Beginning in 2010, Williams and Curry became aware that Barna Haynes, the former office administrator and secretary to the District Attorney for the 15th Judicial District, and another individual, (hereafter referred to as co-conspirator #1) were utilizing the “immediate 894 plea” sessions to provide favorable dispositions of OWI cases for individuals who were willing to pay co-conspirator #1. Williams served as the prosecuting attorney in all of the “immediate 894 sessions” conducted for co-conspirator #1’s “clients,” and Curry assisted in coordinating those sessions. Both Williams and Curry were aware that the individuals were paying co-conspirator #1 for being allowed to plead in the “immediate 894 sessions.” Williams and Curry also were aware that co-conspirator #1 was not licensed to practice law.As part of the agreement, all three are cooperating in the investigation and will testify when the case goes to trial — in all likelihood against Williamson, who has asked the state court to declare him incompetent to manage his affairs because he suffers from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and has recently had a series of mini strokes.
Curry was regularly contacted by Barna Haynes to help coordinate the “immediate 894 sessions.” At the request of Barna Haynes, Curry would contact the district judge’s chambers for the purpose of setting the session, give the judge’s staff the names of the OWI defendants who were to plead guilty, and obtain a date and time for the upcoming session. Curry would contact co-conspirator #1 informing him of the date and time for the “immediate 894 session.” Curry prepared the OWI files for the “immediate 894 sessions” and would regularly see and interact with co-conspirator #1. On the day of the “immediate 894 session,” co-conspirator #1 would escort his “client” to Assistant District Attorney Greg Williams’ office, and Williams would explain to the “client” what he or she could expect to occur during the “immediate 894 session.” In 2010, co-conspirator #1 began giving gifts to Curry. That same year, Barna Haynes took an extended medical leave of absence from the District Attorney’s Office.
Nevertheless, Haynes continued to coordinate the “immediate 894 sessions” for co-conspirator #1’s “clients.” Because of Haynes' absence, both Haynes and co-conspirator #1 turned to Curry for additional assistance in coordinating the “immediate 894 sessions.” During this period, co-conspirator #1 began making a series of $200 cash payments to Curry. After the initial payment from co-conspirator #1, Curry spoke to Barna Haynes of her concerns about the payment. Barna Haynes informed Curry that she was also receiving payments from co-conspirator #1. Curry received approximately eight payments from co-conspirator #1 totaling $1,600.
MAY 17 Here's a column from James Gill, this time in the Advocate. Gill, who has jumped ship from the Picayune, writes about the absurdity of dueling polls in this post. The numbers are so wildly different, it is obvious that both sides are "cooking the books," he writes. In particular, he looks at Sen. Mary Landrieu, and how her recent actions in DC have been received by those polled. Gill's acerbic, amusing prose is a welcome addition to a paper so conservative as to be occasionally lacking in personality.
MAY 17 Blogger Tom Aswell continues delivering bombshells about the state education department and Gov. Jindal's education "reform" efforts. In this post, he reports that students in the Shreveport area have been signed up for a charter school without their knowledge or consent. Most interesting to Aswell is how this Texas-based charter (with ties to GOP types) got the personal student information it has, if the students didn't give it.
MAY 17 This post by JR Ball in the Baton Rouge Business Report is an interesting tongue-in-cheek look at recent Baton Rouge economic development efforts. Among the items he examines is the idea that gaining a Costco makes BR a "world-class city." (Really? All you need is a different brand of Sam's? MK!) This effort, and other recent ones, are all built on the taxpayer's back, with tax zones, tax incentives and tax rebates, Ball writes.
MAY 17 Blogger CB Forgotston is critical of the legislature's reliance on a revenue-estimating committee's decision to include projected tax amnesty income in this year's forecast. That's a problem, CB posts, because the deadline for these people to pay their taxes is June 30, 2014. So when do you think these people who haven't paid taxes in years are going to pay their taxes? Surely not before June 30, and that means the money won't be there for this year's budget, he argues.
MAY 17 Here's an interesting blog out of California by a Hollywood writer, attorney and academic named Brian Alan Lane. He blogs about higher ed, and was a whistle-blower in a scandal over false credentials. In this post, he takes aim at LSU's new top dog, King Alexander. It's convoluted and a little confusing, but it sure makes Alexander a lot more interesting than he was yesterday.
MAY 17 Blogger Robert Mann writes about the LSU Board's refusal to allow Dr. Fred Cerise to testify before the legislature about Gov. Jindal's plan to close down all the state's charity hospitals and dump the poor on the private system. It's hard to imagine anyone more qualified than Cerise to testify about that, so why would anyone try to prevent him doing so? Mann thinks it is because the powers that be aren't interested in hearing any truth about the plan.
MAY 17 This post on the Louisiana Sinkhole Bugle, a blog that notes developments in the Bayou Corne and Jefferson Island salt domes, talks about a proposed expansion of the salt dome storage under Lake Peigneur in Iberia Parish. Residents are working against it for several reasons, including two biggies: the sinkhole disaster in Bayou Corne and the continuing, unexplained bubbling on the surface of the Lake.
MAY 17 NOLA police arrested more people Thursday accused of either being involved in the Mother's Day shooting or hiding the suspect afterward, this Gambit story reports. The NOLA police chief said he suspects the whole thing was gang-related and throws out a challenge to the gangs: he's got informants now, he says, and he knows a lot more than the gangs want him to know. The people who live in the neighborhoods terrorized by gangs are ready to talk, he says.
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