The Rigours of Defeat: Worse Case Scenario

2011 No Better!? 2012 Worse! ~ Unless!~ Joint Motion all must reply

Former officer clears last criminal charge

Oct. 22, 2011, 1:15 p.m. CDT

AP

WINNFIELD, La. (AP) — Winn Parish prosecutors have dropped a malfeasance charge against a former Winnfield policeman in the death of a man who was shocked with a stun gun, and former officer Scott Nugent has agreed not to seek reinstatement or back pay.

Nugent's attorney, George Higgins, told The Town Talk (http://townta.lk/pQrixs) about the agreement Friday.

A jury acquitted Nugent last year of manslaughter in the death of Baron "Scooter" Pikes, who died in 2008 after being shocked eight times.

Higgins says the case is finally over.

However, there's still a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against Nugent and city officials. They asked Judge Dee D. Drell in September to dismiss it.

Latrina D. Thomas, the mother of Pikes' young son, has until Nov. 4 to file her response.

**all parties in the case in the Western District are required to reply by Nov. 4** LeSieur

Landrieu chastises Jindal for grant rejection

Oct. 19, 2011, 5:55 p.m. CDT

AP

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu said Wednesday she is "disappointed and concerned" that Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration refused to apply for a federal grant that could have brought $60 million in early childhood education funding to Louisiana.

Landrieu, a Democrat, said education experts across the state spent months working on a grant application to the Obama administration for the money earmarked to help low-income and disadvantaged children. She noted that one-third of children in Louisiana under the age of 5 live in poverty.

"Your decision not to even compete for these funds is one that will have a negative impact on thousands of children in our state," Landrieu wrote to Jindal, a Republican. "I hope your reasons for failing to apply for these funds are strong enough to justify these consequences."

The Jindal administration announced Tuesday that it would not seek the grant money, saying that the state's system for early childhood education is inefficient and mired in bureaucracy and that the grant wouldn't help address children's needs because it is one-time money for ongoing programs.

In response to Landrieu's letter, Jindal spokesman Kyle Plotkin said three state departments "completed a thorough analysis of this grant and determined that it is the exact opposite approach our state should take to help our kids."

"We need to streamline the governance structure, funding streams and quality standards in our early childhood system — and the grant would only make things worse by reducing flexibility and adding more micromanagement and regulatory obstacles," Plotkin said in a statement.

Landrieu said the decision is puzzling, and she asked Jindal to give her more details about how it was reached.

"I hope you will respond in some detail given the broad parameters and flexibility of this grant and the fact that nearly all the states have applied for the grant, making Louisiana the minority," the senator wrote.

Jones: Tough times ahead in the capitol
Outgoing District 17 Representative reflects on her tenure, offers advice for her successor

10/21/11
Robert K. Wright

Rosalind Jones

As election day approaches, candidates are making final pleas to voters for the House District 17 seat. The seat is currently held by Rosalind Jones, who has been in office since 2008. She announced earlier this year that she would not seek re-election. On Saturday, four candidates, Otis Chisley, Marcus Hunter, Brenda Shelling, and Billye Burns, are lining up for her seat. However, Jones said that the job they are applying for is not all fun and games.

Jones, who is a practicing attorney, said that she spent a lot of time away from her Monroe practice while in Baton Rouge during legislative sessions. Although legislators are compensated for their duties, she said that she lost money every year.

“You lose money every year. Because I wanted to stay close to the capitol, my entire per diem was used for room and board, not to mention gas and upkeep on my car,” she said.

Jones said that she was initially not prepared for the amount of time she would be away.

“It’s a full time job. I had misconceptions about the post. Even with dad (Charles Jones), I knew he had both roles as a lawyer and a legislator. But I was overwhelmed a little at the time I spent away from home,” she said.

So if being a public official costs so much, why did she do it?

“It was a wonderful opportunity to make a difference. I wouldn’t trade my experience for nothing in the world,” she said.

Jones said that the candidate who win’s Saturday’s election needs to be ready to hit the ground running. The ‘hitting the ground running’ idea’ has been a major focus of Hunter and Shelling. Hunter has lawyer experience and Shelling has many years of experience as an elected official.

But what is necessary to be successful in Baton Rouge? Jones said that being a lawyer, contrary to popular disbelief, matters in the legislature.

“Practicing lawyers understand implications of the law in real life settings. People who aren’t lawyers don’t share the same perspective. It’s not as easy as calling in a staff to get briefed on what’s going on. Your legislative staff is great, but they are not practitioners. Because I was a practicing lawyer, I felt more comfortable knowing how to read the bills that came before me,” she said.

Endorsing Hunter

This week, Jones sent out an official endorsement letter for Marcus Hunter to succeed her seat in the house. She is aware of the recent lawsuit filed against Hunter by Fourth Judicial District Attorney Jerry Jones. Hunter landed in court testifying that he did not live in the district he qualified for.

“I gave Marcus my word long before his residency came under question that I would support his bid for election. I am a woman of my word. Your word means a lot in this world. However, he needs to fix what needs to be fixed before he is sworn in as a House member, for any member of the House can challenge his residency,” Jones advised.

She said despite his residency dilemma, she believes he is the most qualified person to hold the seat in District 17 on the ‘sure base of ability.’

Tough times ahead

Jones said that whomever wins the election, they should be prepared to face a different House of Representatives unlike that of hers, her father, or that of former representative Willie Hunter.

“This new House will be very different from what my dad and Willie Hunter experienced. We’re entering a new phase in Louisiana politics,” she said.

Jones said that the legislature is nearing a majority republican presence (60/40) and that it is important for any democrat to be ready to fight for what they were sent there to accomplish.

“They (majority republican legislature) don’t really need one democratic vote to get done what they set out to do. New members of the House will find it tough as a democrat. That’s why its extremely important that we have someone in the seat that knows the rules, how to read a bill, amend it, or kill it if necessary. That person needs to be able to get in there and fight for District 17,” Jones advised.

Refusing to sell her soul

Jones said that she did not get to accomplish everything she set out to do. She said that there remains a lot of work in District 17.

“I could have brought back home more money and more opportunities for my district, but I refused to sacrifice my independence for a perceived benefit. Whomever wins the election, I would encourage them to not sell their soul to the governor for a cookie. Be independent. I could vote my conscious and explain to the body (House) why some policies were wrong, even if that meant my home base would not get the pennies the governor was handing out,” she said.

Novice candidates

Jones said that she thinks that novice politicans can still serve, if they are willing to learn the rules and play by the rules.

“I think everyone should have the opportunity to serve and once they get there they will find that there is a political process they must learn quickly,” she said.

Although Hunter is her choice for District 17, of the four, only Shelling has served in an elected capacity. For the novice candidates, Jones said that all who consider the post should be willing to learn the rules and procedures and operate within those rules.

“If you don’t know how to amend or kill a bill, you’re useless. There are a lot of rules and customs you have to operate within. What most novice politicians perceive is that they will go down there and make changes, but they have to come in and operate within the established rules,” she said.

Jones said that she has enjoyed her experience in the state legislature and will continue to serve her district in other capacities as they present themselves. “With the support of my colleagues, friends, and constitutents, I rose from a freshman legislator to the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee in only three years. During this term, we have addressed education issues, criminal justice reform, and economic development within the district. Most importantly, we have created a second majority minority representative district in Northeast Louisiana to give a voice to those citizens who have been silenced in years past. Alas, there is more work to be done,” she wrote in a letter this week.

**A Run-off in the 17th is imminent. Burns-Hunter**

The State of Louisiana Justice in HealthCare, Criminal & Civil Actions, Education is dismal. The Conservative legislature doesn't have any thing to do with it. It is again, the racism. If the present activity continues, gross miscarriages of Human Rights will prevail, the public-at-large will outcry, as they are presently. The courts are arrogant in its deficiency to expend "justice". Poor, indigent defendants are at the mercy of an in fact disparaged system.

Louisiana Public Defender Board is allowing defendants to be summarily defended with only the "constitutional guarantee" being afforded. A defendant in the 4th JDC, represented by a public defender, was told to "just plea"; whether his former lawyer had secured a lesser sentencing "deal" with the DA's office didn't matter. This is not defense. This is perfunctory.

Reciprocity:~Re-Jena'd

Reciprocity. Re-Jena'd! All of this time which has transpired, has left many in Jena, dejected an floundering. It is, however; the responsibility of the Civil Rights apparatus to "educate" the residue that remains in such a place as Jena, what they must watch for, in the ensuing years. September 20th 2012, will mark [5] five years since the Great March of 2007. That event, began with grassroot activist. Some believe it ended, with a plea deal. If that were true, the "Jena Boys" who are young men now, would not be interested in a "capitalist pig's" pretentious involvement as a so-called production rep. However, at midnight on September 19th 2012, the "people" of the Twenty-First 21st Century re-initiation of the Civil Rights Movement in America, will gather in Jena, Louisiana.
The operatives of 2007, are still alive. Some are behind bars! Some of trying, to just, make it! Some are lying , exaggerating and capitalizing on the Move of 2007. We the people caught rides, in the middle of the night, when things were challenging and demanding. Threats were made in '07, '08 thru '11. Lead grassroot activist were diminished. Stranger than strange occurred.
Richard Barrett Died.
As for the other man in this picture, that is another story. Maybe to be told at a later date. First, Jena must be "Re-Jena'd". I've heard many a activist say, we'll give you another Jena. Well, the "thing" that occurred was orchestrated, systematically at a certain point in each stage. At this very moment, we're in an other critical point. You see, 2oo7's Movement was a flashpoint, and we're there again. So, here we go. Brother Activist & Sister Advocate.

Now!! It Should Be Evident

Now, it should be evident, that if an FBI agent comes to talk to you; that you should remain silent and request to be magistrated. Of course, you risk the possibility of being charged with Obstruction of Justice, by not answering their convoluted questions.
What really gets, me however; is that all of this is going on "under the color of law" while a sitting United States Attorney in Washington D.C., looks on with seeming approval.

This same, Eric Holder was called to D.C. while dealing with a wrongful conviction case in this same Louisiana!!

• By BILL LODGE
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: Jun 22, 2011

There is no reason to suggest undercover FBI agents entrapped former New Roads Mayor Tommy Nelson during a sting operation that resulted in his indictment on racketeering and wire fraud charges, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

Defense attorneys Page A. Pate, of Atlanta, and Michael A. Fiser, of Baton Rouge, argued that agents posing as corrupt sanitation service officials unfairly pushed bribes toward Nelson after he agreed their service would benefit city residents.

The garbage can cleaning service was known as Cifer 5000.

Earlier Tuesday, Pate and Fiser rested their defense of Nelson.

Chief U.S. District Judge Ralph E. Tyson dismissed the jury of five women and seven men for the rest of the day. The judge ordered all to return to his Baton Rouge courtroom Wednesday morning for final arguments in the nearly three-week trial.

Pate and Fiser asked that jurors be told Wednesday that they could acquit Nelson if they believed he had been entrapped.

The judge chose not to include that statement in the instructions he will give the jury on Wednesday.

Pate called one witness Tuesday — former FBI Special Agent Darin McAllister — who awaits sentencing in an unrelated criminal case in Nashville.

McAllister was convicted in December on 15 counts of wire fraud, involving $1.2 million in borrowed bank funds and three counts of false statements in his 2009 bankruptcy proceedings.

Jurors were not told of McAllister’s felony conviction. They were told that he no longer works for the FBI and is not employed.

“Yes, Mr. Nelson thought the Cifer 5000 was a good idea for his city,” McAllister testified during questioning by Pate.

Pate said one of the benefits undercover agents pushed toward Nelson was a free hunting trip.

“He did not take a hunting trip, did he?” asked Pate.

“No,” replied McAllister.

Pate then asked whether McAllister offered Nelson a silent partnership in the sanitation service and suggested it could be worth as much as $2 million.

“Yes,” replied McAllister.

Other FBI agents testified earlier in the trial that Nelson accepted the silent partnership.

Nelson, who lost a bid for re-election after he was indicted last year, is alleged to have accepted more than $22,000 in cash and other bribes from government investigators who posed as officials of Cifer 5000.

He did not testify.

FBI agents testified that Nelson received the $22,000 in return for his pledge to help the company obtain municipal business. Nelson, FBI agents testified, also received the money and other gifts in return for letters of support he wrote on behalf of Cifer 5000 to the EPA and Dallas residents he believed were Cifer investors.

Nelson believed those letters could mean as much as $4 million in federal grants and $3 million in new infusions of investor cash for Cifer, FBI agents testified.

FBI agents detained Nelson in May 2010 after the agents made video and audio recordings of Nelson’s acceptance of an alleged $5,000 cash bribe from an undercover FBI operative in the parking lot of a Starbucks Coffee shop in Gonzales.

FBI Special Agent Tonja Sablatura testified early in the trial that Nelson immediately surrendered the envelope containing that cash. She said Nelson then confessed that he had accepted bribes.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Jefferson, M. Patricia Jones and Corey R. Amundson played recorded telephone conversations in which Nelson could be heard asking for money.

In one conversation, Nelson demanded a $10,000 payment from one of the men posing as corrupt businessmen. In another, he bragged that he had received more money from other companies.

Cifer 5000 was a fictitious company used by the FBI in a sting known as Operation Blighted Officials.

Six other municipal officials in three other Baton Rouge-area cities also were indicted last year.

Former Port Allen City Councilman Johnny L. Johnson Sr. pleaded guilty to racketeering and bribery charges. Johnson has not yet been sentenced by Tyson.

Former White Castle Mayor Maurice Brown was convicted March 3 on felony charges. He has not yet been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson.

White Castle Police Chief Mario Brown, brother of Maurice Brown, was acquitted on all counts in the same trial.

Port Allen Mayor Derek Lewis and Port Allen Police Chief Fred Smith are scheduled for trial July 25 in Jackson’s court.

St. Gabriel Mayor George L. Grace is scheduled for trial Jan. 23 in Tyson’s court.

BREAKING NEWS

Jury: Nelson guilty on all counts

Posted: Jun 22, 2011 2:44 PM CDT Updated: Jun 22, 2011 3:43 PM CDT

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -

Former New Roads Mayor has been found guilty on all seven charges against him.

The jury deliberated for just over an hour before returning the verdict.

Nelson was found guilty of racketeering, wire fraud, making false statements and four counts of interstate commerce.

Defense attorney Paige Pate filed a motion for Judge Tyson to reconsider entrapment, but it was denied. Tyson instructed jurors to throw out entrapment and to not consider it.

Nelson was accused of taking bribes from undercover agents promoting a fake garbage can cleaning business. /end-WAFB story/jl

Fissured & Fractured Judicial Process

The Nelson Matter is forged in a "lacadaisical" nonchalant approach by the "civil rights" apparatus in Louisiana in particular, and America in general.

An action was anticipated with the forging of a recommendation arising out of the last state Convention of the NAACP . It is, as if the clientelle of an uncivil america; think that they can just walk in to court and everything is going to be fair. Without certain justice seeking appartuses involved, the pushers of paper will get the same results. The Six, would not be in the position there in now without those apparatuses in play in 2007.

Victoria Gosserand stands trial in the death of Terri Parker in a car accident days before Christmas last year. Judge Alvin Batiste set the trial for July 11, 2011. I still think it strange that Tommy Nelson wasn't indicted until after comments were made concerning the case of vehicular homicide of Terri Parker on a New Roads thoroughfare.

It should be stated the Louisiana Middle District US Atty, Donald Cazayoux and Gosserand Defense Attorney Rob Marionneaux are both former legislative co-horts. Can, Justice be Served in the Parker death under these circumstances. Should not Eric Holder, send a D. C., civil rights-justice department attorney AND a DOJ special prosecutor for the Gosserand matter. IT IS NOW EVIDENT, COMPLICITY IS A FACT OF LIFE IN THE JURISPRUDENCE IN AMERICA & Louisiana.

What federal operative is busy enticing you or yours to commit corruption?
The Post-trial battle immediately ensued with the 22 June motion filed in the Middle District has already begun.

"Prior to trial, the defense tendered a proposed Fifth Circuit patter instruction to the court
on the issue of entrapment. At the charge conference, the prosecutor objected to the instruction
urging that Mr. Nelson had not made a prima facie case warranting an entrapment instruction."

Where is Bobbi Bernstein, when you really need her?

The Louisiana We Know:SO WELL!!

So Long to Justice!

Commonwealth's desire for a free moral society fizzling fast. When the final actionaries seized control of the "final five" justice was no longer a pre-requisite. Out the window went the mechinations of the Mauffray Court & other pacifications. Now, one by one the principal participating personages, of Jena are systematically being picked off, one by one!

Others, however have continued to pimp, prostitute and capitalize on the "movement that was Jena" in 2007, labelled the 21st Century rejuvenation of Mass Protest. Well, since then we've had some serious marches to occur. However, EVERYone Should read, Sammy Franklin's article on the Jumping Frogs. You may get a better understanding of what's going on!!

In Jena, some of the princpals have been in the "crazy house", alienated and suspiciously targeted with stranger than life scenarios. You wonder WHY the Tpartiers, supremacist, neo-cons, Republicans and conservatives are jumping up and down? The took advice from ground zero. The Jena Experience has been attempted to be 'scrubbed clean', but no such washings can undo, the facts. To, top it off; employment of every wicked device has been accomplished.

Some of these "principal players" in the Jena Experience, have the slightest clue as to why, things are happening the way they are!

The Louisiana Machine is rolling Lead Vehicle in the Republican attempt to oust Obama!

HOWEVER, it is official, 2012:September:Jena:Year5-BACK!!