Posted on 07/17/2002 1:00:25 PM PDT by grimalkin
N E W O R L E A N S, July 17 — A Louisiana judge who is the subject of a federal investigation into possible judicial corruption in suburban New Orleans was indicted Wednesday on federal drug charges.
A grand jury indicted District Judge Ronald Bodenheimer and an alleged accomplice on one count of conspiracy to possess and distribute oxycodone and three other charges. Oxycontin is a version of the narcotic.
The judge is accused of plotting to plant drugs on a man who had complained about permits and zoning problems with a marina Bodenheimer owns in New Orleans. The man, whose identity was not disclosed by authorities, was an FBI informant.
Prosecutors would not comment on the case, though U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said the indictment "is just one part of a larger, ongoing investigation being conducted in this district."
The investigation first came to light June 5 when Bodenheimer was arrested and accused of planting illegal drugs in the informant's car.
It was later discovered that FBI agents had put audio and video bugs in the chambers of Bodenheimer and another state judge in Jefferson Parish, Alan Green. The two were the targets of court-ordered surveillance for as many as eight months, according to a letter sent to people whose conversations were intercepted.
Green has not been accused of wrongdoing and has declined comment.
The surveillance included taps on 10 telephones belonging to bail bond companies owned by Louis Marcotte III and his family, according to the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Times-Picayune of New Orleans and verified by an attorney for Bodenheimer in an interview with The Associated Press.
Prosecutors have refused to say why the bail bond companies are under investigation. Marcotte's attorney, Arthur "Buddy" Lemann, said the government has not discussed any alleged wrongdoing with Marcotte.
The judge and an alleged accomplice, Curley Chewning, each were charged with conspiring to possess and distribute oxycodone and three counts of using a cellular phone to carry out the crime. They each face more than 20 years in prison more than $1 million in fines if convicted.
Bodenheimer's attorney, Davidson Ehle III, has said Bodenheimer is innocent.
nyuk,nyuk,nyuk! that curley, always gettin in a jam!
He got nailed.
JUDGE CASE TAKES TURN WITH PLEA
Co-Defendant Will Help Bodenheimer Prosecution
Just hours after Ronald Bodenheimer became the first 24th District judge in 20 years to be indicted while in office, his co-defendant turned on him and pleaded guilty, promising to help the government in its investigation.
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