A co-defendant of Edwin Edwards—the former governor convicted of extorting payoffs for casino licenses—has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Edwards in an insurance fraud case.
David Disiere, a Dallas businessman and owner of a now-defunct Louisiana insurance company, pleaded guilty last month to failing to report a felony. Under the plea bargain, Disiere will get no prison time, but will receive a maximum sentence of three years unsupervised release and a fine of $100,000. He could have faced a 200-year sentence if convicted of the original charges, including conspiracy, insurance fraud and witness tampering.
Disiere also agreed to cooperate in the government’s case against Edwards, Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Brown, former U.S. Attorney Joe Cage and Disiere’s former attorney Ron Weems. Also indicted in the case were Louisiana Judge A. Foster “Foxy” Brown and Robert Bourgeois, former head of the Louisiana Receivership Office, both of whom pleaded guilty to conspiracy late last year.
The trial, set for Sept. 18, will focus on allegations that Brown and the others made a liquidation deal for Disiere’s insolvent Cascade Insurance Co. that required Disiere to divvy up a mere $2.5 million. Prosecutors say the state should have been paid much more. Edwards is accused of conspiring the deal by offering favors to the judge who oversaw the liquidation if he agreed to treat Disiere favorably.
A court-imposed gag order has been placed on Edwards and Brown, limiting their public comments. However, according to the Associated Press, Brown issued a brief statement saying the indictment “makes it clear that I had no authority to settle this case. I therefore hope the prosecutors will do the right thing and dismiss all charges against me.” He has since said that Disiere’s plea does not affect him.
Meanwhile, Edwards was convicted in a separate case May 9 of fixing casino licenses. No sentencing date has been set, but he could get up to 250 years in prison. Edwards also faces charges in a third case alleging he and his son planned to wiretap an FBI agent’s telephone. No trial date has been set in that case.
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