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The sentencing of former Councilman Oliver Thomas ended moments ago, amid a scene like noneother in the recent spate of indictments and guilty pleas in New Orleans. A mix of Thomas' relatives and friends, reporters, courthouse personnel and others packed the courtroom and spilled out into the hallway to hear U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance sentence Thomas to 37 months in jail. "The defendant has not been truthful or fully cooperative," Vance said in sentencing the former city councilman, who pleaded guilty to a single count of bribery and has refused to provide prosecutors with possible information he might have...

New Orleans (AP) -- The vice president of the City Council, once thought to be a likely candidate for mayor in 2010, pleaded guilty Monday to a federal bribery charge. Oliver Thomas entered the plea before U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance, and prosecutors were to discuss details of the case later Monday. Bond for Thomas was set at $25,000.

Sources have told Eyewitness News that Thomas will be arraigned Monday morning in Federal Court at 9 a.m. And at 10 a.m. Thomas could make an official plea before federal judge Sarah Vance. U.S. Attorney Jim Letten would neither confirm nor deny the allegations about Thomas. The U.S. Attorney's office has been investigating alleged corruption inside City Hall for the last several years. Eyewitness News spoke with Councilman Thomas Friday night by telephone and asked him if he was resigning his council post because of the allegations. “I’ll let you know, you’ll be the first to know,” he said. Attempts...

The Talk Shows Sunday, August 27th, 2006 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Donald Powell, federal coordinator for Gulf Coast rebuilding and New Orleans City Council President Oliver Thomas; Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del.; Steve Case, chairman and CEO of Revolution. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and FEMA Director David Paulison. FACE THE NATION (CBS): Gov. Haley Barbour, R-Miss., and FEMA Director David Paulison. THIS WEEK (ABC): Former Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Mike Brown; Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Donald Powell, federal coordinator for Gulf Coast rebuilding;...

NEW ORLEANS, September 1, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The popular adage, "there are no atheists in the trenches" sums up the truth that in times of disaster it is natural for people to turn to God, for help and also for an explanation. The devastation wrought by hurricane Katrina has brought that reality home to the United States, particularly in the affected regions. . . . New Orleans City Council President Oliver Thomas after witnessing the horrors first hand and hearing talk of Sodom and Gomorrah commented, "Maybe God's going to cleanse us." The theme of cleansing or purification has become...