Tuesday, October 23, 2007

It takes a voter to put a crook into office

Or, in this case, alleged crook.

Anyway, in today's latest lesson on "Crooked politicians don't just grow on trees on the capitol grounds," we have the latest Louisiana politician in the feds' crosshairs: state Sen. Derrick Shepherd.

I COULD GO ON AND ON, but The Times-Picayune in New Orleans tells the story so well:
An FBI agent testified in open court Monday that state Sen. Derrick Shepherd helped a twice-convicted felon launder nearly $141,000 in fraudulently generated bond fees last year, keeping close to half the money as part of the arrangement.

Shepherd was easily re-elected to the state Senate on Saturday, winning 61 percent of the vote. Last year, he finished a strong third in a 2006 run for Congress and then endorsed the embattled incumbent, U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, helping him secure a ninth term.

Special Agent Peter Smith testified that Shepherd, a lawyer who often handles personal-injury cases, attempted to make his dealings with bond broker Gwendolyn Joseph Moyo appear legitimate by writing the words "settlement proceeds" on the memo lines of the checks.

However, investigators have found no evidence that Shepherd did any legal work for Moyo, Smith said, although he said that Shepherd had delivered a "vague invoice" to a federal grand jury to explain the payments. The document was basically illegible, Smith said.

"To me, it looks like he was trying to disguise it, to make it look like this was for a personal-injury case," Smith said of the notations in the checks' memo lines.

"I suppose the government takes the position that it's money laundering?" Moyo's attorney, Pat Fanning, asked Smith.

"Yes," Smith testified.

In a telephone interview, Shepherd strongly denied committing a crime.

"At no time have I ever testified before a grand jury, nor at any time have I ever committed any crime whatsoever -- state, local or federal -- in my life," Shepherd said.

"To all of the rest of your questions, no comment," he said.

The allegations involving Shepherd burst into public view during what would normally be a low-key proceeding: a detention hearing for Moyo, who investigators say sold a series of bogus construction bonds.

Moyo, 52, who owns a home in the Eastover subdivision of eastern New Orleans, was arrested at the federal courthouse Thursday after she arrived at the grand jury room without any of the documents she was ordered to bring.

While Moyo is at the center of the government's case, it was clear at Monday's hearing that the government is investigating Shepherd's involvement. Smith said Shepherd has already been interviewed by FBI agents in connection with the inquiry.

They still have questions for him, Smith indicated at another point, saying with a grin that Shepherd has "been invited to the grand jury."

Fanning suggested that prosecutors' desire to jail Moyo was partially borne of a desire to pressure her to "flip" on Shepherd. He noted pointedly that Moyo would not agree to "wear a wire" when the FBI first interviewed her in July.

"Do you remember my client being asked to cooperate against Derrick Shepherd?" Fanning asked Smith.

"I don't remember specifically saying that, but I probably did," the agent said.

Moyo has yet to be charged with a crime, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Magner told U.S. Magistrate Judge Alma Chasez that he expects a grand jury will indict her this week. Moyo was arrested based on a complaint filed by Smith last week.

Moyo's first conviction, for issuing false contractor bonds, came in Arizona in 1989.

She won some notoriety in the Washington, D.C., area when she offered the following year to testify against Mayor Marion Barry, a friend of hers, regarding what the Washington Post described as "alleged drug use and contracting irregularities."

But her attorney said that prosecutors couldn't meet her terms, and she never turned state's evidence. The following year, Moyo was convicted of using a fake Social Security number.

After her first conviction, she was banned by law from the insurance business. But she didn't stay away from it for good.

YOU KNOW, politicians in my home state may have the equivalent of a Ph.D in crooked, but Louisiana voters are definitely riding the short bus. Which goes a long way in explaining a lot.


It’s just brazen down here. In Louisiana,
they skim the cream, steal the milk,

hijack the bottle and look for the cow.

-- James Bernazzani, the FBI's guy in New Orleans


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