United States Attorney Donald J. Cazayoux, Jr., announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging DEREK A. LEWIS, age 49, of Port Allen, Louisiana, and FREDERICK W. SMITH, age 39, of Port Allen, Louisiana, with 22)counts of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, mail fraud, wire fraud, use of an interstate facility in aid of racketeering, and forfeiture. If convicted, LEWIS, who is the mayor of the city of Port Allen, faces up to 190 years’ imprisonment and a $3,500,000 fine. If convicted, SMITH, who is the chief of police for the city of Port Allen, faces up to 130 years’ imprisonment and a $2,750,000 fine.

The indictment alleges that the defendants obtained cash and other things of value worth approximately $20,000 from businesspeople in exchange for using their official positions with the city of Port Allen for the benefit of the businesspeople in connection with transactions represented to be worth over $5,000,000. The indictment alleges the following areas of bribery:

• LEWIS took bribes to use his position as mayor to promote and to obtain money for a conceptual product known as the “Cifer 5000.”
• LEWIS and SMITH took bribes in exchange for SMITH using his position as chief of police to fraudulently provide confidential law enforcement information to businesspeople.
• SMITH took bribes in exchange for using his position as chief of police to write a letter to a Connecticut prosecutor seeking leniency for an individual he believed was facing drug charges.
• SMITH took bribes in exchange for corruptly dismissing traffic tickets.
• SMITH took bribes in exchange for using his position as chief of police to provide the businesspeople with official Port Allen Police Department badges.
• SMITH took a bribe in exchange for using his position as chief of police to agree to commission one of the businesspeople as an official police officer with the Port Allen Police Department.

U.S. Attorney Cazayoux stated: “Public corruption, particularly within law enforcement agencies, cannot and will not be tolerated. My office, together with the FBI and our other federal, state, and local partners, will continue to aggressively pursue such matters wherever the evidence and facts take us.”

FBI Special Agent-in-Charge David Welker stated: “Today’s indictment demonstrates the continued commitment of the FBI and its law enforcement partners to identify and root out public corruption wherever we find it in Louisiana.”

This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office with assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General. This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Corey R. Amundson who serves as the Senior Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division.

NOTE: An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that probable cause exists to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. The defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty at trial.

U.S. Marshal’s Task Force and EBRSO apprehended Rico Demoine Anthony, 19, this morning at 13906 Goodwood Blvd. based on an anonymous CrimeStoppers Tip.

Anthony is charged with Second Degree Murder for the July 29th shooting death of 41-year-old David Young that occurred on the 1900 block of Mariner. The Task Force apprehended Jordan Daigre, 20, of 8033 Starwood Court the day of the shooting for Principal to Second Degree Murder.

According to reports, Young was visiting relatives on Mariner when Daigre and Anthony entered the relatives’ apartment. Young and the two men engaged in a verbal altercation, and Young told them to leave. The three continued to argue outside the apartment when Anthony allegedly pulled out a gun and gave it to Daigre. Daigre allegedly pointed the weapon at Young, who then retrieved a gun from his pocket. Young and Daigre allegedly exchanged words, and Young placed his weapon back into his pocket, and entered his vehicle to leave. Anthony then allegedly took the gun from Daigre and shot Young through the passenger side of his vehicle.

Anthony will be booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.

East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s deputies arrested Sara Elizabeth Arceneaux, 24, of 8195 Jefferson Park Avenue after deputies found drugs in her vehicle during a routine traffic stop early this morning.

Arceneaux is charged with Improper Lane Usage, Possession with Intent to Distribute Schedule III Drugs, Possession with Intent to Distribute Schedule IV Drugs, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Possession of Marijuana.

According to reports, deputies stopped Arceneaux at approximately 12:36 a.m. after she repeatedly changing lanes without any signals. The deputy detected a strong odor of marijuana and discovered 150 Xanax pills, 150 Hydrocodone pills, 6.5 grams of Marijuana, one digital scale, various drug paraphernalia and more than $1,000 dollars in cash inside her vehicle.

Arceneaux also signed a waiver to allow deputies to search her residence where they discovered 28.2 grams of Marijuana and various drug paraphernalia.

Baton Rouge Police Detectives have obtained a warrant for the arrest of JARRETT EDWARDS, charging him with 2^nd Degree Murder in connection with the shooting death of MICHAEL BANKS, 55. Banks was found shot to death in the 2600 block of Laurel Street on August 21^st around 8:20pm. The preliminary investigation indicates the shooting may have been drug-related.

Edwards is a black male, 21, 5’11”, 180 lbs., with a last known address of 2615 Laurel. Anyone with any information on his whereabouts is urged to contact the Homicide Division at 389-4869 or Crime Stoppers at 344-7867.

The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office along with the Baton Rouge City Constable’s Office, Probation and Parole and the EBR District Attorney’s Office carried out a warrant initiative yesterday evening in the St. John and King Bradford area (bordered by South Harrell’s Ferry Road, O’Neal Lane and King Bradford) to create a safer environment for residents that resulted in approximately 15 arrests and the clearing of  36 outstanding warrants. Law Enforcement also towed one vehicle without proof of insurance.

This is one of many initiatives for the Sheriff’s Office, and is the eighteenth such event for the Warrants Division. Similar initiatives in other areascollectively resulted in hundreds of arrests and  cleared more than 1,000 outstanding warrants.

The agencies conducted criminal patrols, bike patrols, traffic safety checkpoints and foot patrols going door to door in the various area talking to residents in an effort to foster a safer environment in the neighborhood.  Divisions represented from the Sheriff’s Office were Community Policing Unit, K-9, Detectives, Narcotics, SCAT, Armed Robbery and Burglary, Auto Theft, Financial Crimes, Warrants, Civil and representatives from each substation.  Supervisors, including Sheriff Gautreaux, colonels, majors and captains from each division were present.

The Office of the United States Attorney announced today that, as part of an ongoing investigation known as Operation Blighted Officials, a federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment charging THOMAS A. NELSON, JR., age 40, of New Roads, Louisiana, with violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, wire fraud, using an interstate facility in aid of racketeering, making false statements to the FBI, and forfeiture. If convicted, NELSON, who is the mayor of the city of New Roads, Louisiana, faces up to 65 years’ imprisonment and a $1,750,000 fine.

The superseding indictment alleges that NELSON obtained thousands of dollars in cash and other things of value, such as tickets to sporting events, luxury hotel rooms, and meals from businesspeople in exchange for using his position as mayor for the benefit of the businesspeople in connection with transactions NELSON believed were worth millions of dollars. The superseding indictment further alleges that NELSON deprived the citizens of New Roads of his honest services as mayor and lied to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office with assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General. This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Corey R. Amundson who serves as the Senior Deputy Criminal Chief and Assistant United States Attorney M. Patricia Jones who serves as the Senior Litigation Counsel.

NOTE: An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that probable cause exists to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. The defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty at trial.

Today the Toyota Farm to Table Tour announced the line-up of Baton Rouge area chefs who will be treating visitors at The Red Stick Farmers Market on August 28 with bite-sized complimentary treats featuring farm-fresh ingredients as part of this year’s national summer tour. The Tour, which has visited 11 farmers markets across the country, will hold its final event in Baton Rouge. The Farm to Table Tour returns this year to The Red Stick Farmers Market after a successful visit during the 2009 nationwide tour to showcase the connection between farmers, chefs, farmers markets and the communities they serve, and give market shoppers the opportunity to experience Toyota’s hybrid vehicles.

At each stop on the tour, up to 12 of the area’s top chefs and farmers will be paired together to highlight the best of each market’s fresh offerings.  The chefs will prepare bite-sized tastings for visitors to sample that highlight their partner farm’s ingredients while guests will have the opportunity to learn more about each market, the specialty farmers, the notable chefs, and ways to eat and shop more locally.

Toyota Farm to Table Tour Visits The Red Stick Farmers Market – August 28, 2010

The Toyota Farm to Table Tour will be at The Red Stick Farmers Market in downtown Baton Rouge on August 28 from 8:00 a.m. – 12 p.m.   The Red Stick Farmers Market is produced by the Big River Economic and Agricultural Development Alliance (BREADA) and offers local produce to the community and a sustainable livelihood for small Louisiana farmers.

“The Toyota Farm to Table is a great opportunity for the Baton Rouge community to experience Louisiana’s rich local food culture hands on,” said Copper Alvarez, BREADA Executive Director. “Buying from local food sources means getting the freshest food available and supporting the local economy. We are proud to host this event and pair our local farmers with talented chefs to offer our visitors a taste of how delicious eating local can be.”

The Red Stick Farmers Market will feature nine noted and award-winning local chefs, including:

Terry McDonner of Juban’s

Don Bergeron of Don Bergeron Enterprises

Jaime Hernandez of The Bluffs Country Club

Peter Sclafani of Ruffino’s Restaurant

Eric Arceneaux of City Club

Frederick H. Nonato of Tsunami Sushi

Chris Motto of Mansurs on the Boulevard

The final chef line-up will be released closer to the event at www.farmtotabletour.com.

Guests will have the opportunity to select complimentary potted culinary herbs from the Highlander Hybrid Mobile Garden as well as enter for a chance to win a culinary trip to Santa Barbara for a special cooking and farmers market tour.  At the Highlander Hybrid Mobile Garden, a Mobile Garden Herb Specialist will be on-hand to pot the plants for visitors and answer general questions about gardening.  All herb plants are sourced from local vendors at the market.

Market visitors will also have the chance to take a ride in a 2010 Prius, Highlander Hybrid, Camry Hybrid or the Prius Plug-in Hybrid set to launch in 2012 and take home a John Boos cutting board as a memento of the experience.  In support of all the benefits the markets offer their communities, Toyota will also make a financial donation to the market.  Throughout the tour Toyota has committed to using eco-friendly materials and will be purchasing carbon credits through TerraPass to offset the impact of the tour’s carbon footprint.

“The Toyota Farm to Table Tour was created to celebrate farmers markets and the benefits they offer their communities while also showcasing Toyota’s extensive line of hybrid, fuel-efficient and low-emission vehicles that give consumers options to choose a vehicle that complements their lifestyles,” said Keith Dahl, Toyota National Manager of Engagement Marketing.  “Now in its second year, the tour provides Toyota the opportunity to connect with people who have made lifestyle choices such as driving hybrid vehicles, eating locally-grown food and shopping at farmers markets, while also providing the opportunity to directly give back to the communities where our customers live.”

New to the tour this year, in a further effort to support famers markets across the entire country, Toyota is also providing financial support to the Farmers Market Coalition, a national non-profit dedicated to strengthening farmers markets that serve as community assets while providing real income opportunities for farmers.

The 2010 Toyota Farm to Table Tour runs from July 10 to August 28 and is visiting the following farmers markets:

The City Market – Kansas City, MO – Saturday, July 10

The Little Rock Farmers’ Market – Little Rock, AR – Saturday, July 17

The Raleigh Downtown Farmers Market – Raleigh, NC – Wednesday, July 21

The Pepper Place Saturday Market – Birmingham, AL– Saturday, July 24

FRESHFARM Market, by the White House – Washington D.C. –  Thursday, July 29

Market Square Farmers Market – Pittsburgh, PA – Thursday, August 5

The Chattanooga Market – Chattanooga, TN – Sunday, August 8

Rochester Downtown Farmers Market – Rochester, MN – Saturday, August 14

The Farmers Market Annex – Minneapolis, MN – Sunday, August 15

The Salt Lake City Downtown Farmers Market – Salt Lake City, UT– Saturday, August 21

The Red Stick Farmers Market – Baton Rouge, LA – Saturday, August 28

To learn more about the Tour, visit www.farmtotabletour.com.

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About the Red Stick Farmers Market

The Red Stick Farmers Market produced by the Big River Economic and Agricultural Development Alliance (BREADA), first opened in 1996 in order to create a link between locally owned family farms and food businesses in the Baton Rouge area. The Red Stick Farmers Market is open every Saturday morning from 8:00- noon but with a growing demand for local foods, BREADA operates 2 additional Mid Week Markets on both Tuesday and Thursdays in outlying areas of Baton Rouge. BREADA works with communities across Louisiana through the Buy Fresh-Buy Local campaign to involve consumers in the revitalization of the local food system.

For more about the Red Stick Farmers Market and BREADA, visit www.redstickfarmersmarket.org