and...
Chief Judge Brian Jackson of the U.S. District Court of the Middle District of Louisiana has confirmed that federal Judge Frank Polozola died on Sunday after a long battle with cancer, WAFB-TV reports. Polozola was sworn in as a U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Louisiana on May 29, 1980, after having been nominated by President Jimmy Carter. He served as Chief Judge of the Middle District of Louisiana from Sept. 1, 1998, to Aug. 31, 2005, and became a Senior Judge on Jan. 15, 2007. Prior to his appointment by Carter, Polozola served as part-time Magistrate Judge from April 1972 until he was appointed the first full-time Magistrate Judge for the Middle District of Louisiana in October 1973. No further details were available as of press time on Polozola's death.
The damage control that Mayor Kip Holden displays over the next 60 days is going to be the most interesting aspect of the fallout from Monday's official firing of Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White, says local political consultant and pollster Bernie Pinsonat. "What fool from outside the police department will take the job to begin with?" says Pinsonat, who speculates Holden had grown tired of the ongoing battle between White and the police union and chose to sacrifice the police chief, who'd had less than two years on the job. "After this fiasco, what kind of police chief do you end up with?" On Wednesday, the mayor's office confirmed Lt. Carl Dabadie as interim police chief. Dabadie has been taking on police chief duties since White was informed on Feb. 6 of his impending termination. Rannah Gray, who doesn't work in the mayor's office but managed Holden's recent political campaign and stays in constant contact with him, says she doesn't believe there was a clash between White...
Although the Capital Region's modest job growth of 0.6% in 2012 is forecast to increase to between 1.4% and 1.6% this year, BRAC President/CEO Adam Knapp says Baton Rouge's high homicide rate is a big concern and could be impeding new businesses. We don't hear it as much from site consultants; we hear it from companies looking to expand here, says Knapp, who addressed the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge today. Knapp says BRAC is working on developing policies related to crime with the Baton Rouge Police Department, mayor's office and district attorney's office. He adds that opening the downtown jail full-time could help prevent crime. On tax reform, Knapp says Louisiana already has strong incentives for businesses, adding it could still make more gains; specifically, he suggests the corporate franchise tax on equity be done away with. Continued job growth will be driven by the...
About a month after resigning from the Jindal administration, attorney Gary Graphia has returned to Kean Miller. Graphia was a partner in the firm until leaving in 1999 to become chief legal officer at The Shaw Group, which recently was acquired by CB&I. He later served as executive vice president of corporate development and strategy and as Shaw's chief operating officer. During his tenure, Shaw completed three major acquisitions: Stone & Webster in 2000, IT Group in 2002, and a stake in Westinghouse in 2006. He retired from Shaw on May 1, 2012, and was subsequently appointed executive counsel for Gov. Bobby Jindal in October, only to resign in January. Thomas Enright took over as the governor's executive counsel. Graphia's title at Kean Miller is "of counsel," and he will work with the business, corporate, and litigation strategy teams, says firm spokesman Steve Boutwell, adding that Graphia's experience as a C-level executive with a Fortune 500 company brings a "unique...
One thread of an email exchange between former Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White and Mayor Kip Holden may provide insight into allegations of micromanagement of the police chief's personnel decisions by the mayor's office. White's attorney, Jill Craft, says those emails are just the beginning of micromanagement. "There's a lot more emails than that," Craft says. The mayor's office isn't commenting. The thread of emails ends Jan. 25, or 12 days before White was reportedly informed by Chief Administrative Officer William Daniel that he was fired. They are the last emails the city-parish attorney's office provided Daily Report in a public records request for emails between White and the mayor's office between Jan. 1 and Feb. 6, when White was given notice of his termination. On Jan. 24, White emailed Daniel and requested the next day off. Daniel granted the request that day, and brought up the issue of transfers in the police department. "Would you please discuss those with...
Architect Coleman Brown doesn't know all of the details that led Mayor Kip Holden to fire Baton Rouge Chief of Police Dewayne White Feb. 6. But the Mid City businessman says he thinks White was doing a pretty good job.
Mayor Kip Holden says that, technically, he didn't fire Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White on Feb. 6. White and his attorney, Jill Craft, say the opposite. In any event, Holden made the firing official following a hearing this morning, although White plans to appeal to the civil service board. "I stand ready to serve this community," White said shortly before Holden publicly announced his decision. Craft says White "started a lot of good work" and "certainly would like the opportunity to complete it" when asked why White would still want his job. "I think he feels very strongly that people need to know what's going on," whether he continues as chief or not, she adds. White declined to answer questions during the hearing today, instead focusing on refuting 14 justifications for his dismissal outlined in a letter released by Holden last week. For example, White was accused of not being truthful about the extent of the security detail provided to Nation of Islam minister Louis...
The testimony of fired Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White was enough today to convince Metro Councilwoman C. Denise Marcelle that a federal investigation of the department is needed. "I believe this opens it up for the feds to come in," she says. "I think that needs to happen, and I am at least willing to discuss it because these are some serious allegations." During a public hearing this morning, White says he has addressed the "vestiges of racism that have torn this department apart" and described disciplining a police officer who used a racial slur at the scene of a homicide. "We have a serious race problem here, whether you want to acknowledge it or not," White said to Holden. According to White, the department has been under a federal consent decree for past racial and gender discrimination since 1975. Kelley Morgan, a black woman who spoke today on White's behalf, says the chief went to bat for her after she suffered discrimination. However, Holden said White actually...
Mayor Kip Holden has announced that Dewayne White will not be allowed to continue to serve as Baton Rouge Chief of Police. Holden says White has not been honest about his tenure and his failure to follow the "rules and regulations," and says the truth will come out. White’s attorney, Jill Craft, says White intends to appeal to the state civil service board. Holden made the announcement following a public hearing this morning at which White was appealing his firing, which Holden announced last week. Read Daily Report PM for further coverage.
The fate of Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White hangs in the balance this morning, as Mayor Kip Holden is deliberating whether to fire the chief, who was placed on leave earlier this month. The deliberations follow a public dismissal hearing held this morning in Metro Council chambers. The packed hearing was contentious right off the bat, as Holden's attorney, Murphy Foster, and White's attorney, Jill Craft, immediately began arguing over the rules of the hearing. Its purpose was to give White an opportunity to rebut the reasons for his proposed termination, which were delineated in a five-page letter the mayor's office released last week. That letter accuses White of insubordination and leaking confidential information, among other things. White has accused the mayor or micromanaging the department. About the only thing no one disagrees on is that White and the powerful police union were frequently and increasingly at odds. Going into this morning's hearing, council members were...
As the war of words escalates between Mayor Kip Holden and fired Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White, White's attorney says an email exchange between the two illustrates the counterproductive ways in which Holden was micromanaging the police department. Specifically, the email shows that three days before he was fired, White alerted the mayor to a disciplinary action he was taking against a white police officer for uttering a racial slur at the scene of a homicide. Jill Craft, White's attorney, says the email was sent because the police chief was verbally ordered by the mayor about a month before his firing to run all personnel and disciplinary matters through the mayor's office first. But the mayor's office denies White's claim and says White was free to issue disciplinary measures himself. "I guess he sent that [email] as a heads up," says Chief Administrative Officer William Daniel, who also insists that the officer isn't a high-ranking officer in the police union. "I don't...
Following the visit Nation of Islam minister Louis Farrakhan made to Southern University in October, Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White signed an affidavit stating that "Only one Baton Rouge Police officer accompanied State Police" in the department's "routine involvement" in the escort of Farrakhan from New Orleans. Mayor Kip Holden says in a letter outlining his reasons for firing White released Wednesday that the police chief was not truthful about the "the lack of overtime required for the detail," among other accusations. In the affidavit, which White apparently wrote and signed following Metro Council member Mike Walker's campaign advertisement criticizing the mayor and police department for escorting Farrakhan, the police chief says it is departmental policy to escort public and controversial figures. "This includes insuring [sic] the safety of public figures that may be controversial and may invite a threat to their safety and the safety of the general public," White...
It's Transocean's turn in the penalty box. The Houston Chroncile reports that a lawyer for the Swiss drilling contractor is expected to enter a guilty plea on the company's behalf Thursday in a New Orleans federal courtroom to a single misdemeanor charge of violating the Clean Water Act through negligent discharge of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Transocean has agreed to pay a $400 million criminal fine and serve five years of probation. The decision whether to approve the deal rests with U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo. The charge stems from a U.S. government criminal investigation of the 2010 Gulf oil spill that also has ensnared BP and four of its current and former employees. The probe continues nearly three years later. Transocean owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded and sank about 50 miles off Louisiana after a well a mile beneath the sea blew out. Eleven rig workers, including nine Transocean employees, were killed. The hearing is expected to be...
Chris Stewart, president of the Baton Rouge Union of Police Local 237, today announced his support for Mayor Kip Holden's decision to fire Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White, saying White's termination ended "the most tumultuous era ever within the Baton Rouge Police Department." In a statement released to the media today, Stewart blames White for an increase in violent crime last year. "Rather than work with us to address this issue, Chief White chose to publicly attack our organization and its members without provocation in an attempt to shift the blame for the failure of his leadership," Stewart says. White frequently clashed with the union, and once publicly said the union was the biggest obstacle he faced in his attempts to improve the department. White's attorney, Jill Craft, claims Holden micromanaged White's personnel decisions. She says tensions got heated between White and the mayor last fall when White tried to transfer Stewart from a position of "professional...
We want to express our support for Mayor Holden's steps to end the most tumultuous era ever within the Baton Rouge Police Department. Like Mayor Holden, we are truly disappointed with the lack of leadership exhibited by Chief DeWayne White. As an organization, we attempted to assist and work with him on numerous occasions in an effort to create a safe and secure environment for our citizens.
Former Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White offered to resign three weeks ago through his attorney Jill Craft before being fired Wednesday by Mayor Kip Holden, says Craft. However, Craft says when she contacted Chief Administrative Officer William Daniel to tender White's resignation, there was denial of White's job being in jeopardy. In fact, White reportedly received a "heated call" from the mayor about 30 minutes after Craft contacted Daniel because Holden was upset White had acquired counsel. White received a letter from Daniel on Wednesday stating his "termination has to do with a substantial disagreement with the direction of the future of the Baton Rouge Police Department," Craft says. But White knew rumors about his firing after the November election had been swirling for months, says Craft, who spoke for White at a news conference this afternoon at her downtown office. She says White contacted her to help him reach a "peaceful resolution" with the mayor. White will appeal...
In lieu of making closing arguments in front of 19th Judicial District Court Judge Janice Clark, lawyers for the city-parish and Stephen Myers filed post trial memorandums Tuesday in the city's lawsuit against the landlord regarding the tenants of one of his Baton Rouge rental properties. At issue is the tenants' relationship to one another, or more accurately, the lack thereof. Judge Clark is expected to issue a ruling on the matter within 30 days of Tuesday's filings. The case centers on the definition of "family" as it relates to residences in the city-parish zoned A1 single family. Section 2.8 of the Unified Development Code defines family as "two or more persons who are related by blood, marriage or legal adoption." Myers—who was ordered by the city last year to stop renting a home on Cherrydale Avenue to four unrelated tenants or face the lawsuit he's currently fighting—contends that definition of family is unconstitutional and in violation of the Federal Fair...
Mayor Kip Holden says Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White was given the opportunity to resign before being fired Wednesday. "I think he told [Chief Administrative Officer] William [Daniel]: 'Just go ahead and fire me,'" Holden says. White is appealing the decision. Holden continues to deflect questions about why White was fired, or what the process or criteria might be for finding a new chief, saying he doesn't discuss personnel matters with the media. However, the dismissal letter, which was released by White's attorney today, says: "The basis for your termination has to do with a substantial disagreement with the direction of the future of the Baton Rouge Police Department."When asked if the Metro Council's discussions about merging the police department with the sheriff's office would have any affect on his thought process, Holden reiterated his opposition to consolidation. Most of the speculation about White's dismissal has focused on his
Despite the abrupt firing of Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White by Mayor Kip Holden on Wednesday, a Metro Council initiative to look at the logistics of consolidating the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office will get under way later this month with a special committee meeting. "Regardless of who the chief is and regardless of who the sheriff is," the committee will perform the due diligence needed to understand how a consolidation could happen, says Metro Councilman Joel Boé, who in November called for staffing the committee. Council members Tara Wicker and John Delgado join Boé on the committee. Police Sgt. Jonathan Dunnam and sheriff's office Col. Lawrence McLeary represent the law enforcement agencies on the committee. While an exact date and time have not yet been set for the committee's first meeting, Boé says he expects it will...
The East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority is finalizing plans to present a new code enforcement effort—a series of proposed ordinances that will make it easier for the parish to clean up blighted properties. RDA president and CEO Walter Monsour hopes to present the package to Mayor Kip Holden and the Metro Council by the end of March. The initiative, based on code enforcement models that have proven to be successful in cities such as New Orleans and Baltimore, will include the creation of a code enforcement department that will be self-sustaining within three years and separate from the Department of Public Works, which currently handles code violations. Other proposed ordinances will stiffen fines for code violators and make it easier for the parish to foreclose on properties that are not brought up to code within one year of being cited. "We have found in looking at other models that when landowners understand they are going to be forced to bring their property up to code...
While rumors circulated for weeks that Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White's job was on the line, reports today of his termination took many by surprise. "'OMG' is my reaction," says Metro Council member Tara Wicker. "We, as a council, had no indication that anything was going on." District Attorney Hillar Moore III, who attended a news conference this morning with White and several other law enforcement leaders just hours before the chief was fired, was also caught off guard. "I have no idea what the reasons are," Moore says. "But both White and the mayor have been very good friends." White recently underwent a performance evaluation, which gave rise to speculation the position he has held since May 2011 was at risk. He has also been at odds with the police union, which some believe ultimately led to his termination. "I know the unions have not been sitting on the sidelines idly watching," says Councilman Joel Boé, who is leading an effort to form a committee that will study...
When hiring new employees, EBR Sheriff Sid Gautreaux says he looks for three distinct qualities in measuring a potential hire: physical stature, mental capacity and character. "And if you don't have that true servant mentality, you won't make it," says Gautreaux, who spoke this morning at the Better Business Bureau breakfast. Tasked with managing 900 employees and a $75 million budget, Gautreaux advises other business and organization leaders to earn the respect of workers rather than rule with rank. "To be a good leader, you have to be a good listener," the sheriff says. When asked what he would do if he was starting over with a new team of workers, Gautreaux says he would first explain his philosophy and the services his office provides, and then ask others for their ideas and input that might advance the organization. "You have to build that team," says Gautreaux, adding that he often hears about many great ideas from subordinates when asking for input. As for the structure of the...
Ivor van Heerden is about to have his day in court. A jury trial is set to begin Feb. 19 before U.S. District Judge James Brady to consider the coastal researcher's allegations that the university fired him for speaking out against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The former deputy director of the LSU Hurricane Center blamed the corps' work on the New Orleans levees for flooding in 80% of the city after Hurricane Katrina. His non-tenure-track position was cut in 2009; Van Heerden has contended he was let go because administrators feared he was hurting LSU's chances of landing federal contracts and grants. The American Association of University Professors took up his cause in 2011, issuing a finding that LSU had violated Van Heerden's academic freedom. Although the judge has dismissed several of Van Heerden's claims, First Amendment allegations remain against former College of Engineering Interim Dean David Constant, as does the issue of whether Van Heerden's 14th Amendment rights...
The Baton Rouge law offices of Dale Baringer and James Holliday Jr. are consolidating as The Baringer Law Firm, the attorneys jointly announced this morning. Holliday brings to The Baringer Law Firm 47 years of experience, the firm says. He will have an "of counsel" title at the firm, while Evest Broussard will join The Baringer Law Firm as an associate attorney. "Holliday is a noted author of the popular West Publishing Louisiana Practice Series treatises on Louisiana corporations and Louisiana construction law," reads a news release. "Baringer is a Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization certified tax attorney with over 32 years of experience in a diverse practice encompassing business transactions, litigation and trial work." Financial terms of the consolidation were not disclosed.
Politics makes strange bedfellows, as the adage goes. On occasion, so do lawsuits. In a recent motion to dismiss a whistleblower lawsuit filed last summer in Baton Rouge federal court against Alvin Fairburn & Associates and others involved in the Hurricane Gustav debris cleanup in Livingston Parish, AFA takes the unusual stand of siding philosophically with the parish council—and against the engineering firm's own former office manager, Parish President Layton Ricks. At issue is the fact that just days after taking office, Ricks stopped payment on a $379,517 check to Corey Delahoussaye's firm, C-Del. That was also around the same time that Ricks issued a $453,000 check to AFA. Neither of those actions was approved by the council. In a curious twist, AFA argues in its motion that Ricks exceeded his authority in stopping the payment to C-Del, although no mention is made of the subsequent check issued to AFA. —Penny Font
Local attorneys are upset about a new rule set to go into effect on March 15 that bans all electronic devices from the 19th Judicial District Courthouse. While attorneys will be exempt from the ban, which will apply to cell phones, tablets, and laptop computers, their court runners and clerks will not be. Nor, for that matter, will jurors—even when they're stuck for hours in the jury pool waiting to be called—courtroom spectators, or anyone who has general business in the building, like paying a parking ticket. "It's ridiculous and it has everyone bent out of shape," says attorney Mary Olive Pierson, who notes that most attorneys regularly send runners to court to file documents. "It's easy to solve, and they're using a meat cleaver instead of a scalpel." Judicial administrator Ann McCrory concedes the policy as currently crafted is not perfect, but explains that local judges have come up with what they feel is the best way to deal with growing security issues created by...
Judge Janice Clark today ordered both the city-parish and Steve Myers back to her court in one week to file post trial briefs in lieu of closing arguments in a dispute over the definition of "family" in the city-parish's Unified Development Code. Attorney Grant Guillot, who is representing Myers, says he expects the judge to take at least 30 days to issue her ruling after receiving the briefs. At issue is the definition of "family" as it relates to residences in the city-parish zoned A1 single family. Section 2.8 of the UDC defines "family" as "two or more persons who are related by blood, marriage or legal adoption." There's additional language in the definition, but that's the part that primarily concerns the Myers case, which dates back to a complaint a neighbor filed against him regarding one of his rental homes on Cherrydale Avenue in September 2011. The city responded by demanding that Myers comply with regulations, which would have meant kicking out four tenants whom the city...
BP is preparing for an emotional hearing Tuesday in a New Orleans courtroom, where company officials will face victims of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico rig explosion and oil spill in front of a judge who will decide whether to accept a criminal plea deal, The Houston Chronicle reports. U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance plans to announce her decision after hearing from lawyers for BP and the Justice Department, spill victims, and relatives of some of the 11 men who were killed when the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded and sank. If Vance accepts BP's agreement to plead guilty to 14 criminal charges, including manslaughter and obstruction of Congress, she will impose the sentence the company negotiated with the U.S. government: a $4 billion criminal penalty, five years' probation and independent monitoring. If she rejects the deal, Vance will allow BP to withdraw its guilty plea and go to trial. The prospect of a trial, which could result in tougher penalties, would create more...
Mary Kistler, executive assistant to Livingston Parish President Layton Ricks, will not be investigated by the state Board of Ethics, Ricks says. Last year, the Livingston Parish Council asked for an investigation into the deletion of thousands of emails by Kistler, who was then the council clerk. Some of the emails reportedly discussed political strategy on behalf of Ricks, the wording of council minutes, and a possible subsidized housing development in Watson. Ricks says Kistler, who could not be reached through her parish email address for comment, recently received a letter from the Board of Ethics saying they would not investigate, but that the state Inspector General and FBI still were reviewing the information. “No one's ever talked to her,” Ricks says. “She's done no wrong, and welcomes the opportunity to tell her story someday.” –David Jacobs
The star prosecution witness in the trial of convicted Texas financier R. Allen Stanford was sentenced today to five years in prison for helping to bilk investors out of more than $7 billion in one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history. James M. Davis had faced up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty in 2009 to three fraud and conspiracy charges as part of an agreement with prosecutors. "I am ashamed and I'm embarrassed," Davis said at the sentencing hearing at Houston federal court. "I've perverted what was right, and I hurt thousands of investors. I betrayed their trust and also associates and neighbors and friends and my family." Prosecutors say Stanford persuaded investors to buy certificates of deposit from his Caribbean bank, then used that money to bankroll a string of failed businesses and his own lavish lifestyle, including a fleet of private jets and yachts. At Stanford's trial last year, Davis—the former chief financial officer of Stanford's...
Former Stanford Financial Group Co. finance chief James M. Davis is seeking a prison sentence 26 years shorter than the potential 30-year term he agreed to after pleading guilty to his role in a $7 billion investor fraud, citing his cooperation with prosecutors. Davis, 64, the second-highest ranking officer in the financial services empire of Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford, will ask today for four years in prison when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge David Hittner in Houston federal court, according to a defense filing in the case. Stanford, 62, is serving a 110-year prison term after being convicted—in part on testimony and evidence provided by Davis—in March of stealing more than $2 billion from investors for personal use. Davis agreed that he would face a maximum of 30 years in prison and forfeiture of $1 billion when he pleaded guilty to three felony counts pertaining to his role in the Ponzi scheme in August 2009, two months after Stanford was indicted. In...
The Supreme Court will hear an appeal that seeks to shut down class-action lawsuits from investors who lost billions in a massive Ponzi scheme orchestrated by convicted former Texas tycoon R. Allen Stanford. The justices today announced they will review appeals court rulings allowing the suits to proceed against individuals, law firms and investment companies that the investors claim aided Stanford's fraud. At issue is whether a federal law aimed at limiting private lawsuits that allege securities fraud can be used to block the suits investors filed in Louisiana and Texas. A federal judge initially threw them out, but the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled the suits could go forward. In December, a Baton Rouge judge also cleared the way for anyone in Louisiana who lost money in the debacle to join a class action lawsuit against entities that...
Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was indicted today on charges that he used his office for personal gain, accepting payoffs, free trips and gratuities from contractors while the city was struggling to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The charges against Nagin are the outgrowth of a City Hall corruption investigation that already has resulted in guilty pleas by two former city officials and two businessmen and a prison sentence for a former city vendor. The federal indictment accuses Nagin of accepting more than $160,000 in bribes and truckloads of free granite for his family business in exchange for promoting the interests of a local businessman who secured millions of dollars in city contract work after the 2005 hurricane. The businessman, Frank Fradella, pleaded guilty in June to bribery conspiracy and securities-fraud charges and has been cooperating with federal authorities. Nagin, 56, also is charged with accepting at least $60,000 in payoffs from another...
Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was indicted today on charges that he used his office for personal gain, accepting payoffs, free trips and gratuities from contractors while the city was struggling to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The charges against Nagin are the outgrowth of a City Hall corruption investigation that already has resulted in guilty pleas by two former city officials and two businessmen and a prison sentence for a former city vendor. The federal indictment accuses Nagin of accepting more than $160,000 in bribes and truckloads of free granite for his family business in exchange for promoting the interests of a local businessman who secured millions of dollars in city contract work after the 2005 hurricane.
Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White's performance will be under review by Mayor Kip Holden, with some local reports saying he's in jeopardy of losing his job. But Holden spokesman Scott Dyer says the mayor is simply doing regular evaluations of White and 13 other department heads, similar to those he conducted of department heads at the start of his previous two terms. Dyer says Holden will begin the reviews when he returns Tuesday from the United States Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C., adding that White's evaluation is no different from the others. Dyer says he's not sure how long the mayor will take to administer the evaluations. Dyer says other officials under review include DDD Director Davis Rhorer, Community Development Interim Director Mukadas Alli-Balogun, Constituent and Neighborhood Services Director Mary Fontenot, EMS Interim Director Chad Guilliot, Finance Director Marsha Hanlon, Fire Chief Ed Smith, Human Resources Interim Director Brian Bernard, Human...
Louisiana's attorney general has spent nearly $24 million building the state's legal case against BP over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, with much of the money paid to outside law firms that have contributed to his campaigns. Attorney General Buddy Caldwell's payments to outside lawyers—$15.4 million and counting—account for about two-thirds of his total spending, according to figures obtained by The Associated Press. While Louisiana took a much harder hit than other states during and after the disaster, that spending far exceeds the contract work paid by Caldwell's counterparts, according to data provided by their offices. Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange opted to let lawyers on his staff take on the work, and he says his office's tab is well under $200,000 so far. New Orleans-based U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who is presiding over most of the claims spawned by the spill, at one point appeared to take issue with Caldwell's use of outside lawyers,...
The Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination program, which began last summer, already has led to more than 300 drug arrests and contributed to a 60% drop in the monthly homicide rate, Mayor Kip Holden says.
The Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination program, which began last summer, already has led to more than 300 drug arrests and contributed to a 60% drop in the monthly homicide rate, Mayor Kip Holden says. Law enforcement officers involved in the program also have seized 46 handguns and assault weapons and confiscated more than $1 million worth of drugs, he says. Holden gave an update on the BRAVE initiative as part of his annual state of the city-parish address to the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge today. During his speech, Holden tried to emphasize the connections between the various issues that affect the quality of life in the parish, such as blight elimination, crime prevention and economic development. A listing of other topics Holden touched on during his address today is available in the full story here. —David Jacobs
Growing up in New Orleans, Hillar Moore III never dreamed of becoming a district attorney, much less the top prosecutor in Baton Rouge. He didn't know what he wanted to do with his life, except that he did not want to follow his father, Hillar Moore Jr., into the grocery wholesale business. "The side of the food business I saw was unloading crates off of box cars," says Moore. "It was a lot of hard work for not a lot of money." By the time Moore was a college student at LSU, however, he had found his passion, quite by chance, in the university's now-defunct department of criminal justice. Forensics, crime scene analysis and putting bad guys away got under his skin. Some 40 years later, the East Baton Rouge Parish district attorney is still passionate about solving crimes and prosecuting criminals, and he lives his job with a zealousness that borders on the obsessive. He goes to the scene of almost every homicide, attends the wake or funeral of almost every victim, and zips from...
Metro Council member Joel Boé says he is going to wait two more weeks to introduce a proposal to form a committee to study the viability of consolidating the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office.
For most people, a 45-minute run or swim would be more than enough of a workout. For Randy Roussel, it's just the first half of a hard-core exercise routine that begins before dawn, goes for at least 90 minutes and includes a variety of aerobic, strength-training, and flexibility exercises.
Growing up in New Orleans, Hillar Moore III never dreamed of becoming a district attorney, much less the top prosecutor in Baton Rouge. He didn't know what he wanted to do with his life, except that he did not want to follow his father, Hillar Moore Jr., into the grocery wholesale business.
Hillar Moore III may be a good district attorney. He may even be a great one. But at the end of the day, the DA can only do so much. Moore and his office face great challenges.
Perhaps it's because it was an otherwise slow Saturday night. Perhaps it's because of the recent spate of violent incidents in public venues across the country. Whatever the reason, the story of the melee that broke out Saturday evening in the food court of the Mall of Louisiana involving some 200 local teens went viral and topped the list of trending stories for much of Sunday on websites such as Yahoo! News and Google. While there's no way to do damage control in the age of social media, local law enforcement and elected officials are grappling with how to prevent such incidents from happening again. There's no clear-cut solution. Metro Councilman Chandler Loupe, who tried unsuccessfully in 2011 to pass an ordinance that would have applied the existing 11 p.m. curfew to 17-year-olds, says he still favors a curfew as a potential solution. But a curfew wouldn't have made any difference Saturday night: The fight broke out in the early evening, and many of the kids involved were too...
Perhaps it's because it was an otherwise slow Saturday night. Perhaps it's because of the recent spate of violent incidents in public venues across the country. Whatever the reason, the story of the melee that broke out Saturday evening in the food court of the Mall of Louisiana involving some 200 local teens went viral and topped the list of trending stories for much of Sunday on websites such as Yahoo! News and Google.
President Barack Obama has renominated Shelly Deckert Dick to fill a vacancy on the federal bench in Baton Rouge. Dick, a Baton Rouge attorney, originally was nominated in April 2012. She is one of 33 candidates for federal judgeships who were renominated Thursday by Obama. Dick answered questions before a Senate panel last month, but the full Senate did not vote on her nomination before the conclusion of the 112th Congress. The president says in a statement that many of the nominations "could have and should have been confirmed" before the Senate adjourned. Dick was nominated to fill the seat in the Middle District of Louisiana left vacant by the death of Chief U.S. District Judge Ralph Tyson. She is a founding partner at the Baton Rouge law firm of Forrester & Dick.
As District Attorney Hillar Moore III looks to the year ahead, one of the biggest challenges his office will face, ironically, is a funding shortage in the East Baton Rouge Parish Public Defender's Office, which provides free attorneys to criminal defendants unable to afford their own attorneys. Moore says it's a real problem because the local public defender's office has just three (out of 40 or so) attorneys who are qualified to represent defendants in death penalty cases. What's more, the Louisiana Public Defender Board, which provides support to the district defender offices, doesn't have enough money to pitch in and help out. As a result, Moore's office has several death penalty cases on hold and is unable to bring any additional cases in kind forward. "Basically, right now a number of our cases are stalled because the local public defender and the Louisiana Public Defender [boards] are filing these motions and letters saying they don't have enough people qualified to handle...
The LSU hospital system has notified 416 patients that their checking account numbers and other personal information on checks paid to hospitals have been stolen. The LSU Health Care Services Division began notifying patients in November, after learning about the identity thefts from state police, spokesman Marvin McGraw tells The Associated Press in an email. The division announced earlier today it was investigating a HIPAA violation regarding a possible check fraud case committed by a former employee, but provided few other details. The police are also investigating the case. Sheila Seal, an employee at the LSU hospital in Bogalusa, and her husband, Washington Parish Sheriff Randy Seal, say counterfeit checks totaling $2,500 were written on their account. Capt. Tommie Sorrell tells The Daily News of Bogalusa that $25,000 was taken from 19 people in Washington Parish. Patients' bank account numbers and other information on the checks scanned into hospital system records were...
Mayor Kip Holden's office is closely guarding how it plans to buy the old Woman's Hospital campus at the corner of Goodwood Boulevard and Airline Highway for $10 million. The disclosure could be as far as five months out, with the city-parish getting a 150-day inspection period to determine whether the 140,000-square-foot Physicians Tower is suitable for a conversion into headquarters for the Baton Rouge Police Department.
Former employees of Shaw Canada have filed a $39.2 million lawsuit against Baton Rouge-based The Shaw Group, alleging wrongful termination and the abandonment of an "underfunded" pension plan. The announcement, released Thursday, says the lawsuit arises out of the mass termination of all employees of Shaw Canada, according to a news release by the plaintiffs' law firm. The lawsuit alleges that Shaw Group acted in a manner that was "oppressive to the Canadian employees and retirees," and that the defendants, rather than winding down the company in an orderly manner and providing prior notice to the employees, conspired to orchestrate the bankruptcy of Shaw Canada to evade paying severance pay and amounts owing to the Shaw Canada pension plan.
As Vice President Joe Biden leads a White House effort to develop gun control and other measures designed to prevent more deadly mass shootings at U.S. schools, The Times-Picayune reports it appears the Louisiana delegation will be a tough sell. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson and outgoing Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia, have pretty much ruled out support for any new gun control legislation. Some other strong gun control proponents in the delegation, including Sen. David Vitter, R-La., and John Fleming, R-Minden, are declining to speak out so soon after last week's killing of 20 first grade students and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-Quitman, are willing to consider new measures, but continue to advocate for the rights of gun owners. Only Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, among Louisiana members, offers a firm endorsement for limits on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. "Gun control won't stop...
Judge William Morvant had harsh words earlier this week for BancorpSouth and its attorneys over the way they handled a discovery request from Windy Gladney and his attorney for emails that are believed to be relevant in a case between the local developer and the bank. In a transcript from Monday's hearing in the 19th Judicial District Court, Morvant tells attorneys for the bank he needed to choose his words carefully after learning that the bank has a disk containing some 500,000 electronic documents, which it had previously said did not exist. Earlier this year, the bank's attorneys told Morvant emails between Bancorp South President Larry Denison and others had long since been deleted. "To have the court told these emails are deleted, they're permanently gone, and now in 2012 I'm getting '06 and '07 Denison emails referencing these loans after I'm assured that they don't exist, it causes me some real concern," Morvant says. The judge is giving the bank 10 days to completely respond...
BancorpSouth is facing tough sanctions from the 19th Judicial District Court for failing to turn over during the discovery process a computer disk containing some 500,000 pages of documents sought by the attorney for Windy Gladney in the developer's long-running lawsuit against the bank. In a hearing late Monday, Judge William Morvant granted Gladney's motion for sanctions against the bank for withholding the documents, which include emails that may contain information about the loans that are at issue in the case. Details of the ruling have not yet been entered into the court record. Attorneys for BancorpSouth did not return calls for comment in time for publication, and Gladney's lawyer declined to comment until after the ruling has been made public. However, Morvant's decision is clearly a victory for Gladney and his partnership, Kleinpeter Trace. Gladney and development firm Kleinpeter Trace are being sued by the bank for defaulting on some $2 million in construction loans. He...
With his lawsuit challenging new CATS taxes at a temporary standstill, the Baton Rouge man who filed the suit in July is now asking those who support his position to formally protest the taxes by sending letters to Sheriff Sid Gautreaux's office. Milton Graugnard, a Cajun Industries executive, says the protest letters effectively request the sheriff's office to hold their taxes in an escrow account and not turn them over to the transit system until his case is resolved in court. "It's a secondary means for anyone who has paid the tax already or is going to pay the tax" to challenge it, Graugnard says of the letters. In a recent letter sent out to his supporters that provides an update on the case, Graugnard even includes a sample letter, which you can see here. Graugnard is asking people to send the letters before Dec. 31, when the taxes officially come due. While...
A Baton Rouge judge has tossed out on constitutional grounds part of an education revamp pushed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, but has upheld the centerpiece provisions that changed teacher tenure and salary laws. Judge Michael Caldwell ruled this afternoon that the section of the legislation dealing with the authority of local school boards violates the state constitution because it doesn't fit into the stated objective of the law. Caldwell's ruling does away with changes that lessened the power of local school boards over hiring and firing, as well as those that required the state education superintendent's review of local school superintendent contracts. However, Caldwell ruled provisions of the law eliminating statewide teacher pay scales and making it tougher for teachers to reach the job protection status of tenure are constitutional. Jindal released a statement shortly after the ruling, calling it a "victory" for students and teachers. "This ruling upholds the core purpose of the...
A federal prosecutor demoted for anonymously posting comments on a newspaper's website has retired. A Justice Department spokesman confirms today that Jan Mann and her husband, fellow prosecutor Jim Mann, both retired from the U.S. attorney's office in New Orleans. Jan Mann was the top assistant to former U.S. Attorney Jim Letten before he demoted her last month. Letten resigned earlier this month amid a Justice Department probe of comments that she and another prosecutor, Sal Perricone, posted on nola.com, a companion website of The Times-Picayune. Perricone resigned in March after acknowledging he criticized judges and politicians and commented on cases in his online posts under a name that was not his own. Mann didn't admit to posting the comments until after a defamation suit was filed against her by the owner of a landfill at the center of a federal probe.
Environmentalists set to file a lawsuit today challenging the Obama administration's plans to sell offshore drilling leases over the next five years are using a novel argument: that the government overlooked the value of waiting to harvest oil and gas from coastal waters. The Houston Chronicle reports the economic-driven approach is a new one for offshore drilling critics, who have separately accused the government of moving too swiftly to approve new oil and natural gas exploration after the Deepwater Horizon disaster and ignoring the environmental effects of the work. Lawyers with New York University's Institute for Policy Integrity are filing the lawsuit in the United States Circuit Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of the Santa Fe, N.M.-based Center for Sustainable Economy. The lawsuit will ask the court to kick out the current program and require the Interior Department to revise it. The legal challenge takes direct aim at the Interior Department's plan to hold...
Louisiana's civil justice system is on the verge of becoming one of the nation's most unfair and out-of-balance, according to the 11th annual Judicial Hellholes Report, released today by the American Tort Reform Association. In the 2012-2013 report, which ranks California's system as No. 1, Louisiana is included on the group's "watch list" for the third straight year. The ATRA's "watch list" is designed to call attention to jurisdictions that "bear watching due to troubling developments or their histories of abusive litigation." The report says of Louisiana: "Despite determined reform efforts by certain lawmakers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana's civil litigation environment, especially in Orleans and St. Landry parishes, remains a concern thanks to laws that still permit excessive liability, plaintiff-friendly judges, and close relationships between the plaintiffs' bar and some state government officials." Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch
Even when it's a good year and his office's annual budget is $2.2 million, city-parish Constable Reginald Brown has had to go before the Metro Council and request surplus funding for his 37 deputies, chief deputy and office staff. And it's never easy. "There is not a complete understanding of what our office does," Brown says. To give Mayor Kip Holden's office and the Metro Council a better understanding, Brown is asking them to form a committee to study the duties he and his staff are tasked with each day. Brown says he'd like them to have the study completed in time to be presented to the Metro Council by Jan. 31 so that his office won't get brushed aside when surplus funding in the future is distributed. In better budgetary times, more than 10 years ago, Brown says his office had about 50 deputies. It has had fewer than 40 deputies for about the past eight years, and Brown says it routinely faces budgetary shortcomings for overtime when deputies have to work court trials that go...
Many across southeast Louisiana were surprised and saddened last week by the resignation of Jim Letten, who announced he was stepping down after 12 years as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District because of a scandal involving his top aides. One person not shedding a tear is local attorney Mary Olive Pierson, who has faced off against Letten and his prosecutors in several high-profile cases, most notably the gambling corruption trial of former Gov. Edwin Edwards and four others in 2000. The outspoken Pierson tells Daily Report she wasn't at all surprised by the turn of events in the U.S. Attorney's office. "Jim Letten and his crew have been behaving this way the entire time they have been in office. … They're just now getting caught," she says. "They were always above the law in their own mind." Pierson says the scandal, which involves anonymous blog posts about an ongoing investigation that two top prosecutors under Letten made on nola.com—and the ensuing cover...
A Baton Rouge judge cleared the way for anyone in Louisiana who lost money in the Stanford Group debacle to join a class action lawsuit against entities that allegedly enabled the $7 billion Ponzi scheme.
If ever a case could be made against electing judges, the just-concluded race for the 5th District seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court might be a good place to start.
About two hours before Jim Letten held a 10:30 a.m. news conference today in New Orleans to announce his resignation as U.S. attorney, Steve Boutwell—marketing director for Kean Miller law firm—began getting phone calls from reporters. Word around New Orleans is that Letten is in talks with Kean Miller to join the firm now that his 28-year career with the Department of Justice is officially over. "I can't confirm or deny that we're in talks with Jim Letten, but I can tell you that any law firm in Louisiana would love to have an attorney of his caliber," Boutwell says. "He's an extremely talented attorney." Letten was the nation's longest-serving U.S. attorney, with 11 years in the position, having been retained in the job by President Barack Obama despite his Republican Party affiliation. Though his resignation will be effective Tuesday, he will stay on briefly—not as head of the office—to aid in the transition. He delivered an emotional, 10-minute speech this...
Baton Rouge attorney Shelly Dick has gotten another green light in her quest to become a federal district judge for the Middle District of Louisiana. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing on her judicial nomination for Wednesday, and Dick could be confirmed by the full Senate before the end of the year. The announcement comes after Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter ended his block of her nomination. Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat, recommended Dick and two other possible nominees to President Barack Obama over a year ago to fill the judgeship left vacant by the death of Chief U.S. District Judge Ralph Tyson. Obama nominated Dick in April, but Vitter—citing the impending election—withheld his support in hopes of a victory for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Vitter threw his support behind Dick's nomination one week after Obama won re-election. Dick, a Texas native, is a founding partner in Forrester & Dick, a boutique firm. She has...
Critics of District Judge Tim Kelley's recent voucher ruling are publicly speculating that he must have had his mind made up ahead of time, given that he issued a lengthy legal opinion Nov. 30 after only two days of testimony. But Kelley says there's a simple reason the 39-page opinion was issued so quickly: He had been working ahead. "They submitted their briefs months ago," he says. The decision hinged on a few basic legal issues that were clear well in advance, although the parties were given the opportunity to present testimony to see if there might be any factual issues that might influence the decision. "There weren't any," Kelley says. "So it's not as though it was magic that it got written overnight. I had it for two months." Kelley ruled that the funding mechanism the state is using to pay for the voucher program is unconstitutional; the state will...
With Saturday's election just days away, Louisiana Supreme Court District 5 candidate Jeff Hughes has taken to heavily courting his home base of Livingston Parish and other parts of the Capital Region with an unusual eight-page tabloid newspaper, casting himself as the Leave It To Beaver candidate. The piece, dubbed the "Louisiana Judicial Report," bears the official state seal and is filled with stories about the Republican judge growing up "in the Denham Springs of 1950s-1960s." There are plenty of black-and-white photos of the era, including one family portrait from his childhood captioned "Leave It To Beaver" and another of him shooting hoops in high school. Race remains a subtle campaign theme. Hughes, who previously has referred to his Democratic opponent John Michael Guidry as an "affirmative action" candidate, points out in the tabloid that his fellow judge's political base is "the inner city of Baton Rouge and majority black precincts in the River Parishes," while...
A Baton Rouge judge cleared the way today for anyone in Louisiana who lost money in the Stanford Group debacle to join a class action lawsuit against entities that allegedly enabled the $7 billion Ponzi scheme. In a decision issued this morning, 19th Judicial District Judge R. Michael Caldwell ruled that any Louisiana residents who did business with the Stanford Group and any out-of-state investor who did business with the Stanford Trust—a separate entity that mostly handled individual retirement accounts—has the right to join the class, provided their investments were made after Jan. 1, 2007. "This is a big deal," says attorney Phil Preis, who represents the investors. "This is the first class to be certified in the Stanford litigation, and it means the people of Louisiana will finally have their day in court." There is no word on when that day may come, as an appeal is expected by the defendants, which include the Stanford Trust, trust administrator SEI—a major...
Citing statistics from FBI Uniform Crime Reports, Business Insider magazine says the flagship LSU campus in Baton Rouge is the ninth-most dangerous college campus in the United States. According to the FBI statistics, there's an average of 26 violent crime incidents on the LSU campus each year and about 474 property crimes. "There were an alarming 22 robberies in 2011, among other violent crimes," notes Business Insider, adding that it averaged FBI crime data per capita from 2008 to 2011 for campuses with 10,000 students or more to create the rankings. (The LSU campus is listed as having 29,451 students in the report.) While LSU Police Department Public Information Officer Capt. Cory Lalonde says the statistics cited in the report are accurate, but adds they can also be misleading. "Yes, we did have 22 robberies last year, but over half of those incidents were cell phone thefts" that were not armed robberies, he says. "We also do have a lot of vehicle burglaries, but...
Those parking in the Third Street garage after hours and on weekends won't have to worry about getting towed anymore. The state of Louisiana is suspending the controversial practice, opting instead for a more amicable solution.
For years, Walter Morales was one of the best-known and well-respected money managers in Baton Rouge, with a reputation for delivering consistently better-than-average returns, a portfolio that approached $750 million at its peak, and a roster of clients that included retired local professionals, state pension funds and, even, the billionaire Bass family of Texas.
Metro Council member Joel Boé says by early next year it will be time to revisit and staff a committee formed in April 2011 to study the viability of consolidating the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office. "Sadly it made no progress," Boé says in a prepared statement released Monday. "I support police unification for Baton Rouge as a way to put more police on our streets." Councilman Chandler Loupe originally introduced forming the committee, although he had no intention of serving on it at the time and still doesn't. However, Loupe says he'll be supportive of choosing three council members to serve on the committee. Boé says the committee would also be served by representatives from BRPD and the sheriff's office, and should include a position for a representative of Mayor Kip Holden's administration, which it currently doesn't have. Boé says the committee would study what steps are needed to actually consolidate law enforcement. As he understands it,...
Discussion on electing police chief to be put off once again
Metro Councilwoman C. Denise Marcelle says she plans to delete an item on tonight's agenda calling for a discussion about whether the police chief should be an elected position. She says it's "certainly" something she intends to bring before the council in the future, when she's armed with essential data. "I'm waiting on a report from the [law enforcement] unification committee, and I'm not ready to bring it back tonight," she says. The issue, which was first raised and placed on the agenda in March, was most recently deferred at the council's last meeting, on April 24. It came about following the controversial firing of former Chief Dewayne White. In order to change the police chief position from one selected by the mayor to one selected by a vote, the Plan of Government would need to be changed, which would also require voter approval. Meanwhile, a search for a permanent replacement for White continues. "It's going to be difficult to pass, yes. It's difficult to even get it on the...
Ban on using social media while driving moves closer to law
An attempt to ban posting to Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites while driving is nearing final passage in the Louisiana Legislature. The proposal, approved today by the House transportation committee, is designed to close what lawmakers call a loophole in the state law that prohibits texting while driving. The Senate-approved bill would add accessing, reading and posting to social media sites to the prohibition. It heads next to the full House. Livingston Sen. Dale Erdey, the Republican sponsor of the bill, says he's trying to cut down on distracted driving and improve public safety. If passed into law, violators would face a fine up to $175 for the first offense and up to $500 for second and subsequent violations.
Moving on
Speaking out carried a high price for Ivor van Heerden. And, as it turns out, fighting him unsuccessfully carried a high price for LSU.
'225': Strange fellowship grows from an unsolved murder
For then-23-year-old Michelle Downey Messina, the grisly discovery of her mother's body in the trunk of a car on a humid September afternoon was an unimaginable conclusion to an already troubling, confusing tale. Messina's mother, Kathleen Downey, went missing in early August 2010. A year earlier, Downey has been charged with felony theft, accused of stealing from her employer, Ron Duplessis, who owns a Buick GMC dealership on Airline Highway. Since Downey's death, Messina and Duplessis have teamed up to keep the case at the top of Baton Rouge police officers' minds. "We've been very frustrated with law enforcement," Duplessis says. "For some reason, they're not motivated at all to investigate this case." Read Adam Kealoha Causey's full article from the current issue of 225 here.
Federal judge permanently shuts down B.R. tax preparer
A federal court has permanently barred Ann Williams and her tax preparation firm, Ann's Tax Service, from preparing federal tax returns. The Department of Justice says that the civil injunction order—to which Williams and Ann's Tax Service agreed without admitting the allegations against them—has been signed by U.S. District Judge James J. Brady of Baton Rouge. The government alleged that Williams, of Morganza, and her business had repeatedly prepared false federal income tax returns that understated customers' tax liabilities. According to the complaint, Williams inflated or fabricated business expenses, reported fictitious business income, and fraudulently claimed the earned-income credit on customers' tax returns. Prosecutors allege Williams' fraudulent practices may have resulted in as much as $2.2 million in lost tax revenue.
Penny-a-dollar payment plan for Stanford victims before judge
R. Allen Stanford's investors may now be able to recoup some of their losses more than four years after the Stanford Group Co. founder was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and put out of business. As Bloomberg reports, Ralph Janvey, the receiver appointed by a federal judge to marshal and liquidate Stanford's personal and business assets in February 2009, is asking a judge for permission to make a $55 million interim distribution—or about one penny for each of the $5.1 billion dollars lost in the fraud scheme. The proposed payout trails the more than $5.4 billion paid to victims of Bernie Madoff, who was arrested in December 2008, about $4.9 billion paid clients of the MF Global Inc. brokerage after its parent MF Global Holdings Ltd. failed in October 2011, and the $123 million interim distribution for victims of Peregrine Financial Group Inc. founder Russell Wasendorf, who prosecutors last year said stole $215 million. Read the full story
Former family members set sights on 'Sons of Guns' star in lawsuit
As if its reality show on Discovery Channel weren't enough, Red Jacket Firearms is the subject of another drama unfolding in Baton Rouge federal court involving federal agents and an ex-wife. In a civil case itself filled with intrigue worthy of an episode or two, Sons of Guns star Will Hayden and the company he founded are being accused by former family members of securities fraud for allegedly issuing worthless stock certificates. The suit concerns 17 shares that Hayden and then-wife Trudy Lee issued in 2002, just as the firearms business was getting off the ground. Using generic stock forms they downloaded from the Internet, they gave 10 shares in Red Jacket Firearms to Joseph Radford in return for carpentry work on their retail store; two shares to Lee's son, Joshua Currey, for his birthday; and two shares to Earl Lee, Trudy Lee's father. The problem came eight years later, when Hayden had to forfeit his federal firearms license issued to Red Jacket Inc. after running into...
Study: Louisiana has most gun violence per capita in U.S.
A new state-by-state analysis of gun violence released today by the Center for American Progress says Louisiana, on several key measures, "has been hit harder by gun violence than any other state in the country." Ranked No. 1 for gun violence per capita, Louisiana has a gun-murder rate that is more than two-and-a-half times higher than the U.S. average. With one person killed by a gun every 10 hours in the state, the analysis says Louisiana's gun-homicide rate is 9.5 per every 100,000 residents—compared to a national average of 3.6 per every 100,000. Louisiana also has the highest gun-homicide rate among children aged 19 and younger, and the second-worst rate among women. "Louisiana not only has rampant gun violence within its borders, but it contributes to crime in other states as well," the analysis says. "In 2009, Louisiana had the15th-highest rate of guns sold in the state that went on to be used in crimes in other states." Behind Louisiana on the rankings for states with...
LSU, state spent nearly $1M defending van Heerden case
LSU and the state of Louisiana spent just less than $1 million defending its decision to fire former Hurricane Center deputy director Ivor van Heerden. Documents obtained today by Levees.org indicate the university paid the Baton Rouge law firm of Kantrow Spaht Weaver & Blitzer more than $457,000 over two and a half years to handle the case. That's on top of the $435,000 settlement the Louisiana Office of Risk Management paid to van Heerden last month. Levees.org notes the $892,000 total doesn't include any amounts LSU paid its own staff to comply with court orders, respond to subpoenas and appear for depositions. Van Heerden alleges he was fired for statements in his post-Katrina levee failure investigation funded by the Louisiana Department of Transportation, namely that the Army Corps of Engineers' faulty levees caused the flooding during Katrina. The Association of American University Professors censured the university in 2011 for firing van Heerden. "LSU has chosen to hound a...
Former Pizza Hut magnate Lundy has trial rescheduled
The trial of former Pizza Hut magnate Larry Lundy, who was forced to shutter his 44 restaurants in 2011—including 16 in the Capital Region—after years of worsening relations with the restaurant chain is now slated to begin in September, The Times-Picayune reports. The trial had been scheduled to start on April 29, but Judge David Godbey of Federal District Court in Dallas has rescheduled the trial for Sept. 30. The trial is set to last one week. "It is extremely unlikely that any further continuances will be granted," Godbey says in his order. The pizza chain filed suit Jan. 3, 2011, claiming Lundy Enterprises had fallen behind on royalty payments. Pizza Hut and Lundy Enterprises, which had 1,200 employees across 64 stores in south Louisiana at its height a decade ago, spent much of 2011 in arbitration. Both sides reached a deal that would have transferred Lundy's assets to Pizza Hut, federal court records show, but the value of the assets, pegged at $7.8 million,...
A burst bubble
Justin Mannino, a third-year law student, is satisfied with his career choice. The student bar association president at LSU Law Center says, “Lawyers, more than a lot of professionals, are afforded the opportunity to think freely, which is a very important [career] aspect for me.”
Partners in fighting crime
Hope Haven Mausoleum in Gonzales guards the remains of a woman who is gone but whose mysterious story lives on.
Civil rights history honored at gallery event Thursday
More than 50 years ago this Thursday, seven Southern University students challenged the "whites-only" lunch counter at the Kress building downtown. The building's current tenant, Kress Gallery, will host a special "Honoring Our Past" luncheon, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday, in memory of those seven students. The event will also feature a showing of the documentary Taking a Seat of Justice. An original painting by Taufeed Muhammad honoring the sit-in will be unveiled. For more information on Muhammad's painting, check out Matthew Sigur's article here. Tickets for Thursday's event are $35 and reservations are required. Catering will be provided by Stroubes Seafood and Steaks. Call 931-0134 to make your reservation, or e-mail lslade@kressgallerybr.com.
Judge rejects Painter's plea for dismissal of federal charges
Murphy Painter's plea to dismiss all the federal charges against him has been rejected, and his trial has once again been rescheduled. U.S. District Judge James Brady recently denied a motion to throw out all 42 counts of computer fraud, making false statements, and aggravated identity theft resulting from his alleged misuse of computerized criminal history and motor vehicle databases while Painter was commissioner of the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control. Painter's attorney, Tim Meche of New Orleans, had argued in an October motion that the government was "overreaching" in its charges. In a memo to the judge, the attorney implies that Painter is merely the victim of political retribution from the governor's office for failing to issue an alcohol and beverage permit for Champions Square, being built outside the Superdome after the New Orleans Saints won Super Bowl XLIV. Meche adds that background checks are "exercised at astounding rates," noting that Louisiana law...
Choosing the structure
The most common organizational structures are sole proprietorships, general and limited partnerships, C and S corporations, and limited liability companies. Below are characteristics of the most common structures, provided by the Small Business Administration. It's a good idea to discuss these options with a business counselor or attorney to determine which is best for you.
Faux pas
Imagine you've been doing business for 11 years or more. Your brand has been so successful that you've opened two additional locations elsewhere in the state and are contemplating two more. Plus, you're about to go international with an online store.
Check the box
When the Louisiana Legislature gave a thumbs-up in 1992 to a new business structure called a “limited liability company,” businesspeople around the state hailed it as the greatest invention since sliced bread. Freeing small and medium-size businesses from many burdens of operating as traditional corporations or partnerships, the LLC introduced new simplicity and flexibility to business formation. At the same time, the structure offered individual owners protection from potential liability down the road.
Deaths, homicides increased in EBR in 2012, coroner says
In his office's annual report released today, East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner William "Beau" Clark says there were six more homicides in the parish compared to the previous year, while there were 400 more natural deaths investigated and 25 more accidental deaths. A total of 96 homicides were investigated by Clark's office last year, in addition to 2,509 natural deaths and 148 accidental deaths. Also, at 24, there were two more infant deaths, and at 45, two more suicides in the parish last year. The number of undetermined cases was unchanged from 2011. Overall, the Coroner's Office investigated 2,824 deaths in 2012, 435 more than the year previous. Clark's budget expenditures in 2012 totaled just more than $1.7 million, which he says included money to buy three new vehicles, install a security system and buy investigative and pathological supplies. Clark also says he increased the number of full-time death investigators to seven, from three, within five months of being on the job. He...
Transocean defense takes center stage at Gulf oil spill trial
Transocean's defense takes center stage today as the fourth week of the civil trial over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill begins. As The Houston Chronicle reports, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf off Louisiana is expected to call to the stand experts and company officials who will seek to rebut testimony that the rig was not seaworthy at the time of the 2010 disaster. Drilling expert Calvin Barnhill is among the witnesses scheduled to be on the stand today. Transocean, a Swiss drilling contractor, also is expected to call its CEO Steven Newman to the stand. That will likely occur on Tuesday. British oil giant BP was leasing the rig from Transocean to drill its Macondo well a mile beneath the sea. The well blew out, causing an explosion on the rig that killed 11 workers. The resulting oil spill was the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. During the first phase of the trial—which is expected to last up to three...
Grant funds sought to target crime in 70802
While the new city-parish crime-fighting initiative known as the Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination program, or BRAVE, targets violent criminals in the 70805 ZIP code, District Attorney Hillar Moore III and Mayor Kip Holden's office have applied for three additional federal grants worth a total of nearly $1.7 million to focus on other trouble spots around Baton Rouge. Two of the grants in particular would be used to bring targeted policing and beefed-up patrols to the 70802 ZIP code, which is adjacent to 70805 in northwest Baton Rouge. The two ZIP codes collectively account for nearly half the city's crime, Moore says, despite comprising just 3.5 square miles and having just 13,800 residents. The grant application notes that additional policing is needed in those areas, particularly as BRAVE cracks down on known drug gangs and repeat offenders in 70805. Data shows that "as crime goes up in 70805 it goes down in 70802 and vice versa," the application reads. "GIS mapping clearly...
Can the Greenway improve struggling neighborhoods?
Expressway Park sits in the shadow of the I-10/I-110 split, with the rumble of traffic echoing off the huge concrete pilings that separate the busy interstate above from the inner-city green space below. The South Baton Rouge Jaguars youth football team often practices on a field here, between the overpass bridges. At night, the interstate lighting high above isn't enough to illuminate the practice field, so parents of the young players use the headlights of their vehicles to keep evening practices going.
Publisher: Law enforcement consolidation a good idea
In his latest column, Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister says he likes the idea of consolidating the city police, sheriff and constable—a notion that has been revived recently by Metro Councilman Joel Boé but was previously discussed in the 1960s, 1970s, 2002 and 2011. "You may remember a TV campaign this past fall, 'Fight, Not Fear', funded by businessman Lane Grigsby, which promoted this idea," McCollister writes. "Grigsby points out that other major cities have reduced crime by as much as 45% with the unification of [law enforcement] agencies—cities such as Charlotte, Indianapolis, Louisville and Las Vegas. The question seems to be: If they can do it and it helps, why not Baton Rouge?" The timing also seems right for the consolidation conversation to resurface in light of the controversy surrounding the recent firing of Police Chief Dewayne White by Mayor Kip Holden. "Boé says the committee's first...
Law enforcement consolidation committee holds first meeting today
The five-member committee that has been formed to look into the possibility of consolidating the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office is meeting this afternoon for the first time.
Polozola remembered
Leading state officials remembered former U.S. District Judge Frank Polozola as a man who lived for the law. He died at the age of 71 on Feb. 24. Polozola had been battling cancer for years, says Chief Judge Brian Jackson of the Baton Rouge-based Middle District of Louisiana.
Marcelle formally asks feds to investigate BRPD
Metro Councilwoman Denise Marcelle is sending a formal request today to the U.S. Department of Justice to find out whether the department will investigate allegations made by fired Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White. Marcelle previously told Daily Report she wanted the feds to look into White's allegations and firing. Since then, she and council members Tara Wicker, Donna Collins-Lewis and Ronnie Edwards met with the parish attorney's office to discuss the situation. At that meeting, they asked to be included in a regularly scheduled meeting between the parish attorney's office and officials from the Department of Justice, who periodically come to town for updates on the police department's compliance with a 1980 consent decree. That regularly scheduled meeting was canceled, however, as a result of the federal budget cuts...
Judge to hear from explosion survivor in BP trial
The judge presiding over the trial of BP for its role in the 2010 oil spill is set to hear from a survivor of the fatal rig explosion that sent millions of gallons of oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico, according to a witness list prepared for the case. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier is slated to hear testimony this week from Randy Ezell, a drilling supervisor who performed safety tests on the Deepwater Horizon rig before the explosion, according to a witness schedule shown to Bloomberg. The trial resumes today in New Orleans federal court as the U.S. and Gulf Coast states continue talks with BP about a possible settlement of pollution claims over the spill, a person familiar with the negotiations says. Evidence presented by the government and spill victims in the case's first week "may have encouraged BP to think twice about whether it wants to proceed with a long, expensive trial," says David Uhlmann, a former federal prosecutor who teaches law at the University of...
Only those in city limits could vote for police chief
If the Baton Rouge police chief were ever to become an elected position—as some are calling for in the wake of the recent firing of former Chief of Police Dewayne White by Mayor Kip Holden—only voters living within city limits would be allowed to cast a vote for their choice at the polls. Furthermore, state law requires city-position candidates to have lived within city limits for at least a year prior to an election, says Parish Attorney Mary Roper. It gets trickier: Most police chiefs historically have come up through the ranks of BRPD, but under state law, existing officers on the force who wish to campaign for police chief have to resign in order to do so. "It's a prohibitive practice to be employed in the classified service and be a candidate for a public office," Roper explains. And then there's the potential confusion created by the bizarre boundaries of the Baton Rouge city limits, which exclude a large portion of southeast Baton Rouge between interstates 10 and...
Federal Judge Frank Polozola dies
Chief Judge Brian Jackson of the U.S. District Court of the Middle District of Louisiana has confirmed that federal Judge Frank Polozola died on Sunday after a long battle with cancer, WAFB-TV reports. Polozola was sworn in as a U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Louisiana on May 29, 1980, after having been nominated by President Jimmy Carter. He served as Chief Judge of the Middle District of Louisiana from Sept. 1, 1998, to Aug. 31, 2005, and became a Senior Judge on Jan. 15, 2007. Prior to his appointment by Carter, Polozola served as part-time Magistrate Judge from April 1972 until he was appointed the first full-time Magistrate Judge for the Middle District of Louisiana in October 1973. No further details were available as of press time on Polozola's death.
Holden's handling of White's firing may complicate search for replacement
The damage control that Mayor Kip Holden displays over the next 60 days is going to be the most interesting aspect of the fallout from Monday's official firing of Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White, says local political consultant and pollster Bernie Pinsonat. "What fool from outside the police department will take the job to begin with?" says Pinsonat, who speculates Holden had grown tired of the ongoing battle between White and the police union and chose to sacrifice the police chief, who'd had less than two years on the job. "After this fiasco, what kind of police chief do you end up with?" On Wednesday, the mayor's office confirmed Lt. Carl Dabadie as interim police chief. Dabadie has been taking on police chief duties since White was informed on Feb. 6 of his impending termination. Rannah Gray, who doesn't work in the mayor's office but managed Holden's recent political campaign and stays in constant contact with him, says she doesn't believe there was a clash between White...
Knapp: Crime could be limiting business expansions
Although the Capital Region's modest job growth of 0.6% in 2012 is forecast to increase to between 1.4% and 1.6% this year, BRAC President/CEO Adam Knapp says Baton Rouge's high homicide rate is a big concern and could be impeding new businesses. We don't hear it as much from site consultants; we hear it from companies looking to expand here, says Knapp, who addressed the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge today. Knapp says BRAC is working on developing policies related to crime with the Baton Rouge Police Department, mayor's office and district attorney's office. He adds that opening the downtown jail full-time could help prevent crime. On tax reform, Knapp says Louisiana already has strong incentives for businesses, adding it could still make more gains; specifically, he suggests the corporate franchise tax on equity be done away with. Continued job growth will be driven by the...
Graphia returns to Kean Miller
About a month after resigning from the Jindal administration, attorney Gary Graphia has returned to Kean Miller. Graphia was a partner in the firm until leaving in 1999 to become chief legal officer at The Shaw Group, which recently was acquired by CB&I. He later served as executive vice president of corporate development and strategy and as Shaw's chief operating officer. During his tenure, Shaw completed three major acquisitions: Stone & Webster in 2000, IT Group in 2002, and a stake in Westinghouse in 2006. He retired from Shaw on May 1, 2012, and was subsequently appointed executive counsel for Gov. Bobby Jindal in October, only to resign in January. Thomas Enright took over as the governor's executive counsel. Graphia's title at Kean Miller is "of counsel," and he will work with the business, corporate, and litigation strategy teams, says firm spokesman Steve Boutwell, adding that Graphia's experience as a C-level executive with a Fortune 500 company brings a "unique...
Emails between mayor's office, former police chief detail personnel decisions
One thread of an email exchange between former Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White and Mayor Kip Holden may provide insight into allegations of micromanagement of the police chief's personnel decisions by the mayor's office. White's attorney, Jill Craft, says those emails are just the beginning of micromanagement. "There's a lot more emails than that," Craft says. The mayor's office isn't commenting. The thread of emails ends Jan. 25, or 12 days before White was reportedly informed by Chief Administrative Officer William Daniel that he was fired. They are the last emails the city-parish attorney's office provided Daily Report in a public records request for emails between White and the mayor's office between Jan. 1 and Feb. 6, when White was given notice of his termination. On Jan. 24, White emailed Daniel and requested the next day off. Daniel granted the request that day, and brought up the issue of transfers in the police department. "Would you please discuss those with...
Not in union
Architect Coleman Brown doesn't know all of the details that led Mayor Kip Holden to fire Baton Rouge Chief of Police Dewayne White Feb. 6. But the Mid City businessman says he thinks White was doing a pretty good job.
White to appeal firing
Mayor Kip Holden says that, technically, he didn't fire Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White on Feb. 6. White and his attorney, Jill Craft, say the opposite. In any event, Holden made the firing official following a hearing this morning, although White plans to appeal to the civil service board. "I stand ready to serve this community," White said shortly before Holden publicly announced his decision. Craft says White "started a lot of good work" and "certainly would like the opportunity to complete it" when asked why White would still want his job. "I think he feels very strongly that people need to know what's going on," whether he continues as chief or not, she adds. White declined to answer questions during the hearing today, instead focusing on refuting 14 justifications for his dismissal outlined in a letter released by Holden last week. For example, White was accused of not being truthful about the extent of the security detail provided to Nation of Islam minister Louis...
Councilwoman calls for federal investigation of BRPD
The testimony of fired Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White was enough today to convince Metro Councilwoman C. Denise Marcelle that a federal investigation of the department is needed. "I believe this opens it up for the feds to come in," she says. "I think that needs to happen, and I am at least willing to discuss it because these are some serious allegations." During a public hearing this morning, White says he has addressed the "vestiges of racism that have torn this department apart" and described disciplining a police officer who used a racial slur at the scene of a homicide. "We have a serious race problem here, whether you want to acknowledge it or not," White said to Holden. According to White, the department has been under a federal consent decree for past racial and gender discrimination since 1975. Kelley Morgan, a black woman who spoke today on White's behalf, says the chief went to bat for her after she suffered discrimination. However, Holden said White actually...
News alert: Holden upholds police chief firing
Mayor Kip Holden has announced that Dewayne White will not be allowed to continue to serve as Baton Rouge Chief of Police. Holden says White has not been honest about his tenure and his failure to follow the "rules and regulations," and says the truth will come out. White’s attorney, Jill Craft, says White intends to appeal to the state civil service board. Holden made the announcement following a public hearing this morning at which White was appealing his firing, which Holden announced last week. Read Daily Report PM for further coverage.
Hearing on police chief grows contentious
The fate of Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White hangs in the balance this morning, as Mayor Kip Holden is deliberating whether to fire the chief, who was placed on leave earlier this month. The deliberations follow a public dismissal hearing held this morning in Metro Council chambers. The packed hearing was contentious right off the bat, as Holden's attorney, Murphy Foster, and White's attorney, Jill Craft, immediately began arguing over the rules of the hearing. Its purpose was to give White an opportunity to rebut the reasons for his proposed termination, which were delineated in a five-page letter the mayor's office released last week. That letter accuses White of insubordination and leaking confidential information, among other things. White has accused the mayor or micromanaging the department. About the only thing no one disagrees on is that White and the powerful police union were frequently and increasingly at odds. Going into this morning's hearing, council members were...
White's attorney: Holden's micromanagement of BRPD evident in emails
As the war of words escalates between Mayor Kip Holden and fired Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White, White's attorney says an email exchange between the two illustrates the counterproductive ways in which Holden was micromanaging the police department. Specifically, the email shows that three days before he was fired, White alerted the mayor to a disciplinary action he was taking against a white police officer for uttering a racial slur at the scene of a homicide. Jill Craft, White's attorney, says the email was sent because the police chief was verbally ordered by the mayor about a month before his firing to run all personnel and disciplinary matters through the mayor's office first. But the mayor's office denies White's claim and says White was free to issue disciplinary measures himself. "I guess he sent that [email] as a heads up," says Chief Administrative Officer William Daniel, who also insists that the officer isn't a high-ranking officer in the police union. "I don't...
Police chief says in affidavit only one officer escorted Farrakhan
Following the visit Nation of Islam minister Louis Farrakhan made to Southern University in October, Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White signed an affidavit stating that "Only one Baton Rouge Police officer accompanied State Police" in the department's "routine involvement" in the escort of Farrakhan from New Orleans. Mayor Kip Holden says in a letter outlining his reasons for firing White released Wednesday that the police chief was not truthful about the "the lack of overtime required for the detail," among other accusations. In the affidavit, which White apparently wrote and signed following Metro Council member Mike Walker's campaign advertisement criticizing the mayor and police department for escorting Farrakhan, the police chief says it is departmental policy to escort public and controversial figures. "This includes insuring [sic] the safety of public figures that may be controversial and may invite a threat to their safety and the safety of the general public," White...
Transocean set to plead guilty to misdemeanor in spill case
It's Transocean's turn in the penalty box. The Houston Chroncile reports that a lawyer for the Swiss drilling contractor is expected to enter a guilty plea on the company's behalf Thursday in a New Orleans federal courtroom to a single misdemeanor charge of violating the Clean Water Act through negligent discharge of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Transocean has agreed to pay a $400 million criminal fine and serve five years of probation. The decision whether to approve the deal rests with U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo. The charge stems from a U.S. government criminal investigation of the 2010 Gulf oil spill that also has ensnared BP and four of its current and former employees. The probe continues nearly three years later. Transocean owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded and sank about 50 miles off Louisiana after a well a mile beneath the sea blew out. Eleven rig workers, including nine Transocean employees, were killed. The hearing is expected to be...
Police union breaks silence on chief's firing
Chris Stewart, president of the Baton Rouge Union of Police Local 237, today announced his support for Mayor Kip Holden's decision to fire Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White, saying White's termination ended "the most tumultuous era ever within the Baton Rouge Police Department." In a statement released to the media today, Stewart blames White for an increase in violent crime last year. "Rather than work with us to address this issue, Chief White chose to publicly attack our organization and its members without provocation in an attempt to shift the blame for the failure of his leadership," Stewart says. White frequently clashed with the union, and once publicly said the union was the biggest obstacle he faced in his attempts to improve the department. White's attorney, Jill Craft, claims Holden micromanaged White's personnel decisions. She says tensions got heated between White and the mayor last fall when White tried to transfer Stewart from a position of "professional...
Statement from Chris Stewart, President, Baton Rouge Union of Police
We want to express our support for Mayor Holden's steps to end the most tumultuous era ever within the Baton Rouge Police Department. Like Mayor Holden, we are truly disappointed with the lack of leadership exhibited by Chief DeWayne White. As an organization, we attempted to assist and work with him on numerous occasions in an effort to create a safe and secure environment for our citizens.
White to appeal firing
Former Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White offered to resign three weeks ago through his attorney Jill Craft before being fired Wednesday by Mayor Kip Holden, says Craft. However, Craft says when she contacted Chief Administrative Officer William Daniel to tender White's resignation, there was denial of White's job being in jeopardy. In fact, White reportedly received a "heated call" from the mayor about 30 minutes after Craft contacted Daniel because Holden was upset White had acquired counsel. White received a letter from Daniel on Wednesday stating his "termination has to do with a substantial disagreement with the direction of the future of the Baton Rouge Police Department," Craft says. But White knew rumors about his firing after the November election had been swirling for months, says Craft, who spoke for White at a news conference this afternoon at her downtown office. She says White contacted her to help him reach a "peaceful resolution" with the mayor. White will appeal...
Judge's ruling on 'family' definition in UDC expected within 30 days
In lieu of making closing arguments in front of 19th Judicial District Court Judge Janice Clark, lawyers for the city-parish and Stephen Myers filed post trial memorandums Tuesday in the city's lawsuit against the landlord regarding the tenants of one of his Baton Rouge rental properties. At issue is the tenants' relationship to one another, or more accurately, the lack thereof. Judge Clark is expected to issue a ruling on the matter within 30 days of Tuesday's filings. The case centers on the definition of "family" as it relates to residences in the city-parish zoned A1 single family. Section 2.8 of the Unified Development Code defines family as "two or more persons who are related by blood, marriage or legal adoption." Myers—who was ordered by the city last year to stop renting a home on Cherrydale Avenue to four unrelated tenants or face the lawsuit he's currently fighting—contends that definition of family is unconstitutional and in violation of the Federal Fair...
Holden: Chief was asked to resign
Mayor Kip Holden says Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White was given the opportunity to resign before being fired Wednesday. "I think he told [Chief Administrative Officer] William [Daniel]: 'Just go ahead and fire me,'" Holden says. White is appealing the decision. Holden continues to deflect questions about why White was fired, or what the process or criteria might be for finding a new chief, saying he doesn't discuss personnel matters with the media. However, the dismissal letter, which was released by White's attorney today, says: "The basis for your termination has to do with a substantial disagreement with the direction of the future of the Baton Rouge Police Department."When asked if the Metro Council's discussions about merging the police department with the sheriff's office would have any affect on his thought process, Holden reiterated his opposition to consolidation. Most of the speculation about White's dismissal has focused on his
Law enforcement consolidation committee to meet later this month
Despite the abrupt firing of Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White by Mayor Kip Holden on Wednesday, a Metro Council initiative to look at the logistics of consolidating the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office will get under way later this month with a special committee meeting. "Regardless of who the chief is and regardless of who the sheriff is," the committee will perform the due diligence needed to understand how a consolidation could happen, says Metro Councilman Joel Boé, who in November called for staffing the committee. Council members Tara Wicker and John Delgado join Boé on the committee. Police Sgt. Jonathan Dunnam and sheriff's office Col. Lawrence McLeary represent the law enforcement agencies on the committee. While an exact date and time have not yet been set for the committee's first meeting, Boé says he expects it will...
Tougher code enforcement coming
The East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority is finalizing plans to present a new code enforcement effort—a series of proposed ordinances that will make it easier for the parish to clean up blighted properties. RDA president and CEO Walter Monsour hopes to present the package to Mayor Kip Holden and the Metro Council by the end of March. The initiative, based on code enforcement models that have proven to be successful in cities such as New Orleans and Baltimore, will include the creation of a code enforcement department that will be self-sustaining within three years and separate from the Department of Public Works, which currently handles code violations. Other proposed ordinances will stiffen fines for code violators and make it easier for the parish to foreclose on properties that are not brought up to code within one year of being cited. "We have found in looking at other models that when landowners understand they are going to be forced to bring their property up to code...
Reaction to chief's firing shock, disappointment
While rumors circulated for weeks that Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White's job was on the line, reports today of his termination took many by surprise. "'OMG' is my reaction," says Metro Council member Tara Wicker. "We, as a council, had no indication that anything was going on." District Attorney Hillar Moore III, who attended a news conference this morning with White and several other law enforcement leaders just hours before the chief was fired, was also caught off guard. "I have no idea what the reasons are," Moore says. "But both White and the mayor have been very good friends." White recently underwent a performance evaluation, which gave rise to speculation the position he has held since May 2011 was at risk. He has also been at odds with the police union, which some believe ultimately led to his termination. "I know the unions have not been sitting on the sidelines idly watching," says Councilman Joel Boé, who is leading an effort to form a committee that will study...
Sheriff: Team building starts with talking, listening
When hiring new employees, EBR Sheriff Sid Gautreaux says he looks for three distinct qualities in measuring a potential hire: physical stature, mental capacity and character. "And if you don't have that true servant mentality, you won't make it," says Gautreaux, who spoke this morning at the Better Business Bureau breakfast. Tasked with managing 900 employees and a $75 million budget, Gautreaux advises other business and organization leaders to earn the respect of workers rather than rule with rank. "To be a good leader, you have to be a good listener," the sheriff says. When asked what he would do if he was starting over with a new team of workers, Gautreaux says he would first explain his philosophy and the services his office provides, and then ask others for their ideas and input that might advance the organization. "You have to build that team," says Gautreaux, adding that he often hears about many great ideas from subordinates when asking for input. As for the structure of the...
Trial set for former LSU director claiming wrongful termination
Ivor van Heerden is about to have his day in court. A jury trial is set to begin Feb. 19 before U.S. District Judge James Brady to consider the coastal researcher's allegations that the university fired him for speaking out against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The former deputy director of the LSU Hurricane Center blamed the corps' work on the New Orleans levees for flooding in 80% of the city after Hurricane Katrina. His non-tenure-track position was cut in 2009; Van Heerden has contended he was let go because administrators feared he was hurting LSU's chances of landing federal contracts and grants. The American Association of University Professors took up his cause in 2011, issuing a finding that LSU had violated Van Heerden's academic freedom. Although the judge has dismissed several of Van Heerden's claims, First Amendment allegations remain against former College of Engineering Interim Dean David Constant, as does the issue of whether Van Heerden's 14th Amendment rights...
B.R. law firms consolidate
The Baton Rouge law offices of Dale Baringer and James Holliday Jr. are consolidating as The Baringer Law Firm, the attorneys jointly announced this morning. Holliday brings to The Baringer Law Firm 47 years of experience, the firm says. He will have an "of counsel" title at the firm, while Evest Broussard will join The Baringer Law Firm as an associate attorney. "Holliday is a noted author of the popular West Publishing Louisiana Practice Series treatises on Louisiana corporations and Louisiana construction law," reads a news release. "Baringer is a Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization certified tax attorney with over 32 years of experience in a diverse practice encompassing business transactions, litigation and trial work." Financial terms of the consolidation were not disclosed.
Parish president's former employer sides against him on Gustav debris dispute
Politics makes strange bedfellows, as the adage goes. On occasion, so do lawsuits. In a recent motion to dismiss a whistleblower lawsuit filed last summer in Baton Rouge federal court against Alvin Fairburn & Associates and others involved in the Hurricane Gustav debris cleanup in Livingston Parish, AFA takes the unusual stand of siding philosophically with the parish council—and against the engineering firm's own former office manager, Parish President Layton Ricks. At issue is the fact that just days after taking office, Ricks stopped payment on a $379,517 check to Corey Delahoussaye's firm, C-Del. That was also around the same time that Ricks issued a $453,000 check to AFA. Neither of those actions was approved by the council. In a curious twist, AFA argues in its motion that Ricks exceeded his authority in stopping the payment to C-Del, although no mention is made of the subsequent check issued to AFA. —Penny Font
Attorneys 'bent out of shape' over electronic device ban at 19th JDC
Local attorneys are upset about a new rule set to go into effect on March 15 that bans all electronic devices from the 19th Judicial District Courthouse. While attorneys will be exempt from the ban, which will apply to cell phones, tablets, and laptop computers, their court runners and clerks will not be. Nor, for that matter, will jurors—even when they're stuck for hours in the jury pool waiting to be called—courtroom spectators, or anyone who has general business in the building, like paying a parking ticket. "It's ridiculous and it has everyone bent out of shape," says attorney Mary Olive Pierson, who notes that most attorneys regularly send runners to court to file documents. "It's easy to solve, and they're using a meat cleaver instead of a scalpel." Judicial administrator Ann McCrory concedes the policy as currently crafted is not perfect, but explains that local judges have come up with what they feel is the best way to deal with growing security issues created by...
Case regarding definition of 'family' in B.R. to resume next week
Judge Janice Clark today ordered both the city-parish and Steve Myers back to her court in one week to file post trial briefs in lieu of closing arguments in a dispute over the definition of "family" in the city-parish's Unified Development Code. Attorney Grant Guillot, who is representing Myers, says he expects the judge to take at least 30 days to issue her ruling after receiving the briefs. At issue is the definition of "family" as it relates to residences in the city-parish zoned A1 single family. Section 2.8 of the UDC defines "family" as "two or more persons who are related by blood, marriage or legal adoption." There's additional language in the definition, but that's the part that primarily concerns the Myers case, which dates back to a complaint a neighbor filed against him regarding one of his rental homes on Cherrydale Avenue in September 2011. The city responded by demanding that Myers comply with regulations, which would have meant kicking out four tenants whom the city...
BP will face spill victims in guilty plea hearing
BP is preparing for an emotional hearing Tuesday in a New Orleans courtroom, where company officials will face victims of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico rig explosion and oil spill in front of a judge who will decide whether to accept a criminal plea deal, The Houston Chronicle reports. U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance plans to announce her decision after hearing from lawyers for BP and the Justice Department, spill victims, and relatives of some of the 11 men who were killed when the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded and sank. If Vance accepts BP's agreement to plead guilty to 14 criminal charges, including manslaughter and obstruction of Congress, she will impose the sentence the company negotiated with the U.S. government: a $4 billion criminal penalty, five years' probation and independent monitoring. If she rejects the deal, Vance will allow BP to withdraw its guilty plea and go to trial. The prospect of a trial, which could result in tougher penalties, would create more...
News alert: Livingston president says assistant cleared by ethics board; FBI and IG reviewing
Mary Kistler, executive assistant to Livingston Parish President Layton Ricks, will not be investigated by the state Board of Ethics, Ricks says. Last year, the Livingston Parish Council asked for an investigation into the deletion of thousands of emails by Kistler, who was then the council clerk. Some of the emails reportedly discussed political strategy on behalf of Ricks, the wording of council minutes, and a possible subsidized housing development in Watson. Ricks says Kistler, who could not be reached through her parish email address for comment, recently received a letter from the Board of Ethics saying they would not investigate, but that the state Inspector General and FBI still were reviewing the information. “No one's ever talked to her,” Ricks says. “She's done no wrong, and welcomes the opportunity to tell her story someday.” –David Jacobs
Ex-Stanford executive gets 5-year sentence
The star prosecution witness in the trial of convicted Texas financier R. Allen Stanford was sentenced today to five years in prison for helping to bilk investors out of more than $7 billion in one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history. James M. Davis had faced up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty in 2009 to three fraud and conspiracy charges as part of an agreement with prosecutors. "I am ashamed and I'm embarrassed," Davis said at the sentencing hearing at Houston federal court. "I've perverted what was right, and I hurt thousands of investors. I betrayed their trust and also associates and neighbors and friends and my family." Prosecutors say Stanford persuaded investors to buy certificates of deposit from his Caribbean bank, then used that money to bankroll a string of failed businesses and his own lavish lifestyle, including a fleet of private jets and yachts. At Stanford's trial last year, Davis—the former chief financial officer of Stanford's...
Stanford's ex-finance chief to be sentenced today
Former Stanford Financial Group Co. finance chief James M. Davis is seeking a prison sentence 26 years shorter than the potential 30-year term he agreed to after pleading guilty to his role in a $7 billion investor fraud, citing his cooperation with prosecutors. Davis, 64, the second-highest ranking officer in the financial services empire of Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford, will ask today for four years in prison when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge David Hittner in Houston federal court, according to a defense filing in the case. Stanford, 62, is serving a 110-year prison term after being convicted—in part on testimony and evidence provided by Davis—in March of stealing more than $2 billion from investors for personal use. Davis agreed that he would face a maximum of 30 years in prison and forfeiture of $1 billion when he pleaded guilty to three felony counts pertaining to his role in the Ponzi scheme in August 2009, two months after Stanford was indicted. In...
High court may block Stanford investor lawsuits
The Supreme Court will hear an appeal that seeks to shut down class-action lawsuits from investors who lost billions in a massive Ponzi scheme orchestrated by convicted former Texas tycoon R. Allen Stanford. The justices today announced they will review appeals court rulings allowing the suits to proceed against individuals, law firms and investment companies that the investors claim aided Stanford's fraud. At issue is whether a federal law aimed at limiting private lawsuits that allege securities fraud can be used to block the suits investors filed in Louisiana and Texas. A federal judge initially threw them out, but the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled the suits could go forward. In December, a Baton Rouge judge also cleared the way for anyone in Louisiana who lost money in the debacle to join a class action lawsuit against entities that...
Nagin charged with bribery, fraud
Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was indicted today on charges that he used his office for personal gain, accepting payoffs, free trips and gratuities from contractors while the city was struggling to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The charges against Nagin are the outgrowth of a City Hall corruption investigation that already has resulted in guilty pleas by two former city officials and two businessmen and a prison sentence for a former city vendor. The federal indictment accuses Nagin of accepting more than $160,000 in bribes and truckloads of free granite for his family business in exchange for promoting the interests of a local businessman who secured millions of dollars in city contract work after the 2005 hurricane. The businessman, Frank Fradella, pleaded guilty in June to bribery conspiracy and securities-fraud charges and has been cooperating with federal authorities. Nagin, 56, also is charged with accepting at least $60,000 in payoffs from another...
News alert: Nagin charged with bribery, fraud
Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was indicted today on charges that he used his office for personal gain, accepting payoffs, free trips and gratuities from contractors while the city was struggling to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The charges against Nagin are the outgrowth of a City Hall corruption investigation that already has resulted in guilty pleas by two former city officials and two businessmen and a prison sentence for a former city vendor. The federal indictment accuses Nagin of accepting more than $160,000 in bribes and truckloads of free granite for his family business in exchange for promoting the interests of a local businessman who secured millions of dollars in city contract work after the 2005 hurricane.
Holden to review Police Chief White, 13 other department heads
Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White's performance will be under review by Mayor Kip Holden, with some local reports saying he's in jeopardy of losing his job. But Holden spokesman Scott Dyer says the mayor is simply doing regular evaluations of White and 13 other department heads, similar to those he conducted of department heads at the start of his previous two terms. Dyer says Holden will begin the reviews when he returns Tuesday from the United States Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C., adding that White's evaluation is no different from the others. Dyer says he's not sure how long the mayor will take to administer the evaluations. Dyer says other officials under review include DDD Director Davis Rhorer, Community Development Interim Director Mukadas Alli-Balogun, Constituent and Neighborhood Services Director Mary Fontenot, EMS Interim Director Chad Guilliot, Finance Director Marsha Hanlon, Fire Chief Ed Smith, Human Resources Interim Director Brian Bernard, Human...
La. has spent nearly $24M on oil spill litigation
Louisiana's attorney general has spent nearly $24 million building the state's legal case against BP over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, with much of the money paid to outside law firms that have contributed to his campaigns. Attorney General Buddy Caldwell's payments to outside lawyers—$15.4 million and counting—account for about two-thirds of his total spending, according to figures obtained by The Associated Press. While Louisiana took a much harder hit than other states during and after the disaster, that spending far exceeds the contract work paid by Caldwell's counterparts, according to data provided by their offices. Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange opted to let lawyers on his staff take on the work, and he says his office's tab is well under $200,000 so far. New Orleans-based U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who is presiding over most of the claims spawned by the spill, at one point appeared to take issue with Caldwell's use of outside lawyers,...
Holden: BRAVE already leading to more arrests, less violence
The Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination program, which began last summer, already has led to more than 300 drug arrests and contributed to a 60% drop in the monthly homicide rate, Mayor Kip Holden says.
Holden: BRAVE leading to more arrests, less violence
The Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination program, which began last summer, already has led to more than 300 drug arrests and contributed to a 60% drop in the monthly homicide rate, Mayor Kip Holden says. Law enforcement officers involved in the program also have seized 46 handguns and assault weapons and confiscated more than $1 million worth of drugs, he says. Holden gave an update on the BRAVE initiative as part of his annual state of the city-parish address to the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge today. During his speech, Holden tried to emphasize the connections between the various issues that affect the quality of life in the parish, such as blight elimination, crime prevention and economic development. A listing of other topics Holden touched on during his address today is available in the full story here. —David Jacobs
'Business Report': DA Moore maintains an easygoing demeanor that belies his workhorse intensity
Growing up in New Orleans, Hillar Moore III never dreamed of becoming a district attorney, much less the top prosecutor in Baton Rouge. He didn't know what he wanted to do with his life, except that he did not want to follow his father, Hillar Moore Jr., into the grocery wholesale business. "The side of the food business I saw was unloading crates off of box cars," says Moore. "It was a lot of hard work for not a lot of money." By the time Moore was a college student at LSU, however, he had found his passion, quite by chance, in the university's now-defunct department of criminal justice. Forensics, crime scene analysis and putting bad guys away got under his skin. Some 40 years later, the East Baton Rouge Parish district attorney is still passionate about solving crimes and prosecuting criminals, and he lives his job with a zealousness that borders on the obsessive. He goes to the scene of almost every homicide, attends the wake or funeral of almost every victim, and zips from...
Boé delays introducing law enforcement consolidation committee
Metro Council member Joel Boé says he is going to wait two more weeks to introduce a proposal to form a committee to study the viability of consolidating the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office.
Worth the load
For most people, a 45-minute run or swim would be more than enough of a workout. For Randy Roussel, it's just the first half of a hard-core exercise routine that begins before dawn, goes for at least 90 minutes and includes a variety of aerobic, strength-training, and flexibility exercises.
Determined
Growing up in New Orleans, Hillar Moore III never dreamed of becoming a district attorney, much less the top prosecutor in Baton Rouge. He didn't know what he wanted to do with his life, except that he did not want to follow his father, Hillar Moore Jr., into the grocery wholesale business.
DA popular, but crime numbers high
Hillar Moore III may be a good district attorney. He may even be a great one. But at the end of the day, the DA can only do so much. Moore and his office face great challenges.
Law enforcement: Preventing incidents like Saturday mall melee a challenge
Perhaps it's because it was an otherwise slow Saturday night. Perhaps it's because of the recent spate of violent incidents in public venues across the country. Whatever the reason, the story of the melee that broke out Saturday evening in the food court of the Mall of Louisiana involving some 200 local teens went viral and topped the list of trending stories for much of Sunday on websites such as Yahoo! News and Google. While there's no way to do damage control in the age of social media, local law enforcement and elected officials are grappling with how to prevent such incidents from happening again. There's no clear-cut solution. Metro Councilman Chandler Loupe, who tried unsuccessfully in 2011 to pass an ordinance that would have applied the existing 11 p.m. curfew to 17-year-olds, says he still favors a curfew as a potential solution. But a curfew wouldn't have made any difference Saturday night: The fight broke out in the early evening, and many of the kids involved were too...
Law enforcement: Preventing incidents like Saturday mall melee a challenge
Perhaps it's because it was an otherwise slow Saturday night. Perhaps it's because of the recent spate of violent incidents in public venues across the country. Whatever the reason, the story of the melee that broke out Saturday evening in the food court of the Mall of Louisiana involving some 200 local teens went viral and topped the list of trending stories for much of Sunday on websites such as Yahoo! News and Google.
Local lawyer renominated for federal judgeship in Baton Rouge
President Barack Obama has renominated Shelly Deckert Dick to fill a vacancy on the federal bench in Baton Rouge. Dick, a Baton Rouge attorney, originally was nominated in April 2012. She is one of 33 candidates for federal judgeships who were renominated Thursday by Obama. Dick answered questions before a Senate panel last month, but the full Senate did not vote on her nomination before the conclusion of the 112th Congress. The president says in a statement that many of the nominations "could have and should have been confirmed" before the Senate adjourned. Dick was nominated to fill the seat in the Middle District of Louisiana left vacant by the death of Chief U.S. District Judge Ralph Tyson. She is a founding partner at the Baton Rouge law firm of Forrester & Dick.
DA says dearth of indigent defenders poses problems for his office
As District Attorney Hillar Moore III looks to the year ahead, one of the biggest challenges his office will face, ironically, is a funding shortage in the East Baton Rouge Parish Public Defender's Office, which provides free attorneys to criminal defendants unable to afford their own attorneys. Moore says it's a real problem because the local public defender's office has just three (out of 40 or so) attorneys who are qualified to represent defendants in death penalty cases. What's more, the Louisiana Public Defender Board, which provides support to the district defender offices, doesn't have enough money to pitch in and help out. As a result, Moore's office has several death penalty cases on hold and is unable to bring any additional cases in kind forward. "Basically, right now a number of our cases are stalled because the local public defender and the Louisiana Public Defender [boards] are filing these motions and letters saying they don't have enough people qualified to handle...
416 LSU patients notified of possible ID theft
The LSU hospital system has notified 416 patients that their checking account numbers and other personal information on checks paid to hospitals have been stolen. The LSU Health Care Services Division began notifying patients in November, after learning about the identity thefts from state police, spokesman Marvin McGraw tells The Associated Press in an email. The division announced earlier today it was investigating a HIPAA violation regarding a possible check fraud case committed by a former employee, but provided few other details. The police are also investigating the case. Sheila Seal, an employee at the LSU hospital in Bogalusa, and her husband, Washington Parish Sheriff Randy Seal, say counterfeit checks totaling $2,500 were written on their account. Capt. Tommie Sorrell tells The Daily News of Bogalusa that $25,000 was taken from 19 people in Washington Parish. Patients' bank account numbers and other information on the checks scanned into hospital system records were...
Hospital checkup
Mayor Kip Holden's office is closely guarding how it plans to buy the old Woman's Hospital campus at the corner of Goodwood Boulevard and Airline Highway for $10 million. The disclosure could be as far as five months out, with the city-parish getting a 150-day inspection period to determine whether the 140,000-square-foot Physicians Tower is suitable for a conversion into headquarters for the Baton Rouge Police Department.
For the public good
Partner, Taylor Porter
Shaw Canada employees file $39 million suit
Former employees of Shaw Canada have filed a $39.2 million lawsuit against Baton Rouge-based The Shaw Group, alleging wrongful termination and the abandonment of an "underfunded" pension plan. The announcement, released Thursday, says the lawsuit arises out of the mass termination of all employees of Shaw Canada, according to a news release by the plaintiffs' law firm. The lawsuit alleges that Shaw Group acted in a manner that was "oppressive to the Canadian employees and retirees," and that the defendants, rather than winding down the company in an orderly manner and providing prior notice to the employees, conspired to orchestrate the bankruptcy of Shaw Canada to evade paying severance pay and amounts owing to the Shaw Canada pension plan.
New gun control measures will be tough sell in Louisiana
As Vice President Joe Biden leads a White House effort to develop gun control and other measures designed to prevent more deadly mass shootings at U.S. schools, The Times-Picayune reports it appears the Louisiana delegation will be a tough sell. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson and outgoing Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia, have pretty much ruled out support for any new gun control legislation. Some other strong gun control proponents in the delegation, including Sen. David Vitter, R-La., and John Fleming, R-Minden, are declining to speak out so soon after last week's killing of 20 first grade students and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-Quitman, are willing to consider new measures, but continue to advocate for the rights of gun owners. Only Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, among Louisiana members, offers a firm endorsement for limits on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. "Gun control won't stop...
BancorpSouth given 10 days to complete discovery request in Gladney case
Judge William Morvant had harsh words earlier this week for BancorpSouth and its attorneys over the way they handled a discovery request from Windy Gladney and his attorney for emails that are believed to be relevant in a case between the local developer and the bank. In a transcript from Monday's hearing in the 19th Judicial District Court, Morvant tells attorneys for the bank he needed to choose his words carefully after learning that the bank has a disk containing some 500,000 electronic documents, which it had previously said did not exist. Earlier this year, the bank's attorneys told Morvant emails between Bancorp South President Larry Denison and others had long since been deleted. "To have the court told these emails are deleted, they're permanently gone, and now in 2012 I'm getting '06 and '07 Denison emails referencing these loans after I'm assured that they don't exist, it causes me some real concern," Morvant says. The judge is giving the bank 10 days to completely respond...
Judge sanctions BancorpSouth for withholding documents in Gladney case
BancorpSouth is facing tough sanctions from the 19th Judicial District Court for failing to turn over during the discovery process a computer disk containing some 500,000 pages of documents sought by the attorney for Windy Gladney in the developer's long-running lawsuit against the bank. In a hearing late Monday, Judge William Morvant granted Gladney's motion for sanctions against the bank for withholding the documents, which include emails that may contain information about the loans that are at issue in the case. Details of the ruling have not yet been entered into the court record. Attorneys for BancorpSouth did not return calls for comment in time for publication, and Gladney's lawyer declined to comment until after the ruling has been made public. However, Morvant's decision is clearly a victory for Gladney and his partnership, Kleinpeter Trace. Gladney and development firm Kleinpeter Trace are being sued by the bank for defaulting on some $2 million in construction loans. He...
Plaintiff challenging CATS tax asks supporters to send protest letters to sheriff
With his lawsuit challenging new CATS taxes at a temporary standstill, the Baton Rouge man who filed the suit in July is now asking those who support his position to formally protest the taxes by sending letters to Sheriff Sid Gautreaux's office. Milton Graugnard, a Cajun Industries executive, says the protest letters effectively request the sheriff's office to hold their taxes in an escrow account and not turn them over to the transit system until his case is resolved in court. "It's a secondary means for anyone who has paid the tax already or is going to pay the tax" to challenge it, Graugnard says of the letters. In a recent letter sent out to his supporters that provides an update on the case, Graugnard even includes a sample letter, which you can see here. Graugnard is asking people to send the letters before Dec. 31, when the taxes officially come due. While...
Split ruling issued in teacher tenure lawsuit
A Baton Rouge judge has tossed out on constitutional grounds part of an education revamp pushed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, but has upheld the centerpiece provisions that changed teacher tenure and salary laws. Judge Michael Caldwell ruled this afternoon that the section of the legislation dealing with the authority of local school boards violates the state constitution because it doesn't fit into the stated objective of the law. Caldwell's ruling does away with changes that lessened the power of local school boards over hiring and firing, as well as those that required the state education superintendent's review of local school superintendent contracts. However, Caldwell ruled provisions of the law eliminating statewide teacher pay scales and making it tougher for teachers to reach the job protection status of tenure are constitutional. Jindal released a statement shortly after the ruling, calling it a "victory" for students and teachers. "This ruling upholds the core purpose of the...
Two federal prosecutors retire amid online posts probe
A federal prosecutor demoted for anonymously posting comments on a newspaper's website has retired. A Justice Department spokesman confirms today that Jan Mann and her husband, fellow prosecutor Jim Mann, both retired from the U.S. attorney's office in New Orleans. Jan Mann was the top assistant to former U.S. Attorney Jim Letten before he demoted her last month. Letten resigned earlier this month amid a Justice Department probe of comments that she and another prosecutor, Sal Perricone, posted on nola.com, a companion website of The Times-Picayune. Perricone resigned in March after acknowledging he criticized judges and politicians and commented on cases in his online posts under a name that was not his own. Mann didn't admit to posting the comments until after a defamation suit was filed against her by the owner of a landfill at the center of a federal probe.
Suit challenges U.S. plans for selling offshore leases
Environmentalists set to file a lawsuit today challenging the Obama administration's plans to sell offshore drilling leases over the next five years are using a novel argument: that the government overlooked the value of waiting to harvest oil and gas from coastal waters. The Houston Chronicle reports the economic-driven approach is a new one for offshore drilling critics, who have separately accused the government of moving too swiftly to approve new oil and natural gas exploration after the Deepwater Horizon disaster and ignoring the environmental effects of the work. Lawyers with New York University's Institute for Policy Integrity are filing the lawsuit in the United States Circuit Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of the Santa Fe, N.M.-based Center for Sustainable Economy. The lawsuit will ask the court to kick out the current program and require the Interior Department to revise it. The legal challenge takes direct aim at the Interior Department's plan to hold...
Louisiana lands on Judicial Hellholes watch list
Louisiana's civil justice system is on the verge of becoming one of the nation's most unfair and out-of-balance, according to the 11th annual Judicial Hellholes Report, released today by the American Tort Reform Association. In the 2012-2013 report, which ranks California's system as No. 1, Louisiana is included on the group's "watch list" for the third straight year. The ATRA's "watch list" is designed to call attention to jurisdictions that "bear watching due to troubling developments or their histories of abusive litigation." The report says of Louisiana: "Despite determined reform efforts by certain lawmakers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana's civil litigation environment, especially in Orleans and St. Landry parishes, remains a concern thanks to laws that still permit excessive liability, plaintiff-friendly judges, and close relationships between the plaintiffs' bar and some state government officials." Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch
Constable asking Metro Council to form committee to study his office's budgetary needs
Even when it's a good year and his office's annual budget is $2.2 million, city-parish Constable Reginald Brown has had to go before the Metro Council and request surplus funding for his 37 deputies, chief deputy and office staff. And it's never easy. "There is not a complete understanding of what our office does," Brown says. To give Mayor Kip Holden's office and the Metro Council a better understanding, Brown is asking them to form a committee to study the duties he and his staff are tasked with each day. Brown says he'd like them to have the study completed in time to be presented to the Metro Council by Jan. 31 so that his office won't get brushed aside when surplus funding in the future is distributed. In better budgetary times, more than 10 years ago, Brown says his office had about 50 deputies. It has had fewer than 40 deputies for about the past eight years, and Brown says it routinely faces budgetary shortcomings for overtime when deputies have to work court trials that go...
Pierson: Letten and crew always thought they were above the law
Many across southeast Louisiana were surprised and saddened last week by the resignation of Jim Letten, who announced he was stepping down after 12 years as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District because of a scandal involving his top aides. One person not shedding a tear is local attorney Mary Olive Pierson, who has faced off against Letten and his prosecutors in several high-profile cases, most notably the gambling corruption trial of former Gov. Edwin Edwards and four others in 2000. The outspoken Pierson tells Daily Report she wasn't at all surprised by the turn of events in the U.S. Attorney's office. "Jim Letten and his crew have been behaving this way the entire time they have been in office. … They're just now getting caught," she says. "They were always above the law in their own mind." Pierson says the scandal, which involves anonymous blog posts about an ongoing investigation that two top prosecutors under Letten made on nola.com—and the ensuing cover...
Stanford victims can sue
A Baton Rouge judge cleared the way for anyone in Louisiana who lost money in the Stanford Group debacle to join a class action lawsuit against entities that allegedly enabled the $7 billion Ponzi scheme.
Here comes the judge
Baton Rouge attorney Shelly Dick has gotten another green light in her quest to become a federal district judge in the Middle District of Louisiana.
Race for cash
If ever a case could be made against electing judges, the just-concluded race for the 5th District seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court might be a good place to start.
Kean Miller staying mum on rumors that Letten will join law firm
About two hours before Jim Letten held a 10:30 a.m. news conference today in New Orleans to announce his resignation as U.S. attorney, Steve Boutwell—marketing director for Kean Miller law firm—began getting phone calls from reporters. Word around New Orleans is that Letten is in talks with Kean Miller to join the firm now that his 28-year career with the Department of Justice is officially over. "I can't confirm or deny that we're in talks with Jim Letten, but I can tell you that any law firm in Louisiana would love to have an attorney of his caliber," Boutwell says. "He's an extremely talented attorney." Letten was the nation's longest-serving U.S. attorney, with 11 years in the position, having been retained in the job by President Barack Obama despite his Republican Party affiliation. Though his resignation will be effective Tuesday, he will stay on briefly—not as head of the office—to aid in the transition. He delivered an emotional, 10-minute speech this...
Judicial nomination hearing set for B.R. attorney next week
Baton Rouge attorney Shelly Dick has gotten another green light in her quest to become a federal district judge for the Middle District of Louisiana. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing on her judicial nomination for Wednesday, and Dick could be confirmed by the full Senate before the end of the year. The announcement comes after Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter ended his block of her nomination. Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat, recommended Dick and two other possible nominees to President Barack Obama over a year ago to fill the judgeship left vacant by the death of Chief U.S. District Judge Ralph Tyson. Obama nominated Dick in April, but Vitter—citing the impending election—withheld his support in hopes of a victory for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Vitter threw his support behind Dick's nomination one week after Obama won re-election. Dick, a Texas native, is a founding partner in Forrester & Dick, a boutique firm. She has...
Judge says legal issues in voucher case were clear before trial
Critics of District Judge Tim Kelley's recent voucher ruling are publicly speculating that he must have had his mind made up ahead of time, given that he issued a lengthy legal opinion Nov. 30 after only two days of testimony. But Kelley says there's a simple reason the 39-page opinion was issued so quickly: He had been working ahead. "They submitted their briefs months ago," he says. The decision hinged on a few basic legal issues that were clear well in advance, although the parties were given the opportunity to present testimony to see if there might be any factual issues that might influence the decision. "There weren't any," Kelley says. "So it's not as though it was magic that it got written overnight. I had it for two months." Kelley ruled that the funding mechanism the state is using to pay for the voucher program is unconstitutional; the state will...
'Leave It To Beaver' emerges in Supreme Court race
With Saturday's election just days away, Louisiana Supreme Court District 5 candidate Jeff Hughes has taken to heavily courting his home base of Livingston Parish and other parts of the Capital Region with an unusual eight-page tabloid newspaper, casting himself as the Leave It To Beaver candidate. The piece, dubbed the "Louisiana Judicial Report," bears the official state seal and is filled with stories about the Republican judge growing up "in the Denham Springs of 1950s-1960s." There are plenty of black-and-white photos of the era, including one family portrait from his childhood captioned "Leave It To Beaver" and another of him shooting hoops in high school. Race remains a subtle campaign theme. Hughes, who previously has referred to his Democratic opponent John Michael Guidry as an "affirmative action" candidate, points out in the tabloid that his fellow judge's political base is "the inner city of Baton Rouge and majority black precincts in the River Parishes," while...
Judge says Stanford victims can move forward with class action suit
A Baton Rouge judge cleared the way today for anyone in Louisiana who lost money in the Stanford Group debacle to join a class action lawsuit against entities that allegedly enabled the $7 billion Ponzi scheme. In a decision issued this morning, 19th Judicial District Judge R. Michael Caldwell ruled that any Louisiana residents who did business with the Stanford Group and any out-of-state investor who did business with the Stanford Trust—a separate entity that mostly handled individual retirement accounts—has the right to join the class, provided their investments were made after Jan. 1, 2007. "This is a big deal," says attorney Phil Preis, who represents the investors. "This is the first class to be certified in the Stanford litigation, and it means the people of Louisiana will finally have their day in court." There is no word on when that day may come, as an appeal is expected by the defendants, which include the Stanford Trust, trust administrator SEI—a major...
LSU ranked No. 9 among most dangerous U.S. campuses
Citing statistics from FBI Uniform Crime Reports, Business Insider magazine says the flagship LSU campus in Baton Rouge is the ninth-most dangerous college campus in the United States. According to the FBI statistics, there's an average of 26 violent crime incidents on the LSU campus each year and about 474 property crimes. "There were an alarming 22 robberies in 2011, among other violent crimes," notes Business Insider, adding that it averaged FBI crime data per capita from 2008 to 2011 for campuses with 10,000 students or more to create the rankings. (The LSU campus is listed as having 29,451 students in the report.) While LSU Police Department Public Information Officer Capt. Cory Lalonde says the statistics cited in the report are accurate, but adds they can also be misleading. "Yes, we did have 22 robberies last year, but over half of those incidents were cell phone thefts" that were not armed robberies, he says. "We also do have a lot of vehicle burglaries, but...
That's the ticket
Those parking in the Third Street garage after hours and on weekends won't have to worry about getting towed anymore. The state of Louisiana is suspending the controversial practice, opting instead for a more amicable solution.
Scheme or slump?
For years, Walter Morales was one of the best-known and well-respected money managers in Baton Rouge, with a reputation for delivering consistently better-than-average returns, a portfolio that approached $750 million at its peak, and a roster of clients that included retired local professionals, state pension funds and, even, the billionaire Bass family of Texas.
Boé calls for consolidating law enforcement
Metro Council member Joel Boé says by early next year it will be time to revisit and staff a committee formed in April 2011 to study the viability of consolidating the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office. "Sadly it made no progress," Boé says in a prepared statement released Monday. "I support police unification for Baton Rouge as a way to put more police on our streets." Councilman Chandler Loupe originally introduced forming the committee, although he had no intention of serving on it at the time and still doesn't. However, Loupe says he'll be supportive of choosing three council members to serve on the committee. Boé says the committee would also be served by representatives from BRPD and the sheriff's office, and should include a position for a representative of Mayor Kip Holden's administration, which it currently doesn't have. Boé says the committee would study what steps are needed to actually consolidate law enforcement. As he understands it,...