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A LAFAYETTE PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR, WHO ALLEGEDLY BRIBED SEVERAL PEOPLE IN THE 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, PLED GUILTY YESTERDAY TO THREE OF THE NINE CHARGES HE FACED. 64-YEAR-OLD ROBERT T. WILLIAMSON PLED GUILTY TO A COUNT EACH OF CONSPIRACY, BRIBERY AND SOCIAL SECURITY FRAUD. HE WILL BE SENTENCED ON SEPTEMBER 25TH AND FACES UP TO TWENTY YEARS IN PRISON. WILLIAMSON RECEIVED MORE THAN 400 THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM CLIENTS FACING DRUNK DRIVING OR DRUG CHARGES, TO HELP THEM QUICKLY RESOLVE THEIR CASES.
SULPHUR POLICE ARE SEARCHING FOR THREE PEOPLE WHO WERE SEEN ON VIDEO SURVEILLANCE DESTROYING BOOKS FROM THE LITTLE FREE LIBRARY AT THE GROVE AT HERITAGE SQUARE. THE SUSPECTS ARE THREE WHITE MALES. THEY WERE SEEN LAST MONTH ON CAMERA PULLING BOOKS FROM THE BOX, TEARING THEM AND SCATTERING THE PAGES. POLICE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN MEL ESTESS SAYS THE SUSPECTS ARE FACING CRIMINAL MISCHIEF CHARGES.
A HELICOPTER MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING MONDAY IN VERMILLION PARISH. JULIE DARCE REPORTS.
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Lawmakers are again seeking review and approval authority over state consulting contracts signed across state agencies. But it’s unlikely the bill can escape a veto since Gov. Bobby Jindal killed the same proposal last year.
With a 36-0 vote Monday, the Senate gave final passage to a proposal by Rep. Jerome “Dee” Richard, an independent from Thibodaux, giving lawmakers more oversight. Most consulting and professional services contracts with a state general fund price tag topping $40,000 a year would need approval from the Legislature’s joint budget committee before they could begin, under the bill.
LAFAYETTE PARISH SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT DONALD AGUILLARD YESTERDAY ANNOUNCED THE APPOINTMENT OF TWO NEW ADMINISTRATORS. ON JUNE 15TH, ANNETTE SAMEC WILL TAKE OVER AS THE CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER, WHILE JOE CRAIG WAS APPOINTED AS THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER. SAMEC HAS 33 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN EDUCATION, THE LAST TWO AS PRINCIPAL AT ALICE BOUCHER ELEMENTARY. CRAIG HAD RECENTLY MOVED FROM COMEAUX HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL TO THE DIRECTOR OF CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND THE SCHOOLS OF CHOICE.
LAKE ARTHUR PARK WILL UNDERGO A 400 THOUSAND DOLLAR RENOVATION. THE PARK WILL HAVE NINE NEW PAVILIONS WITH PICNIC BENCHES AND BARBEQUE PITS AND OLD WOODEN BENCHES AT THE PARK WILL BE REPLACED. MAYOR ROBERT BERTRAND SAYS THE PROJECT WILL TAKE A MONTH OR TWO TO COMPLETE, DEPENDING ON THE WEATHER. HE TELLS KPLC TV IT’S AN INITIATIVE THAT WILL HOPEFULLY BRING MORE VISITORS TO THE AREA.
PROSECUTORS HAVE DISMISSED CHARGES AGAINST FORMER CROWLEY HUSBAND AND WIFE ATTORNEYS. ALMOST SIX MONTHS AGO, A GRAND JURY INDICTED 45-YEAR-OLD J. CLAY LEJEUNE AND 41-YEAR-OLD MITZI MAYOU, WHO HAVE SINCE MOVED TO LAFAYETTE, FOR THREATENING AND INTIMIDATING POLICE. OFFICERS HAD KICKED IN THE DOOR TO THEIR HOUSE BECAUSE OF A CALL FROM A NEIGHBOR, WHO THOUGHT SHE HEARD SOMEONE IN DISTRESS AT THE HOME. THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY IN THE CASE DIDN’T SPECIFY THE REASON FOR THE DISMISSAL OF THE CHARGES.
Though a majority of Louisiana lawmakers have agreed to allow the dispensing of medical marijuana, some are looking to the past — and not with nostalgia. Fifteen years after former Gov. Edwin Edwards was convicted in a corruption scheme involving riverboat casino licenses, some lawmakers worry weaknesses in the medical marijuana plans could lead to similar abuse. The medical marijuana bill, which Gov. Bobby Jindal says he will sign, received final passage Monday with a 30-6 Senate vote. Several lawmakers have raised concerns because Sen. Fred Mills’ bill creates one cultivation center and 10 dispensaries and clout and influence-peddling could play a role in who gets the licenses.
