Former Mandeville Mayor Sentenced to Over Five Years in Prison for Honest Services Mail Fraud and Tax Evasion

June 17, 2010 - NEW ORLEANS, LA—EDWARD J. PRICE, III, a/k/a Eddie Price, age 56, a resident of Mandeville, Louisiana, was sentenced in federal court today by U. S. District Judge Martin L.C. Feldman to over five (5) years' imprisonment, (64 months as to Count I and 60 months as to Count 2, to run concurrently), announced U.S. Attorney Jim Letten. In addition, Judge Feldman ordered the defendant to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $17, 756.00 and to serve three (3) years' supervised release during which time he will be under federal supervision and risks additional imprisonment should he violate any terms of the release.

Court documents show that on October 16, 2009, PRICE pled guilty to two counts of honest services mail fraud. According to the factual basis, PRICE, as the elected mayor of Mandeville, was a public official who was prohibited by state law from receiving gifts and gratuities from professional service contractors for the City of Mandeville and developers with substantial business interests with the City of Mandeville. Beginning in 2003 and continuing through 2007, PRICE accepted numerous trips valued in excess of $45,000 from the City’s engineer and a developer in the Mandeville, Louisiana area to participate in expensive golf tournaments in Pebble Beach, California. In addition, PRICE’s plea of guilty to honest services mail fraud included admissions that PRICE illegally utilized funds from his campaign fund account to pay various personal expenses such as, gambling debts, membership fees in fishing clubs and carnival organizations, food for consumption by members of his household, and other personal expenses. PRICE admitted through the factual basis that he had taken funds from his campaign account to pay for these expenses, and in many cases, falsely reported to the state of Louisiana the expenses were for campaign related activities, such as tents, food for fund-raising golf tournaments, and for political consulting services.

In addition, PRICE failed to file a tax return for the 2007 tax year, thereby evading taxes on his income as mayor as well as the value of the gifts and gratuities he received and funds he had taken from his campaign account.

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten stated: “Today, yet another Louisiana public official, in this case the mayor of Mandeville, has been sentenced for violating the public trust and depriving citizens of the City of Mandeville and the state of Louisiana of his honest and faithful service. This serves as yet another example of a public official utilizing their office and position to enrich themselves. The federal government will continue to relentlessly pursue corruption wherever it exists in hope that those who hold office or seek to hold office will utilize the power vested in those positions to serve the public’s interests rather than use their offices as instrumentalities for self dealing.

FBI Special Agent in Charge, David Welker added: “As you may recall, the guilty plea and today’s sentencing of former Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price are the result of citizen involvement by calling and reporting corrupt activity. Citizens should continue to be outraged by political figures enriching themselves at the expense of the public they should be serving."

IRS Special Agent in Charge, Michael DePalma added: “Special agents of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations will bring our expertise to each and every investigation of this type. We will continue to work with our federal law enforcement partners and the United States Attorney's Office to run political corruption, and other crimes of greed, out of this area. We will remain vigilant in our role as public servants—using our skills and talents to detect those attempting to undermine confidence in our government.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service. The prosecution was handled by Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, Assistant United States Attorney Fred P. Harper, Jr.