Former DA’s sentencing may be Thursday
Published 5:11 am Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Former District Attorney Walter Reed is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday, for his convictions in a political corruption case that was completed in May 2016.
He was convicted of federal charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and making false statements on his tax returns.
Reed’s son Steven was convicted in the same trial of conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering.
Reed was originally scheduled for sentencing in September 2016, but that date has been delayed four times since then. The most recent court proceedings in the case took place on March 8, when Reed and his attorneys attended a four-hour hearing.
According to media reports, Reed’s attorneys said they would appeal his convictions to the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Among their arguments is that prosecutors brought a federal case against Reed, when it should have been handled as a state ethics case.
Reed faces a potential prison sentence of five years or longer.
Reed had served as district attorney for Washington and St. Tammany parishes for 30 years, before choosing not to seek re-election in 2014. At that time, allegations concerning his alleged political corruption were beginning to become more prevalent.
Walter Montgomery succeeded Reed as district attorney.