Federal prosecutors lay out final scheme in Edwards trial

Natalie Gott

Monday, March 13, 2000 | 5:39 a.m.

BATON ROUGE, La. - Former Gov. Edwin Edwards turned his friendship with Eddie DeBartolo Jr. into a stream of demands for money when the former San Francisco 49ers owner DeBartolo applied for the state's last riverboat casino license, a federal prosecutor said Monday.

In laying out the final stage of Edwards' 10-week-old federal racketeering trial, prosecutor Mike Magner said Edwards wielded considerable power in Louisiana politics in late 1996, after Edwards had left his fourth and final term in office and when DeBartolo was seeking a license.

Edwards, his son, Stephen, state Sen. Greg Tarver and four others are charged with carrying out a series of schemes to manipulate the riverboat casino licensing process for a profit.

Up until this point, all of the allegations in the trial have focused on Edwards' activity before and during Edwards' last term in office from 1992 to 1996. This alleged scheme started in late 1996 through 1997.

"Edwards out of office, but not out of power by any means," Magner told jurors.

DeBartolo, the government's star witness in this aspect of the case, pleaded guilty in October 1998 and admitted that he gave Edwards $400,000 in payoff money for help in getting a riverboat casino license. Magner said DeBartolo paid Edwards the money because he feared economic harm.

"Fear of economic loss by itself is what we call doing business," Edwards' attorney, Dan Small, answered during his mini-opening statement.

Small denied any wrongdoing on Edwards' part and said the money was for legitimate consulting work. The $400,000 was merely small change to DeBartolo, who is worth $675 million, Small added.

Federal prosecutors said DeBartolo could testify as early as this week.

In his mini-opening statement, Magner described to jurors the long friendship Edwards had with the DeBartolo family.

Edwards originally was a friend of DeBartolo's father, the late Eddie DeBartolo Sr., who had met Edwards in the early 1970s when he opened Louisiana Downs in Bossier City and a shopping mall in New Orleans. Edwards later befriended the younger DeBartolo, who was intent on opening a riverboat casino in Louisiana in 1996.

Edwards offered friendly help at first and asked that Stephen Edwards be put on the project as a consultant, Magner said. Stephen Edwards sought a $50,000 a month consulting contract, but DeBartolo never agreed to it.

Edwin Edwards, however, changed his tone with DeBartolo after allegedly supplying him with confidential information from state police in late February, Magner said.

"DeBartolo quickly learned that this inside information had a price," Magner said.

About a week later, Edwards met DeBartolo in a Baton Rouge hotel, where Edwards showed a piece of paper upon which he had written $400,000, and told him he would need the money before the gambling board voted on March 13 to award the 15th riverboat license, Magner said.

Edwards flew to California on March 12, where he picked up the $400,000, hidden in a briefcase, Magner said.

The next day, the gaming board approved the Hollywood/DeBartolo's riverboat, Magner said. Riverboat Gaming Control Board member Ectory Fuller, who is a co-defendant in the case, made the motion to approve the riverboat.

FBI agents raided Edwards' safety deposit box April 28, 1997, and seized $383,000. Edwards said the money was from gambling winnings and timber and cattle sales.

"It was a rare and complete blunder for Edwards to say that," Magner said.

Seven months later, Edwards admitted the money was from DeBartolo, but claimed it was for legitimate consulting and lobbing fees, Magner said.

Testimony and videotaped evidence in this portion of the trial also will focus on state Sen. Cleo Fields, who is seen on tape getting $25,000 from Edwards, Magner said. Fields was a U.S. Congressman at the time.

Edwards told Fields to "make sure that everybody involved is careful about how that's passed out or whatever because, as you know, that other guy is under very serious, serious, serious investigation," according to the indictment.

The other person was Tarver, Magner said.

Fuller allegedly supplied Tarver with a copy of the confidential state police report. Tarver then gave it to Edwards, Magner said.

Magner noted that Fuller's copy of the report, which he was ordered to turn over to the federal grand jury investigating this case, had on it fingerprints of both Fuller and Tarver.

"There is no way to determine when the fingerprints got on the document," said Tarver's attorney, Mary Olive Pierson, who noted that Tarver was not aware of any alleged arrangement between Edwards and DeBartolo.

Fuller's attorney, Craig Smith, said there was a logical and reasonable explanation for the fingerprints that would come out during testimony.

Pierson noted that it was more likely that documents DeBartolo received came from Ralph Perlman, another member of the Riverboat Gaming Control Board.

Pierson noted that Perlman also discussed the gaming board's vote before the board actually voted. Perlman has not attended a gambling board meeting since 1998 at Gov. Mike Foster's request because of the Edwards' investigation.