Free Republic

Buddy Roemer, who rode a message of reform in the 1987 governor’s race to vault over three challengers and “slay the dragon” — scandal-torn three-time Gov. Edwin Edwards — but who lost reelection four years later to the same rival, died Monday in Baton Rouge. Roemer was 77. He had been ill for months. Roemer was a Democrat-turned-Republican, but he seemed too independent and headstrong to fit well in either party. He never followed the precept that to get ahead in politics, you had to get along with other politicians. With his sharp mind, he understood all the angles of...

The first independent polling in the race for Louisiana's 6th Congressional District shows Republican Garret Graves has a hefty, if not unexpected, lead over Democrat and former Governor Edwin Edwards. The poll was conducted and funded by John Couvillon of JMC Analytics and Polling, who previously worked with the Paul Dietzel II campaign during the primary but is not aligned with either Graves or Edwards. It shows that, including people who are undecided, 61 percent of people are leaning toward voting for Graves, compared to 35 percent for Edwards. If the Dec. 6 election were held today, 59 percent of...

Voters in Louisiana’s 6th District have two choices to represent them in Washington, D.C.: a political newcomer, who served in Gov. Bobby Jindal’s cabinet, or a well-known former governor, who also happens to be a convicted felon. By nearly all measures, Republican Garret Graves, who served as Jindal’s coastal secretary for six years, has the upper hand heading into a Dec. 6 runoff against former Gov. Edwin Edwards, a Democrat. Edwards, a colorful character from a different political era, once famously quipped to reporters that the only way he’d lose an election bid was “if I’m caught in bed with...

Appears the Crook for Congress (Edwin Edwards) is in a runoff with a Republican. The Crook was able to get 30% of the vote to the 27% of the second place finisher who will be in a runoff with Edwards... Appears Landrieu and Edwards will be on the ballot in the December 6th Runoff. This is in the crowded 5th Congressional District of Louisiana, which had nine candidates.

I made the following flyer which has information accurate about the former Governor and convicted FELON Edwin Edwards run for Congress. Apparently, you can be a convicted felon and run for a Congressional seat! Edwin Edwards stated one of his reasons for running for Congress is that he is prevented by law from running for a Louisiana State Office. Edwin Edwards is running as a Democrat, and apparently the Democratic does not have any problem with his running for Congress... Image of my flyer:

Irrepressible and a new father at age 86, having served time for extortion, former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards is seeking a comeback by running for an open seat in Congress. Edwards has not lost a step. “I did not vote for Obama: Where I was there were no voting machines,” said the conservative Democrat, who was in federal prison at the time. Edwards was accompanied by his 35-year-old third wife, Tina, and infant child. “There’s a guy in Florida 101 years old running, and by the time I am his age I’ll be in my seventh term,” said Edwards, who...

(CNN) - Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards said Monday he's running for the state's 6th Congressional district. Edwards, who was released from federal prison three years ago after serving nearly a decade on charges of racketeering, conspiracy and extortion, made the announcement at a Press Club meeting in Baton Rouge. "I acknowledge that there are good reasons why I should not run. I know that, but there are better reasons why I should and good reasons have to give way to better reasons and therefore, I will be a candidate for congress in the sixth congressional district this year," Edwards...

What is an 86-year-old, former four-term governor who served eight years in federal prison on corruption charges and then had his own reality show to do with his spare time? Louisiana’s Edwin Edwards may be running for Congress. The Democrat reportedly told Bloomberg’s Al Hunt that he is in the process of putting together a run for the Baton Rouge-area seat being vacated by Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy, who is challenging Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu this year. So far, no serious Democrats have announced plans for the seat in the heavily Republican district. …

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards, a longtime Democrat, says he tells state Democratic leaders that the party needs to move to the center and persuade people that it doesn't advocate socialized government. Though the Democratic Party has faced a string of losses in Louisiana and hasn't attracted well-known candidates for any statewide elections this fall, Edwards says he believes the party will attract people again. He compared politics in Louisiana and the nation to the swing of a pendulum, saying no one party stays victorious forever.

WASHINGTON -- Former Gov. Edwin Edwards and former Insurance Commissioner Jim Brown are among the more than 2,000 people convicted of federal crimes awaiting word on whether President Bush will give them a pardon or commute their sentences during his final months in office. Edwards, who turns 81 on Aug. 7, will be eligible for release from the Federal Detention Center in Oakdale on July 6, 2011. He's serving a 10-year sentence for corrupting the state's riverboat casino licensing process. "I'm hopeful," said former Gov. David Treen, who joined former U.S. Sen. J. Bennett Johnston in filing the request on...

Short film: Join recent college grad Rachael as she goes on a job interview in New Orleans that might actually kill her. Will she conspire to extort a federal official? Please watch the video and comment. "JOB INTERVIEWER Make a list. Name all the types of news stories someone might manufacture to push a client's scandal off the front page. RACHAEL My job interviewer had introduced himself on the phone as Frank McCoy, a partner at one of the world’s top public relations firms. What type of client? I asked. JOB INTERVIEWER That's not important. Make one up in your...

After being delayed by Hurricane Katrina, arguments in former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards' latest appeal of his 2000 racketeering and fraud conviction are set for Tuesday in Houston. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hearing had been set for September at the court's New Orleans headquarters. But Katrina hit the city on Aug. 29. Federal prosecutors had to evacuate the city and did not have access to their files. Meanwhile, the 5th Circuit had to transfer operations to Texas. Edwards, 78, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for extorting money from applicants for riverboat casino licenses in...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - After being delayed by Hurricane Katrina, arguments in former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards' latest appeal of his 2000 racketeering and fraud conviction are set for Tuesday in Houston. The Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals hearing had been set for September at the court's New Orleans headquarters. But Katrina hit the city on August 29th. Federal prosecutors had to evacuate the city and did not have access to their files. Meanwhile, the appeals court had to transfer operations to Texas. Edwards was sentenced to ten years in federal prison for extorting money from applicants for riverboat...

NEW YORK Apr 14, 2005 — Four more people were charged Thursday in the scandal in the U.N. oil-for-food program, including a Texas oil executive and a South Korean businessman who was at the center of a 1970s corruption case involving Congress. ~snip~U.S. Attorney David Kelley called the new charges "two more pieces in the oil-for-food puzzle" and said the investigation is not over. ~snip~One of the indictments announced Thursday charges a Texas oil company owner and two oil traders with paying millions in secret kickbacks to Saddam's regime to secure oil deals, thus cheating the program out of money...

Tollway contract linked to convicted felon By Chuck Goudie February 15, 2005 — The I-Team uncovered a food contract between the Illinois Tollway and a company that has ties to a mega millionaire. Eddie Debartolo Jr. is also a convicted felon. Debartolo was once caught bribing Louisiana's governor with a briefcase full of cash. A company launched by Debartolo is opening pizzerias inside every renovated tollway oasis in Illinois. Tollway officials defend the deal. Eddie Debartolo Jr. is one of the country's 300 richest men. The Notre Dame graduate's net worth is estimated at more than $900-million, made mostly through...

Breaux leaves bipartisan legacy Analysts assess senator's career By GERARD SHIELDS gshields@theadvocate.com Advocate Washington bureau WASHINGTON -- When U.S. Sen. John Breaux, D-La., was first elected to the Senate in 1986, he was invited to a retirement dinner for outgoing senators. "I remember saying 'Boy, these guys are old,'" Breaux, 60, recalls. "Now they're having a retirement dinner for me." After 32 years in Congress and four years initially working as a congressional aide, Breaux's days in office are winding down as political analysts begin to assess what will be his historical stamp on the institution. Breaux is most remembered...

The Washington Timeswww.washingtontimes.com Louisiana ex-governor appealing convictionBy Hugh AynesworthTHE WASHINGTON TIMESPublished July 6, 2004 FORT WORTH, Texas -- Edwin Edwards, serving a 10-year sentence for racketeering, extortion and fraud in a federal penitentiary here, still makes news back in Louisiana.     And if attorneys for the man often called "Fast Eddie" prevail in an unusual appeal now pending, he could be back in the Bayou State long before that time is served.     The 76-year-old who charmed his way into the Louisiana governor's mansion four times before being convicted for racketeering, money laundering and conspiracy spends his time quietly in federal prison...

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/update/html/1087362486.shtml

Board suggests Edwards be permanently disbarred Posted on February 13, 2004 NEW ORLEANS - The son of former Louisiana Gov. Edwin W. Edwards should be banned permanently from practicing law for his conviction, along with his father, of extorting applicants for riverboat casino licenses, the state Supreme Court has been told. The recommendation by the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board against Stephen Edwards comes 10 months after the ex-governor permanently resigned from practicing law. Edwin Edwards is serving a 10-year federal prison sentence, while his son is serving seven years. Permanent disbarment means a lawyer can not apply for readmission to...

<p>BATON ROUGE - Spouses can become an issue in politics.</p> <p>Just look at Hillary Rodham Clinton.</p> <p>"Rarely does a spouse make a difference," said LSU political scientist Wayne Parent. "But if an issue is made of the spouse, it can."</p>