[StBernard] Former Judge Cresap sentencing in St. Bernard Parish kickback case is

[Westley Annis]

Former Judge Cresap sentencing in St. Bernard Parish kickback case is
postponed
By Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune 
January 19, 2010, 6:34PM
Sentencing has been delayed until April for a former St. Bernard Parish
judge and two lawyers who pleaded guilty last fall to a kickback scheme that
allowed inmates to get out of the St. Bernard Parish prison without putting
up bond money.

Former judge Wayne Cresap and St. Bernard attorneys Victor J. "V.J."
Dauterive and Nunzio Salvadore "Sal" Cusimano pleaded guilty in October to
taking thousands of dollars of bribes, disguised as attorneys' fees, over a
period of five years beginning in 2004.

The crimes are punishable by up to five years in prison and fines of up to
$250,000.
Cresap, Cusimano and Dauterive were originally scheduled for sentencing
Thursday before U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon, but according to a
filing Tuesday the hearing has been pushed back until April 22 at 2 p.m.

As part of their plea agreements with the government, all three said they
would cooperate in any other relevant corruption investigations.

Michael Ellis, an attorney for Dauterive, said Tuesday that the continuance
had nothing to do with his client. In a statement relayed through his
secretary, Ellis said he believed the sentencing was delayed because
prosecutors want Cresap to cooperate in exchange for a potential reduced
sentence.

Cresap's attorney, Pat Fanning, said the government made the motion for the
continuance and that he never objects when a client is out on bond.

"I'm representing Judge Cresap, and I have no knowledge of any ongoing
cooperation," Fanning said.

Stephen Wiles, Cusimano's attorney, said the government requested the
postponement and that he had a scheduling conflict that would have prevented
him from appearing.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Jim Letten's office said she could not
comment beyond what was filed in court, essentially just the new sentencing
date.

The judicial corruption scheme, as outlined in a bill of information filed
in July, involved Cresap taking cash from each lawyer in exchange for
converting secured bonds, which require actual money or property to be
pledged, into personal surety bonds that required only a written agreement
that the money would be paid if the defendant skipped court. The lawyers
would take cash from the inmate's family or friends, then split the money
with Cresap, according to the charges.

The money amounted to bribes, but was always veiled as retainer fees for the
lawyers. Letten said nearly 100 inmates were released as part of the scheme
over the past five years.

Cresap resigned his position as 34th Judicial District Judge in October.

Dauterive has permanently resigned from the practice of law to avoid
disciplinary charges and is officially disbarred, according to an order
issued by the Louisiana Supreme Court earlier this month. Cusimano has not
resigned at this time, and the state Office of Disciplinary Counsel has
filed formal charges against him seeking disbarment.

The state has not yet scheduled a disciplinary hearing for Cusimano.