I’m the best one in possession today, I believe, to know
what went on based upon the evidence that was presented to
me. In spite of Mr. Vines’ job well done today and his
abilities, okay, he can only do the most he can with the case
that he has. And he has represented the casino and the State
of Louisiana remarkably. He’s a good advocate to have in
your corner.
Kathleen W. Hebert, Official Court Reporter, khebert@16jdc.org -21
But the evidence fails to show that any crime occurred.
I find no crime occurred. And although it’s not before the
court, I find no crime of computer fraud or theft. I find some
good people, good people, who were dealt – who were placed
in some circumstances, not too difficult, okay? They pushed
through something that they believed in their heart was the
right think to do. They had to push a few rules, break a few
rules to do it. But nobody had malice in their heart. Nobody
ever intended to deceive anybody for the purpose of depriving
a thing belonging to another. These were good people. They
got caught up in something that was handed over to the
district attorney long before he came onboard, okay?
Y’all have a compliance officer. She was kept pretty
much – I don’t know where she was in this thing here. And I
like here. And I don’t fault her. But I do know that y’all had
an attorney that was over-watching all of this who sat back
and watched it happen, because Ms. April Wyatt brought it to
his attention. And only after the funds were wired and it was
in his account did she say, “This is wrong.” That lawyer was
supposed to protect y’all, and he failed. He sat back and he
let it happen and left a mess for the tribe, for the casino, for
the district attorney’s office, for the federal courts. The
district attorney’s office, they saw; they said, “The hell with
this.” When you kick it back to state, it’s messy. You can’t
always run from it and you got to deal with it, and you move
on with it.
I find no intent to permanently deprive anyone of a
thing that belonged to them. I find no action taken on his part
to get it done. He was sitting back, waiting for it to happen,
until somebody said, “Oh, it’s the wrong thing to do, but it’s
too late; the crime’s been committed,” okay?
As far as the co-mingling, I don’t understand that.
Kathleen W. Hebert, Official Court Reporter, khebert@16jdc.org -212-
What do you do when somebody puts money in your bank and
you’re not authorized to have it? Are you automatically guilty
of a crime? I don’t know about that. I’m not convinced.
So I find not guilty on unauthorized use of a movable
and not guilty of misdemeanor theft.
God bless you people.
This court is adjourned.
Kathleen W. Hebert, Official Court Reporter, khebert@16jdc.org –
2017 O'Neil J. Darden Jr. 