Jonesboro City Council Last Night

The Town of Jonesboro’s Board of Aldermen met last night in a special called meeting that lasted slightly less than an hour, and included a 25 minute executive session.

The closed session was called to discuss personnel issues regarding a department head. However, no action was taken in the session, nor was any taken afterwards.

Several issues were taken care of that had been deferred at the last meeting.

An resolution was adopted to abandon an alleyway, an appraisal is pending on land that the Greater North Louisiana Community Development Corporation wants to sell back to the town, and Fiscal Administrator Ken Folden presented an amended 2013-2014 and projected 2014-2015 budget.

Folden also presented the council an engagement agreement with J. Walker & Company for the town’s annual audit.

District B’s Renee Stringer had questions of Town Attorney Doug Stokes regarding a couple of pending criminal cases with the town.

Stokes said that since he’s the town’s attorney, he is recused from the cases and cannot report on them. Stokes said the cases had been assigned to another prosecutor in the District Attorney’s Office. Stokes also serves as an assistant DA.

Stringer also asked Police Chief Wesley Horton about a town backhoe that had been reported stolen. Horton said he was not aware of the case.

Finally, the town’s redistricting is proceeding as planned, Folden reported.

Judge: No Conflict With Cameron Mays Counsel

Saying that Defense Counsel Deanna McCallum’s familial relation to a deputy coroner “doesn’t rise to the level to justify” her recusal as attorney for accused murderer Cameron Mays, Ad Hoc Judge Glynn Roberts ruled earlier today that she should continue as Mays’ court-appointed counsel.

Roberts, a retired judge from the Fifth Judicial (Franklin, Richland, West Carroll Parishes) District Court in Rayville, presided at the hearing in Third Judicial (Lincoln, Union Parishes) District Court in Ruston.

Mays had originally retained Shreveport attorney Joseph Clark, who passed away earlier this year. Several hearings on the case had been postponed during Clark’s illness.

McCallum said she was the sister-in-law of a deputy coroner who was involved with the murder investigation, and that might present a conflict of interest issue.

However, Assistant District Attorney John Belton noted that the deputy coroner was only peripherally involved in the case, and wouldn’t be called as a prosecution witness.

Mays is accused of killing retired Grambling State University (GSU) professor Dr. Sue Hashway in a home invasion in June of 2012.

A sanity hearing for Mays is set for July 15, 1:30 PM, in district court.

OPPJ Hears NELA “Branding” Pitch

Last night’s meeting of the Ouachita Parish Police Jury (OPPJ) heard a request for money – about $50 thousand – to help improve the “brand” the four parish area of Ouachita, Union, Morehouse, and Lincoln.

Making the pitch was Christine Rambo, Senior Vice President for Communications and Development for the North Louisiana Economic Partnership. The goal is, according to Rambo, the recruitment and retention of a qualified workforce to the area.

Rambo, along with Annmarie Sartor of CenturyLink are heading up the North Louisiana Branding Project, that will in collaboration with the DCI Group, develop and present a positive image for the area.

Said Rambo, potential employees “get all the negatives about this place, and coming to work at this place, and living in this place.” To counteract that image, “We take a proactive approach to marketing our area to the rest of the world,” Rambo added. “In the absence of a brand and identity for this region, everybody else defines who we are. In the vacuum, all the negatives fill that space.”

Rambo said they hope to raise about $200 thousand from local area governments.

In other business, the jury gave final approval to an ordinance that would provide administrative procedures for the sale of adjudicated properties, which is property is property that has been placed in local governmental hands because local property taxes have not been paid.

Lincoln Parish Fire District Meeting Tonight

The Lincoln Parish Fire Protection District No. 1 Board of Commissioners will meet tonight (Tuesday, June 17) 6:00 PM, Vienna Fire Station, 4786 Hwy 167.

Here is the agenda.

St Tammany DA Update – 6/16/14

Hopefuls starting to line up for St. Tammany DA race – Incumbent Walter Reed has not announced plans

Amid a slew of unflattering media reports about 22nd Judicial District Attorney Walter Reed’s campaign expenditures and business ventures, and with federal agents showing up at Reed’s office armed with grand-jury subpoenas, it’s no wonder that, for the first time in 18 years, some local lawyers are actively expressing an interest in running for the post.

Several names are being tossed around as potential candidates, but as of Friday, only Roy Burns, a Covington lawyer, was willing to say he is definitely in the race. That was confirmed by James Hartman, whom Burns has hired as a political consultant.

Another rumored candidate, District Judge Raymond Childress, said he was honored that his name had come up and that the job “was certainly something to consider.” But he said he had made no decision and noted that if he did opt to throw his hat in the ring, he would be required to resign his judicial post. Childress faces re-election Nov. 4 as well.

Another rumored candidate, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Brian Trainor, said the post is something he would consider. Trainor said a number of people have reached out to him and pledged their support should he decide to run.

If he was elected, Trainor said, “it would be an honor to serve as district attorney,” but he emphasized that he is also proud to serve in his current position.

Reed, who has been the district attorney for St. Tammany and Washington parishes since 1984, has not faced a challenger since 1996. He has given no formal indication of whether he will run this year, though he filed his 180-days-prior-to-primary campaign finance disclosure form with the state Ethics Administration, showing that he had $319,102 in his war chest.

DA’s gold business included partnership with convict

by SARA PAGONES and KATIE MOORE

In summer 2010, gold was about a year away from its dizzying $1,900-an-ounce peak, but the precious metal’s rising price was enough to convince Eric Cazaubon, who was rebuilding his life after a felony drug conviction, to stop selling used cars and buy and sell gold instead.

He was not alone in seeing a financial opportunity. That same year, St. Tammany Parish District Attorney Walter Reed went into the gold-buying business with Yancie “Bubba” Moseley III.

Moseley began approaching other buyers, and one of the places he went was St. Tammany Wholesale Gold, the business that Cazaubon — a man on active probation in Reed’s jurisdiction — had just opened at the site of his former car lot on Gause Boulevard West.

They struck a deal under which Moseley and Reed, through their brand-new business, would provide Cazaubon cash to buy gold in exchange for a hefty chunk of Cazaubon’s profits. But the agreement was short-lived, and within weeks after they severed ties, Cazaubon’s home and business were raided by probation agents and other law enforcement officers. Soon, an assistant to Reed was arguing before a judge that the shop owner’s probation should be revoked.

Reed was included as a partner in the filings for the following year, but his 2010 financial disclosure form makes clear that he was a partner from the company’s inception. The form doesn’t say how much income the side business generates for Reed, who is the highest-paid district attorney in Louisiana with an annual salary of nearly $190,000. The DA lists additional income in the six figures from his private law practice and the gold business.

Ouachita Parish Police Jury Monday

The Ouachita Parish Police Jury (OPPJ) will meet Monday, June 16, 5:30 PM, Ouachita Parish Court House, second floor.

Here is the agenda.

Gallot Withdraws from Judge’s Race

Gallot Not Running for Third Judicial District Judge

KTVE-TV10 – State Senator Rick Gallot announced today that he will not be a candidate for the Third Judicial District judgeship.

“Since the end of the 2014 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature, I have had the opportunity to enjoy some much needed quiet time and quality time with my wife and sons. After considerable prayer and contemplation, I have decided not to seek the office of Judge for the Third Judicial District Court,” Gallot stated.

Gallot said that in each of the six elections he has previously run, there has been a certain peace in his spirit that he should run. He says this is not the case in this judicial election. This is a time when he feels the need to spend more time with his family, his clients and the constituents of the senatorial district that he represents.

“I am very grateful to everyone who offered to support me in this election. There are very good lawyers who practice in the Third Judicial District and I am confident that we will elect one who will serve us well. I am looking forward to spending time with my family this summer and continuing to work hard for the citizens of Senate District 29,” Gallot added.

See here the announcement on Gallot’s Facebook page.

St Tammany DA Update – 6/13/14

At least 10 employees in DA Walter Reed’s office subpoenaed to testify before federal grand jury, sources say

The Times-Picayune

At least ten people in District Attorney Walter Reed’s office have received a subpoena to appear before a federal grand jury investigating Reed, sources confirmed to NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune and WVUE Fox 8 News.

One source said that appearance would take place later this month – possibly next week.

The subpoenas come a week after news of the federal criminal investigation into Reed.

The news organizations reported last week that the Castine Center, a Mandeville venue where Reed held a Sept. 22, 2012, fundraiser, was subpoenaed in May to provide documents related to Reed and his son, Steven Reed, dating back to January 2008.

St. Tammany DA didn’t recuse self from partner’s suit

BY Faimon A. Roberts III

Since 2011, Walter Reed, the district attorney for St. Tammany and Washington parishes, has recused his office from several dozen criminal prosecutions. In nearly every one of those cases, Reed said his office’s recusal was aimed at ensuring “the orderly and fair administration of justice and to avoid a conflict through the appearance of impropriety.”

In his motions to recuse, Reed cited Article 680 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which enumerates the three grounds on which a district attorney should recuse himself: when the DA has a “personal interest in the cause or grand jury proceeding which is in conflict with fair and impartial administration of justice”; when the DA “is related to the party accused or party injured,” or to the spouse of either; or when the DA has represented or consulted in the case for the defendant before becoming district attorney.

In the cases from which Reed removed himself and his office, the defendants are often people he knows intimately or relatives of people who work for him.

But when Reed’s own business partner and tenant, Yancie Moseley III, got arrested for DWI in January 2012, the district attorney did not recuse his office, a decision that one legal expert called “a serious problem of conflict of interest.”

However, there’s no evidence in the record that Moseley, who eventually pleaded guilty and got his conviction expunged, got any special treatment as a result of his relationship with the district attorney.

Rafael Goyeneche, president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, said that even though Moseley might have gotten the same deal if Reed had recused himself, “here it is a business partner of Walter Reed’s who is charged. I still believe he does have a duty to recuse his office to avoid a potential conflict, to avoid the appearance of impropriety.”

St Tammany DA Update – 6/12/14

St. Tammany DA Reed got break on property taxes

Assessor dropped appraised home value by $128K in 2006

By SARA PAGONES and KATIE MOORE

St. Tammany Parish District Attorney Walter Reed didn’t balk at paying $337,000 for a new home in the Abita Lake subdivision nine years ago, but when it was time to pay property taxes on the house at 219 Thornwood Drive, he seemed to think he was getting a raw deal.

He complained to Patricia Schwarz Core, who was then the parish assessor, and she dropped the appraised value from $320,100 to $191,000 — $78,000 less than the loan he took out to buy the handsome red brick home in 2005.

For Reed, the highest-paid district attorney in the state, the revision meant a refund of nearly $2,000 on his 2006 property tax bill.

Water Issues at Jonesboro City Council Meeting

Water system issues dominated the discussion at last night’s meeting of the Town of Jonesboro’s Board of Alderman. Both billing issues and system upkeep were talked about.

Some residents have complained about a $30 reconnection fee that is charged if their account becomes delinquent. It was noted that the 25th of the month is the delinquent date, and that if the customer pays the bill by 4 PM on that date, there is no problem. About a year ago, the council passed a policy resolution addressing the procedure, it was said.

Fiscal Administrator Kenneth Folden noted that a late fee is charged by banks and other institutions if payment is late.

Said Folden, “If you do (business) with almost any company you deal with, it tells you got to be there by a certain time. We started putting it on the bills, we started putting it on the front door, we started trying to let people know that this when you do this.”

If payment isn’t received by that time, then the next day a cutoff notice is issued, Folden said. Councilman-at-Large LaStevic Cottonham added that there is a 30 day grace period after the initial due date, then another 10 days after that before a customer’s water is cut off.

Folden also addressed the poor condition of the water system, and said that the existing rates aren’t sufficient for the system’s upkeep. In addition to the upkeep, there must be sufficient revenue to payoff the bonds under which the system was financed, it was noted.

Water tank maintenance was also mentioned, and it was noted that the town has some certificates of deposit that could be used for that purpose.

Another issue discussed was reapportionment of the four council districts. Folden said he had discussed the issue with North Delta Regional Planning & Development District, Inc, which has done redistricting for other local government agencies. North Delta indicated that they should be able to meet the deadline for the district lines to be redrawn.

The plan has to be complete and submitted to election officials by 8/15/14.

Also discussed was the practice of the town mowing privately owned vacant lots, and then billing the owner for it.

Folden said the amounts billed weren’t enough to pay the cost, and he thinks the practice should be discontinued. It was suggested that owners be provided a list of private companies that could keep the lots mowed.

Several issues were deferred, and will be addressed at a 6/17 special called meeting at 5:00 PM.