Former gambling regulator returns to witness stand in Edwards case

Natalie Gott

Sunday, Feb. 13, 2000 | 10:13 a.m.

BATON ROUGE, La. - Defense attorneys in Edwin Edwards' federal racketeering case will get their chance to question a former gambling regulator when court resumes Monday, after a three-day weekend.

U.S. District Judge Frank Polozola had reserved Friday as a day off for the jurors.

Prosecutors on Thursday finished questioning Ken Pickering, chairman of the now-defunct Riverboat Gaming Commission. He discussed a highly anticipated June 18, 1993, commission meeting in which commissioners awarded certificates of preliminary approval to seven riverboat casino applicants.

Receiving a certificate was an important step toward getting a riverboat casino license because state police, who awarded the final license, generally reviewed only the applications which had certificates.

After reviewing most of the 35 applications for the seven certificates, Pickering said he had chosen a list of seven boats to receive preliminary approval. Before the meeting, Pickering discussed his list with several other commissioners and Edwards, who had said the list "looks good," Pickering testified.

But minutes before the vote was to take place, commissioners Sam Gilliam and Floyd Landry called him into a hallway and told him they planned to introduce their own list of boats to get the certificates, Pickering said.

"They said that list had been approved by the governor," Pickering testified. "They said, 'Well, these are the boats that are going to be approved."'

Pickering said he stormed to the Governor's Mansion, where he found Edwards in his office.

When Pickering began to tell Edwards who had been awarded licenses, Edwards said he already knew, Pickering testified.

Edwards' only concern seemed to be that all seven of the certificates had been awarded when he believed that only six would be given out, Pickering said.

The last certificate, Edwards thought aloud, was to be saved for a land-based casino applicant, Pickering said.