Just indicted Moroe City Councilman Arthur Gilmore, Jr. is an Assistant District Attorney for the Fourth Judicial District (Ouachita, Morehouse Parishes), according to the Louisiana State Bar Association Membership Directory.
His name also shows up on page 35 of a court document from 2004 as an assistant DA.
There is also this notation on his bio page at the City of Monroe’s website: Telephone: (318) 327-1400 Ext. 3044 (DA’s Office)
UPDATE: 6:30 PM – FBI Press Release
News this morning of indictment of two City of Monroe Councilmen – Robert “Red” Stevens and Arthur Gilmore, Jr. – is interesting. Kudos are due to the FBI, the Louisiana State Police and the Louisiana Attorney General.
See the story here in The (Monroe) News-Star.
2 Monroe City Council members indicted on racketeering and extortion
See here the documents.
But what is also interesting – and damned infuriating – is that it took the FBI to do it. Where in the hell is local law enforcement? Where is Fourth Judicial District Attorney Jerry Jones? Where is Ouachita Parish Sheriff Royce Toney?
The world wonders…
Dr. Stephen Richters, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) will be formally appointed as Interim President of ULM at tomorrow’s meeting of the University of Louisiana System (ULS) Board.
See the agenda for Friday’s meeting here. See the schedule of meetings here. Committee meetings begin at 10:00 AM today in the Claiborne Building, 1201 North Third Street in Baton Rouge.
We have asked the ULS Board for a copy of Richters’ Letter of Appointment and will post it when it is provided to us.
Also up Friday is a meeting of the Grambling State University (GSU) Presidential Search Committee. Here is the agenda for that meeting.
Likely, the way will be smoothed to appoint Dr. Frank Pogue as permanent GSU President. Pogue is now the Interim President.
LPNO had reported earlier this month on the search committee’s meeting in Grambling.
Board of Regents
Meanwhile the Board of Regents began their two-day series of meetings yesterday. See the agendas here.
Here are several newspaper accounts of yesterday’s meetings.
Higher ed board takes on funding
The town of Jonesboro’s fire rating may be downgraded, according to a document from the Property Insurance Association of Louisiana (PIAL). Four issues were cited by the rating agency that could cause the classification from 3 to 4:
1.) Volunteer response has declined.
2.) Fewer training classes and lower attendance.
3.) Fewer documented training drills.
4.) Lack of water at some locations.
Fire Chief David Roberts said some of the issues had been addressed and is hopeful that the downgrade can be avoided.
See a copy of the document here.
PIAL is a non-profit association made up of all insurance companies licensed to write property coverages within Louisiana. It grades municipal areas in terms of fire protection capabilities for the purpose of insurance rating of the graded areas, and files advisory rates and forms for property coverages in the state, subject to review and approval of the Louisiana Department of Insurance.
Per LA RS 22:1460, PIAL fire classification ratings shall be adhered to when writing insurance in Louisiana.
According to insurance industry sources, such a classification downgrade would result in about a $47/year premium increase on a $150 thousand value house.
The Lincoln Parish Police Jury (LPPJ) will have a special meeting Thursday, June 24 on the third floor of the courthouse. The Public Property and Buildings Committee will meet at 5:00 PM and the full jury at 5:30 PM. Here is the agenda for the committee and the full jury.
The committee will take action on bids for renovation of the first floor of the court house. The area will be occupied by the Clerk of Court. The full jury will receive the 2009 audit report for the jury and for the Humanitarian Enterprises of Lincoln Parish (HELP) from William R. Hulsey, CPA.
Although no candidate has qualified, the race for Mayor of Ruston is already hot to go. Several full-page ads have appeared in the local dead-tree newspapers from incumbent Dan Hollingsworth and challenger Allen Herbert.
A cynic might suspect that Morning Paper Publisher John Hays and Ruston Daily Leader Publisher Rick Hohlt got together and talked Herbert into running so as to gin up advertising. Whether or not they did that, the advertising dollars are flowing.
Qualifying for the election is July 7-9 and the election is Saturday, October 2.
U. S. District Judge James J. Brady, of the Middle District of Louisiana has received the plan for a proposed tax-by-edict upon St. Helena Parish property owners from St. Helena School Board attorney Nelson D. Taylor.
Earlier, Brady – former chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party – had said he would impose taxes upon St. Helena property owners despite the failure of several tax votes in recent years.
See the plan here.
See the news report in The (Baton Rouge) Advocate.
Judge asked to OK taxes for schools
See Lincoln Parish News Online’s archived stories.
The Ouachita Parish Police Jury (OPPJ) last night approved a settlement agreement for about $7.4 thousand with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding a dispute over employee classification. The issue concerns Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office (OPSO) deputies that work for the jury on occasion for court house security, code enforcement, weekend community service and other duties.
The jury considered these workers as contractors and issued them 1099’s which requires the individual to report the income and pay taxes on it. The IRS ruled that since the deputies were under the direction of the jury, they should be considered employees and should be issued W-2’s and have taxes withheld.
One possible solution mentioned last night was to hire an independent security firm rather than use OPSO deputies.
The IRS settlement did not assess any interest or penalties.
Official Journal Selection
Earlier in the meeting, the jury selected the official journal for the upcoming year. In accordance with RS 43:141, that must be done every year. We see no need in public bodies using the antiquated practice of ink-on-paper information distribution anymore, considering the speed and reach of the internet. Merely publishing the information on the public body’s website would ensure a much broader and more accurate result.
But we understand the practical purpose – the “official journal” gets money from the public body and the public body often gets sympathetic news stories. Everybody except the taxpayer is served.
Three bids were taken even though the lowest bidder does not have to be selected – The Ouachita Citizen, Monroe Free Press and Monroe Dispatch.
District F’s Pat Moore made a motion to select the Monroe Free Press, but it died for lack of a second.
The Ouachita Citizen was selected and the Monroe Free Press was picked as auxiliary official journal.
Other Business
A new contract was approved with LSU Health Sciences Center/E. A. Conway Medical Center to service patients at Green Oaks Detention Center and the Ouachita Correctional Center. The new agreement is an increase of about $25 thousand/year which represents about a 25% increase. The old contract amount hadn’t been increased in about ten years. The new agreement is for five years.
Also discussed and approved was a resolution presented by District C’s Walt Caldwell regarding the offshore drilling moratorium imposed by the Obama administration. See page four of the agenda for the full text.
District D’s Ollibeth Reddix made a rather disjointed argument against the resolution. By her logic, mankind would have scarcely progressed beyond the oxcart and certainly would not be flying about the planet. After all, God did not give us wings.
The resolution passed with Reddix abstaining.
V-Vehicle Tax Refund
As we had predicted, there was no action taken to initiate V-Vehicle tax refunds promised back in April. Apparently, the jury can pick and choose which laws to obey and when to do so. Or not.
Fired Jackson Parish Police Jury (JPPJ) employee Rasheda Combs has not yet been investigated by the Second Judicial (Beinville, Claiborne, Jackson Parishes) District Attorney for allegedly stealing over $3.8 thousand from the Jury over the past two years, according to sources.
She was fired at a special March 5, 2010 meeting of the body. Assistant District Attorney Douglas Stokes was present at that meeting, according to the minutes.
In a report dated February 17, 2010 by Allen, Green & Williamson, LLP (AG&W), a Monroe CPA firm, some rental deposits for the Jackson Parish Community Center were never deposited in the bank, even though receipts were issued to the renter.
Also, records were altered to conceal the activity, Lincoln Parish News Online (LPNO) was told. That in and of itself is a criminal activity, according to RS 14:132
Injuring public records
A. First degree injuring public records is the intentional removal, mutilation, destruction, alteration, falsification, or concealment of any record, document, or other thing, filed or deposited, by authority of law, in any public office or with any public officer.
B. Second degree injuring public records is the intentional removal, mutilation, destruction, alteration, falsification, or concealment of any record, document, or other thing, defined as a public record pursuant to R.S. 44:1 et seq. and required to be preserved in any public office or by any person or public officer pursuant to R.S. 44:36.
C.(1) Whoever commits the crime of first degree injuring public records shall be imprisoned for not more than five years with or without hard labor or shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars or both.
(2) Whoever commits the crime of second degree injuring public records shall be imprisoned for not more than one year with or without hard labor or shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or both.
Former Second Judicial (Bienville, Claiborne, Jackson Parishes) District Attorney Walter May had political ties to controversial Jonesboro Mayor Leslie Thompson, according to campaign finance disclosures.
On page 15 of the amended report dated June 15, 2003, we see two expenditures to Thompson, one for $500 and one for $650. Both are for “canvassing.” Many other expenditures to other persons for that activity are listed in the report.
The report was not filed until nine months after the expenditures were made.
May’s term of office was not without controversy. In 2005, he was disciplined by the Louisiana Supreme Court’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel (OCD) for having “made inappropriate extrajudicial statements concerning the handling of a pending criminal case…”
See the ruling here.
Lincoln Parish News Online 