2 defendants in Louisiana staged accident case each get 4 years in prison freightwaves.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from freightwaves.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
NEW ORLEANS – A second trucking company that was scammed during a wide-ranging conspiracy to stage traffic accidents has filed a federal racketeering lawsuit against several defendants, including the King Law Firm and manager-attorney Jason Giles.
C.R. England Inc., a Utah-based trucking company, filed the federal lawsuit in the Eastern District of Louisiana over an Oct. 13, 2015, accident that led to criminal indictments being filed against Louisiana residents Anthony Robinson, Audrey Harris, Jerry Schaffer and Keishira Robinson, all of whom are listed as defendants in the civil lawsuit.
Also named as a defendant was Damian K. Labeaud, who was previously indicted for his role as a “slammer” in the staging of accidents.
Photograph By Shane Kurki
Bullet Bob is hanging up his baseball glove.
After 18 seasons wearing the NewHorizons red and white uniform, Bob Taylor is retiring from the Thompson Seniors Slow-Pitch league.
Last month, he turned 86 just after the league s season wrapped up. There are still some tournament games going on, and Taylor shows up to provide advice or just be a mascot.
But his time on the diamond is done. I can run, but it s so slow, it s almost a fast walk, he said. I m still fairly healthy, but everything slows up.
As he talked, his teammates made cheerful comments and insisted he join them in the handshake lineup after they defeated the Dodgers Wednesday afternoon at Charles Anderson Stadium.
Quartet of Louisiana staged accident ‘slammers’ and other participants plead guilty to federal charges Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves
Four individuals indicted earlier this year in the Louisiana staged accident scheme pleaded guilty to federal mail fraud charges Thursday, bringing the total number of guilty pleas in the scandal to 15.
The four individuals pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New Orleans to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, which has been the federal charge used against virtually all the defendants in the case. The defendants who pleaded guilty are Anthony Robinson, 67; Audrey Harris, 53; Jerry Schaffer, 66; and Keishira Robinson, 26, all of New Orleans.
Four more defendants pleaded guilty Thursday in a conspiracy to stage a New Orleans vehicle accident for $4.7 million in insurance payouts.
That brings to 15 the number of people, out of 33 defendants, who have admitted guilt in a wide-ranging federal investigation of drivers, passengers, other accomplices and a lawyer accused of intentionally crashing vehicles into tractor-trailer rigs.
2015 wreck begat $4.7 million payoff for attorneys, defendants, grand jury says
The latest are Anthony Robinson, 67, Audrey Harris, 53, Jerry Schaffer, 66, and Keishira Robinson, 26, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
Prosecutors said Harris, Schaeffer and Keishira Robinson were riding in a vehicle owned by Anthony Robinson when its driver, Roderick Hickman, steered it into a tractor trailer on Oct. 13, 2015, at Alvar Street and France Road. Hickman, known as a slammer, hopped out and entered another vehicle driven by Damian Labeaud, a spotter. Anthony Robinson exited L