New Orleans

New Orleans U.S. Attorneys Falls in Online Scandal
By NOLA.com The Times-Picayune NEW ORLEANS — Abruptly ending an 11-year run highlighted by the convictions of more than a dozen crooked politicians, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten resigned Thursday morning amid a metastasizing scandal in his office that started with prosecutors posting anonymous screeds on NOLA.com. Letten was the nation’s longest-serving U.S. attorney, having been…

Prolific Retired-ATF Official Bernie La Forest Cranks Out His Third Novel
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Ex-ATF official Bernie La Forest is at it again. The prolific La Forest has just knocked out his third mystery novel, “A Matter of Lex Talionis,” the story of a Lt. Andre de Avilés, who heads the Detroit Police Department’s Intel Squad. Described as a forty-somethin’, ‘balls-to-the-wall” detective known for…

Prolific Retired-ATF Official Bernie La Forest Cranks Out His Third Novel
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Ex-ATF official Bernie La Forest is at it again. The prolific La Forest has just knocked out his third mystery novel, “A Matter of Lex Talionis,” the story of a Lt. Andre de Avilés, who heads the Detroit Police Department’s Intel Squad. Described as a forty-somethin’, ‘balls-to-the-wall” detective known for fighting…

Authorities: No Evidence Saints Eavesdropped on Opposing Teams
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A joint investigation between the FBI and state police found no evidence that the New Orleans Saints or General Manager Mickey Loomis intercepted opposing teams’ radio communications, authorities announced Monday, the Associated Press reports. “We found no corroborating evidence that Mickey Loomis or anybody in the Saints was engaged in wiretapping or…

Ex-Rep. William Jefferson of Money-in-the-Freezer Fame Wants Supreme Court To Hear His Case
By Bruce Alpert New Orleans Times-Picayune WASHINGTON — in what is likely the last chance to overturn his 13-year prison sentence for public corruption, former Rep. William Jefferson is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to schedule arguments on whether the trial judge gave an overly expansive definition of a congressman’s duties. The question is central,…

New Orleans Police Reach Far-Reaching Deal with Justice Department
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The New Orleans Police Department reached a landmark deal with the U.S. Department of Justice to overhaul the city’s scandal-plagued police force, the New York Times reports. The aim of the 122-page consent decree is to improve safety in the city and end corruption and abuse. “Effective policing and constitutional policing go…

Head of New Orleans FBI Dave Welker is Retiring
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Dave Welker knew there was plenty cajun food and beer in New Orleans and plenty corruption. Now after dealing with that corruption the pastfour years as head of the FBI in New Orleans, he’s retiring. “I found (New Orleans) by far has been my best assignment, by far,” said Welker, according…