Former governor’s appeal set

Monday, June 3, 2002 | 11:13 a.m.

NEW ORLEANS -- More than two years after he was convicted of extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars from people who wanted riverboat gambling licenses in Louisiana, former Gov. Edwin Edwards went before a federal appeals court today, looking for a new trial.

Key to his argument, in a case prepared for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, will be the trial judge's decision to remove one juror from the 12-member panel that decided the guilt of Edwards, his son Stephen and three others.

Convicted May 9, 2000, Edwards was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was four days away from beginning the sentence last year when the appeals court took the unusual step of allowing him to remain free during appeal.

Edwards, 74, served four terms as Louisiana governor between 1972 and 1996. He built a reputation as a charming and deft politician with a quick wit.

Prosecutors said the flamboyant Edwards and his co-defendants sought, and in some cases got, hundreds of thousands of dollars from applicants for a limited number of licenses to run riverboat casinos in Louisiana. The scheme began during his final term and continued after he left office.

Edwards claims it was a case built on perjured testimony from star witnesses who supported prosecutors' misinterpretation of wiretapped phone calls and bugs in Edwards' Baton Rouge office.