Is Anyone In New Orleans Politics Legit???
Once believed to be a likely candidate for mayor in 2010, Oliver M. Thomas, Jr, pleaded guilty for accepting $15,000 in bribes. He resigned effectively immediately from the New Orleans City Council after serving 13 years.
The African-American vice president apologized and said he hoped his troubles do not become a distraction to Hurricane Katrina recovery. "I'm sorry I didn't live up to the faith you put in me," Thomas said. "It was wrong and I accept full responsibility for using incredibly poor judgment."
Released on bond pending sentencing on Nov. 14, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The corruption probe apparently took a heavy psychic toll on the 50-year-old brother as he confessed that he even contemplated suicide. His lawyer and family "helped save my life," Thomas said. "I have made peace with my God."
The African-American vice president apologized and said he hoped his troubles do not become a distraction to Hurricane Katrina recovery. "I'm sorry I didn't live up to the faith you put in me," Thomas said. "It was wrong and I accept full responsibility for using incredibly poor judgment."
Released on bond pending sentencing on Nov. 14, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The corruption probe apparently took a heavy psychic toll on the 50-year-old brother as he confessed that he even contemplated suicide. His lawyer and family "helped save my life," Thomas said. "I have made peace with my God."
Thomas admitted to taking those pretty little green ones in 2002 from Stan "Pampy" Barre, a member of former Mayor Marc Morial's inner circle and a key figure in a long-standing federal investigation into known City Hall corruption.
Urban League President Marc Morial
Barre is cooperating with investigators after pleading guilty in a separate case. Morial, now the president of the National Urban League, has not been accused of wrongdoing. Barre contacted Thomas asking him for help in maintaining a contract to operate two parking lots near the famed French Quarter.
In the separate case, Barre pleaded guilty in January to plotting to skim more than $1 million from a $64 million, 20-year contract for energy management services signed in the last days of Morial's administration in 2002.
In the separate case, Barre pleaded guilty in January to plotting to skim more than $1 million from a $64 million, 20-year contract for energy management services signed in the last days of Morial's administration in 2002.
Councilman Thomas's troubles come as New Orleans continues to struggling with recovery from Katrina two years ago. "This is a body blow to a community already reeling under a wave of corruption," U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance said at the hearing for Thomas. "If this city is ever to recover, we have to have an end to this kind of venality."
What she wanted to say was bull****! Case in point:
U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, a Democrat from New Orleans, was indicted on corruption charges linked to business deals in Africa. Police found $90,000 in cash in the freezer of his home. And U.S. Sen. David Vitter, a Republican from the New Orleans suburbs, admitted last month to having committed a "very serious sin" after his number was found in the phone records of a woman accused of running a Washington prostitution ring.
Meanwhile, a violent crime problem in parts of the city has further marred the hurricane recovery. New Orleans led the nation in murders per capita in 2006.
What she wanted to say was bull****! Case in point:
U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, a Democrat from New Orleans, was indicted on corruption charges linked to business deals in Africa. Police found $90,000 in cash in the freezer of his home. And U.S. Sen. David Vitter, a Republican from the New Orleans suburbs, admitted last month to having committed a "very serious sin" after his number was found in the phone records of a woman accused of running a Washington prostitution ring.
Meanwhile, a violent crime problem in parts of the city has further marred the hurricane recovery. New Orleans led the nation in murders per capita in 2006.
Anyone wearing sagging pants who exposes his or her underwear will face a fine of up to $150 plus court costs, or face up to 15 days in jail under a new law that takes effect in Mansfield.
Starting Sept. 15, folks can now be found guilty of indecent or lewd behavior when found in a “state of nudity, or partial nudity, when your drawals are exposed. Several municipalities and other parish governments in Louisiana have enacted similar laws recently.
Starting Sept. 15, folks can now be found guilty of indecent or lewd behavior when found in a “state of nudity, or partial nudity, when your drawals are exposed. Several municipalities and other parish governments in Louisiana have enacted similar laws recently.