Tag: Mary Frances Berry

Candidates tend to distance themselves from the election day activities of campaign operatives, Berry added, "but they still know that there is a system" of vote buying in place. In the current federal inquiry, it's not clear which races have drawn the interest of federal authorities beyond the 2015 Tangipahoa Parish president's race and more recent municipal contests in Amite. John Bel Edwards, both told The Advocate that their campaigns have not been contacted by federal authorities in connection with the vote-buying inquiry. "Nobody associated with my campaign has ever told me they've been contacted by federal authorities for any reason," the governor said. An FBI spokesman declined to comment on the investigation. He has not used Ruffino since 2011, he said. He was indicted again in 1991 on allegations of violating the state's public records law after he was accused of refusing to allow a Roseland citizen to view the town's sewer and water service billing records. Federal law enforcement records obtained by The Advocate show this is not the first time authorities have received allegations of vote buying in Tangipahoa Parish. In 2004, a confidential informant told the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that Artie Thompson, a former DEA task force agent and Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office deputy, had hired him to buy votes for Tim Gideon, a former Ponchatoula police chief who ran for sheriff against Daniel Edwards in November 2003. The informant said he was given more cash at that meeting and was told to give voters $5 to $10 each to vote for Gideon.