Report shows Louisiana governor sold gambling stock

Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2000 | 8:54 a.m.

The holdings caused a stir during the 1999 governor's race when a special disclosure form required of candidates for governor showed Foster owned stock in Park Place Entertainment, a company spun off from Hilton Hotels Corp., which operates gambling casinos - some operating in Louisiana and subject to state regulation.

At the time, Foster said he inherited the Hilton stock and got rid of it when he realized that it made him part owner of a gambling concern. The records made public Tuesday showed Foster sold the stock on Sept. 20, five days after he was advised of the matter.

The transaction was worth between $50,000 and $100,000, the report showed. The report does not require specific figures.

The report, filed with the state Board of Ethics, showed that Foster's business interests prospered in 1999 despite the fact that he spent most of his time being governor and running for a second term.

Foster and his wife, Alice, made between $1.4 million and nearly $2 million from positions with various businesses and investments, the report shows.

The governor is listed as president of Plantation Manor Ltd. of Franklin, from which he made $200,000 or more. He is listed as a partner in M&P Properties of Franklin ($100,000 to $200,000); Roberts & Foster of Shreveport ($200,000 or more), and The Maryland Co. of Franklin ($200,000 or more).

The report showed the Fosters drew between $680,000 and $1.1 million from a variety of investments, the largest - between $100,000 and $200,000 - in royalties from Burlington Resources Inc. of Fort Worth, Texas.

The report also showed Foster's $95,000 salary as governor, but that goes into a foundation called the Governor's Funding Inc. to provide grants to educators who establish character-building programs in schools.

Foster realized an undetermined amount from the Exxon-Mobil merger, the report indicated. The report shows it as a stock transfer worth more than $200,000.

Under liabilities, the report showed the Fosters owe Judith E. Newell of Orlando, Fla., between $100,000 and $200,000 and another $25,000 to $50,000 to Wallace Carline of Morgan City.

The report can be viewed on the Board of Ethics Web site, www.ethics.state.la.us.