 |
| Williamson and his wife Sonya in 2008, almost two decades after they claimed an electrocution in an Alexandria hotel room left her paralyzed and unable to speak. But the insurance company fought back and won. “The jury found that Sonya was, indeed, injured in the Best Western Motel, whether by a staged electrocution gone bad or by a minor or non-existent shock followed by Robert’s administration of paralyzing drugs to make a case for quadriplegia,” the court minutes read. |
For his efforts, Williamson (identified in court documents as co-conspirator #1) got $5,000 a pop (though it may have been more), Haynes got $500 and Williams and his secretary, Denease Curry, got gifts and lesser amounts of cash, according to the feds. Haynes, Williams and Curry have all pleaded guilty to their roles in the elaborate scheme.
Williamson took in hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the feds’ claims in court documents. On the same day in February that the FBI searched Haynes’ and Williams’ offices, they also collected evidence in the case from Williamson’s 311 Arnould Boulevard home.
Private eye Williamson, whom many observers believe will be arrested and charged any day now, and his family were scheduled to appear in court Jan. 22 for a hearing on a full interdiction but apparently had a change of heart — or a change of strategy. Williamson, his wife Sonya (the woman supposedly left paralyzed by two electrocutions, including one at an Alexandria hotel in 1989) and the couple’s two daughters, Jolie Williamson (who lives with them) and Dixie Ann Hundley, decided on Jan. 23 to terminate the interdiction. In court documents they now say the interdiction is “currently excessive” and is “no longer necessary to care for the person and property of Robert T. Williamson.” They asked District Judge John Trahan to dismiss the matter in its entirety, which would release Sonya and Jolie from any further responsibility as curator and undercurator, respectively.
Trahan obliged, signing the termination and filing it into the court record Monday.
Robert Williamson’s attorney, Peter Piccione Jr., would not comment on why the family terminated the interdiction.
 |
|
| Jolie Williamson and her mother Sonya Williamson, who were appointed curator and undercurator, respectively, for Robert Williamson in December, asked the court to terminate the interdiction of the local private investigator, calling it "currently excessive." |
So it remains unclear what caused the Williamson clan to turn to Plan B and what Plan B might be. But you can bet this sue-happy family — court records show it made at least 19 injury claims against insurance companies between 1981 and 1989, including three electrocutions, with many of the “accidents” occurring just days after the Williamsons purchased excessive amounts of insurance — has a plan. And if you don’t believe that, read this.
And you can also bet the feds won't let Robert Williamson slip away this time.
MAY 23 Here's a story in the Picayune about some statistics that must come as a blow to folks who believe that any private school can do a better job of educating kids than any public school: Danielle Dreilinger reports that only 30 percent of the voucher kids are passing. That's less than half of the state wide average, she says. It's an interesting statistic because most of the schools (if not all) taking voucher kids have never had their students' standardized test scores released to the public before.
MAY 23 Stephen Sabludowsky blogs on Bayou Buzz about auditor requests here. Recently the state GOP started crowing about a request from the Legislative Auditor, claiming they were being targeted because of their anti-tax stance. (Uh, your what?) Denial and hyperbole aside, the state Democratic party blew holes in that theory with an email announcing they'd received the same request, Sabludowsky writes here.
MAY 23 Jim Brown blogs about the senate race in this post. He says that, given Bobby Jindal's "lack of traction" on the national stage, it might make more sense for the governor to consider running against Mary Landrieu for the senate seat. Since Tim Teeple left the Cassidy team, it makes sense he might land on a Jindal for Senate team, Brown opines.
MAY 23 In this Louisiana Voice post, blogger Tom Aswell writes of rumors that his nemesis, state Superintendent of Education John White, may be soon departing Louisiana for a federal post. It's hard to believe, given his performance, Aswell says, but stranger things have happened. An anti-White BESE member says that, if true, White is quitting before he can be fired.
MAY 23 In this post on American Zombie, blogger Jason Berry writes about the Mother's Day shooting. Mayor Landrieu said that "this is not who we are," but the fact is, this is New Orleans, Berry writes. The violence infused in the city is the result of a culture created by "sins of omission or sins of commission," Berry writes. It's not a problem that can be solved by legislating, policing, praying or publicizing, he says: Someone's got to understand what's happening first.
MAY 23 This post in the Westside Journal tells us what Port Allen Mayor Deedy has been up to lately: vetoing ordinances, apparently. This story is most interesting, however, when it delves into a petition that has been circulating around the city lately. It accuses the former mayor of a lot of nasty things; the former mayor says it is full of lies and "broken syntax" which may be a larger offense in his eyes.
MAY 23 This editorial posted in The Advocate is a bit confusing. The writing is poor - definitely not up to the usual editorial writing standard there - and the point is hard to grasp. Apparently, the writer is saying that privatization of state efforts is OK, as long as there is oversight and transparency, but Jindal's not good at that, and the legislature shouldn't over-react. Okey Dokey. Can't they get one of them Pulitzer-winning people to write an editorial?
MAY 23 This post on The Lens gives you links to a new Google Earth tool that allows you to see any spot on earth transform over the past 30 years. Bob Marshall, who covers the coast for the paper, says that in the case of Louisiana's coastline, it's possibly something you don't want to see, because it's not a pretty picture. There are several clips here, showing critical areas erode away. For Marshall, it was vindication for all those times he was met with eye-rolling when he talked about erosion.
Most Read
in case you missed it
Subscribe to this comment's feed