[StBernard] School board member will replace convicted former St. Bernard Parish judge, after no one else qualifies in race

[Westley Annis]

School board member will replace convicted former St. Bernard Parish judge,
after no one else qualifies in race 
By Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune 
February 05, 2010, 5:51PM
A St. Bernard Parish school board member and lawyer was elected outright to
fill a vacant St. Bernard Parish judgeship on Friday, after no one else
qualified for the position.

Perry Nicosia, 43, a practicing attorney since 1992, will replace disgraced
former Judge Wayne Cresap, who pleaded guilty last October to a kickback
scheme that allowed inmates to get out of jail without paying for bail
bonds.

Because Nicosia was the only one to qualify, the March 27 election will not
be required and Nicosia can be sworn in as soon as the election is certified
by the Louisiana Secretary of State - likely Monday, Secretary of State
spokesman spokesman Jacques Berry said.

"I never really had any expectations, but I always assumed there would be
opposition," Nicosia said after the 5 p.m. filing deadline Friday. "I guess
all the local lawyers looked at my candidacy and what I stood for and
decided not to run. I'm very grateful, and very honored to know that they
have that kind of trust in me." 


Nicosia will take the reins from retired Appeals Court Judge Robert Klees,
who was appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court to serve in place of Cresap
last May. Cresap was in the second year of a six-year term for the Division
C judgeship in St. Bernard's 34th Judicial District. He has not sat on the
bench since early April, and he permanently retired from the practice of law
last month.

Nicosia said he preferred not to comment on the past with Cresap.
"What I stand for is a person in the future who's going to be fair and
impartial, treat people fairly and do the right thing," Nicosia said.

A Democrat from Poydras, at the eastern end of the parish, Nicosia is a
partner in the firm Nicosia, Licciardi & Nunez.

He said he plans to take the open seat once he formally resigns from his
seat on the St. Bernard Parish School Board. He said that could happen as
early as Tuesday, at the board's regular meeting.