Posted on 11/27/2007 4:37:23 PM PST by Libloather
Lawyer suspended over contributions to Jalila Jefferson campaign
The Associated Press
November 27. 2007 4:44PM
NEW ORLEANS The Louisiana Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended a Gretna lawyer for one year and one day because he paid $1,800 in campaign contributions to the daughter of Rep. William Jefferson upon the request of the congressman's brother-in-law, a sitting state judge at the time.
Walter J. LeBlanc Jr. was caught on FBI videotape passing an envelope of $100 bills to state District Judge Alan Green in 2002. Green's office was videotaped during "Operation Wrinkled Robe," an investigation into corruption at the Jefferson Parish Courthouse. LeBlanc cooperated with federal investigators and was not charged in that case.
The Supreme Court took a tougher line on LeBlanc than a disciplinary board took in July when it recommended suspending LeBlanc for six months.
Green presided over a civil lawsuit in 2001 in which LeBlanc represented a plaintiff who won a $1.5 million judgment. About six months after that case, LeBlanc was caught on the FBI video giving Green $800 in cash in an envelope during the run-up to a general election in which Green's niece, Jalila Jefferson, was running for a state House seat. LeBlanc made a second $1,000 contribution to Jefferson's runoff campaign on April 24, 2002, according to the high court's ruling.
Judges are barred from political campaigning and LeBlanc's action amounted to "very serious misconduct" for a lawyer, the Supreme Court said. His donations also violated Louisiana's campaign finance laws, the court said.
LeBlanc did not return a telephone call seeking comment.
Green is serving a 51-month sentence in a federal prison in Beaumont, Texas, for taking bribes from a bail bonds company. William Jefferson, D-La., has been indicted on federal bribery charges and he has pleaded not guilty. Earlier this month, Jalila Jefferson lost a state Senate race bid.
The federal government shouldn’t be spending a penny of taxpayers’ money on “rebuilding” New Orleans and environs. The place was a cesspool to begin with, and rebuilding it with government money — which is what generated the original cesspool — will only result in a bigger stronger cesspool. To the extent that there were decent private businesses and neighborhoods there, those should rebuild themselves with their own money if they like, but they’ll be much better off if the government-teat-sucking-corruption empire doesn’t get rebuilt in their midst.
Sounds like clones of the Mitchell family in Maryland.
Corrupt Democrats, they’re everywhere. Build more jails, fast.
Louisiana Dims are the Siamese twins of all that is venal in government, anywhere.
Racial profiling! /sarc
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