A major indictment announced in Lafayette this morning against five people, including several Louisiana law enforcement officers. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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Heavy rains are heading for the Louisiana coast this week. Kace Kieschnick reports.
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The U.S. Attorney’s Office announces a 62-count indictment against five people, including four law enforcement officers, in connection with a visa fraud scheme. Alex (“Alec”) Van Hook, the acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, told a news conference this morning that the five are charged with fraudulently obtaining non-immigrant U-visas.
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Van Hook says the five indicted are – Oakdale Police Chief Chad Boyle; Michael Slaney, the marshal of the Ward 5 Marshal’s Office in Oakdale; Forest Hill Police Chief Glynn Dixon, Former Glenmora Police Chief Tebo Onishea, and businessman Chandrakant Patel.
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Van Hook says the people listed on the fraudulent U-Visa applications were never victims of or witnesses to crime, which are requirements in order to obtain a U-Visa.
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The indictment says Patel paid the officers five-thousand dollars for each foreign national placed on the report, in an effort to keep them and their family members in the United States.
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Forecasters are now urging those of you near the Gulf Coast to be weather aware for the next few days. LSU Public Health Climatologist Barry Keim says there’s a disturbance brewing in the gulf; however, it will not rise to the level of a major storm.
Keim says there’s less than a 50-50 chance of a tropical cyclone forming.
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Keim says while wind will not be a factor, heavy rainfall will be.
Governor Landry will be holding a news conference at GOHSEP tomorrow morning to give an update on the state’s emergency response, should it be necessary.
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The Ouachita River is set for designation as a U.S. Marine Highway. Congresswoman Julia Letlow says the designation will increase opportunities for infrastructure upgrades.
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Grants can be applied for through the Department of Transportation and Development.
Letlow says the increased traffic through the Ouachita River will lead to economic development and job creation in northeast Louisiana.
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Letlow says numerous industries will benefit, but it will have a particularly positive impact on a region dominated by commodities.
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Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer spoke at SEC Football Kickoff Media Days today. With quarterback Jalen Milroe off to the NFL, the Crimson Tide have a three-way QB battle among redshirt junior Ty Simpson, redshirt sophomore Austin Mack and freshman Keelon Russell. DeBoer says if the season started today, Simpson would be the starter.
Alabama went 9-and-4 in the first season under DeBoer and missed the College Football Playoffs. Deboer says his team fell short of the Alabama standard.
LSU will travel to Tuscaloosa to take on the Crimson Tide November 8.
LSU will open SEC play hosting Florida September 13. The Gators will face one of the toughest schedules in the country again this year, but head coach Billy Napier is leaning on sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway to lead his team.
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Lagway went 6-and-1 as a starter after taking over midseason, including a 27-16 victory over LSU in Gainesville.