Edwards trial testimony put off after juror becomes ill

Natalie Gott

Wednesday, March 22, 2000 | 10:01 a.m.

BATON ROUGE, La. - An FBI agent in Edwin Edwards' federal racketeering trial said State Sen. Greg Tarver knew exactly what Edwards wanted when the former governor asked for Tarver's help in getting a confidential state report about riverboat casino license applicants.

If Tarver did not know, he would have said "I don't have a clue what you're talking about," said FBI agent Geoffrey Santini, who will testify for his fifth day in a row if court resumes today.

Testimony was suspended about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday when a juror, an East Baton Rouge Parish teacher, nearly ran out of the courtroom because she felt ill. U.S. District Judge Frank Polozola canceled today's testimony.

Already, three jurors have been have been removed from the case, leaving fifteen jurors total. Twelve will deliberate and three are alternates.

Edwards, his son, Stephen; Tarver and four others have been on trial since Jan. 10, accused in a series of schemes to manipulate the way the state awards riverboat casino licenses.

In this part of the case, prosecutors are trying to prove that in 1997, Edwards extorted $400,000 from former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr., who eventually received a riverboat casino license. DeBartolo gave the license back after he testified before the federal grand jury looking into Edwards and his business dealings.

Tarver's attorney, Mary Olive Pierson, kept Santini on the witness stand all day Tuesday, questioning him about the Shreveport senator's contacts with Edwards.

Testimony revolved mainly around a taped conversation played last week in which Edwards is heard asking Tarver for a copy of the state police document.

"If I were to get a copy of it, it would certainly solidify my position with some people," Edwards said on the tape.

Tarver said: "I understand."

When DeBartolo called Edwards just moments earlier and asked him to get a hold of the report, Edwards told him he already was working on it, according to another taped conversation.

Santini said he believed Edwards did not know an executive summary existed, but wanted DeBartolo to believe he had inside information about the gaming board.

"He seized the moment," Satini said.

Prosecutors alleged that Tarver received the document from state gaming board member Ecotry Fuller. Tarver allegedly gave it to Edwards, who passed it on to DeBartolo, prosecutors said.

Santini admitted that, since Tarver was not on the commission, it would not violate gaming commission rules if he passed the document on to Edwards.

It would have been a violation if Fuller gave the report to Tarver, but the maximum penalty would be Fuller's expulsion from the board, Santini said.

However, Santini said, federal prosecutors believe that passing the report constitutes mail fraud, which Edwards, Fuller and Tarver are charged with.

Later Pierson pressed Santini for details about the day Edwards reportedly received the executive document and mailed it to DeBartolo.

"You don't have a clue who delivered anything that day that was put in this Federal Express package do you?" Pierson asked.

Santini said the camera outside Edwards' law office was very small and showed only a portion of the building and that there was no video tape surveillance on the homes of both Edwin and Stephen Edwards.

Before court adjourned Tuesday, Polozola issued a strong reminder to the jurors not to talk about the case in public. Polozola noted that many people are interested in talking about the case, especially now, since the prosecution is about to wrap up its case.

"If any of you feel like someone's pressuring you, your recourse is me," Polozola told the jurors.