Prosecutors say they “unmasked a terribly corrupt” Edwin Edwards

Natalie Gott

Tuesday, April 18, 2000 | 5:23 a.m.

BATON ROUGE, La. - Declaring that they have "unmasked a terribly corrupt governor," federal prosecutors presented their closing arguments Tuesday in the federal racketeering trial of Louisiana's Edwin Edwards.

They cast the four-term former governor as the greedy behind-the-scenes manipulator of an equally greedy criminal enterprise managed by his son Stephen. The object, they said, was to extort millions of dollars from applicants for Louisiana riverboat casino licenses during and after Edwards' final term, which ended in January 1996.

"He was a liar, a thief and a phony," declared First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.

Edwards faces a prison sentence of up to 350 years if convicted on all of the 27 counts in his indictment. At age 72, conviction on even a few counts could land him in prison for the rest of his life.

Nevertheless, during closing arguments, he demonstrated the cool demeanor he has characteristically displayed during four decades in public life. He rocked in his chair, rested his face in his hands, chuckled occasionally at a prosecutor's remark.

Jurors, meanwhile, trained their eyes on prosecutors and the large poster boards emblazoned with quotes transcribed from secretly recorded tapes of the defendants.

Prosecutors built their case on plea bargains with men who admitted paying millions in extortion money to Edwards and his cronies and on the tapes, some of which were replayed intermittently Tuesday to drive home prosecutors' points.

Jurors again heard Edwards in an unguarded setting worrying aloud about one casino owner conspicuously withdrawing large sums of cash each month.

They heard Edwards discuss renting a tugboat to the casino owner at an inflated price in order to get their money.

Edwards, the only defendant to take the witness stand, said last week the money they sought was for legitimate legal work and consulting services.

"What they are talking about is laundering money," Harper told the jury.

Later, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Magner likened Edwards to a kid who got caught with his hands in the cookie jar.

At first, Magner said, the kid tries to deny taking the cookies, and then admits that he was "consulting about taking the cookies from the cookie jar, but it never happened."

Trial began with jury selection on Jan. 10. In addition to Edwin and Stephen Edwards, defendants include three longtime Edwards friends, Bobby Johnson, Cecil Brown and Andrew Martin; and two public officials, state Sen. Greg Tarver and state gambling board member Ecotry Fuller.

"Edwin Edwards has defrauded for a long time," Magner said. "The body count from these facts alone is extraordinary."

Letten said Edwards began planning the manipulation of riverboat licensing in 1991, when he was out of office but planning a run for an unprecedented fourth term.

Letten told a rapt jury that Edwards stayed in the background, pulling strings. Stephen Edwards managed most of the efforts, particularly the extortion of officials from Players casino in Lake Charles. Martin, Brown and Johnson were "bag men" who made the demands for money and collected it, relaying a share to Edwin and Stephen Edwards.

Tarver was cast as a go-between relaying instructions to Fuller on the gambling board.

Jurors are expected to begin deliberations as early as Monday. Tuesday was devoted to the prosecution's six hour closing argument. Defense lawyers will be given all day Wednesday and Thursday morning for an eight-hour closing presentation.

Tuesday's statements began with Letten's overview of the whole case, followed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Harper, who led off a series of presentations on each of five alleged schemes to extort would-be casino operators.

He recounted some of the trial's first and most damaging testimony, from former Treasure Chest casino Robert Guidry, who said he refused to deal exclusively with Edwards' "bag men."

"Bobby Guidry is not a complete fool," Harper added. "He insisted on meeting with Edwards."

Harper then recalled Guidry's claim that he sealed the extortion deal during a private meeting at a hotel conference room with Edwin Edwards. The alleged deal involved Guidry's getting a license while Edwards was in office, and paying for it in monthly installments totaling about $1.5 million after the fourth term ended in January 1996.

"The defense would tell you Bobby Guidry doesn't have the money to pay," Harper said. "This man cashes checks for sixty, sixty-five thousand dollars like I go to the ATM and get $20 on my way to Wal-Mart."

Martin also demanded a 2 percent interest in Guidry's casino after allegedly helping Guidry solve a problem with state fire marshals.

"The greed never stopped," Harper said. But, he added, Guidry had no intention of paying Martin and never gave him the contract.

During his turn before the jury, Magner said Edwards, born and raised amid poverty in rural Avoyelles Parish, never overcame a thirst for material things, and had jurors put themselves in his place.

"You grew up with an insatiable greed for material things. The more things you acquire, the more things you want."

Edwards' quick wit served him well in acquiring wealth and power, Magner added. "You've got a silver tongue that can talk you out of anything."

"Think about the smartest kid ever to come from Avoyelles Parish with his hand in the cookie jar up to his elbow with a smile on his face," he said.