DRUG DEALER'S FATE PUT ON HOLD

Sentencing Delayed Until Judge's Trial

The sentencing of a Metairie man who has promised to tell federal
prosecutors how a "close friend in the law enforcement community" helped
him in his drug-smuggling operations and who has ties to suspended state
Judge Ronald Bodenheimer has been postponed until after Bodenheimer's trial
starts next year.

Joe Danny Perez, who pleaded guilty to a drug charge in July, was scheduled
to be sentenced this month. But at the request of prosecutors, U.S.
District Judge Sarah Vance moved Perez's sentencing to April 16, two weeks
after Bodenheimer's trial on separate drug conspiracy charges begins March 31.

It's yet another indication, some observers said, that federal officials
may consider calling Perez as a witness during Bodenheimer's trial.

"The fact that (Assistant U.S. Attorney) Mike Magner, who's in the
organized crime division, is handling both Bodenheimer and Perez is another
reason to believe prosecutors are interested in Perez to testify about
Bodenheimer," former federal prosecutor Shawn Clarke said.

Former U.S. Attorney Harry Rosenberg said prosecutors often seek to
postpone the sentencing of a witness until after he testifies so that
defense attorneys cannot argue in front of a jury that the testimony was
given in exchange for a light sentence. And by delaying the sentencing, he
said, they also can make sure the witness delivers the goods before getting
a break. "It's something of a carrot for the defendant," Rosenberg said.
"And prosecutors can deflate arguments that the witness is getting a
sweetheart deal."

Perez pleaded guilty July 30 to a drug charge stemming from an Oct. 28,
1999, raid at which Bodenheimer was present, searched by police and
released. Officials have identified Bodenheimer as the informant who tipped
them off to Perez's drug smuggling.

Acting U.S. Attorney Jim Letten would not comment this week on whether
Perez will be a witness at Bodenheimer's trial or whether Perez's "close
friend" is Bodenheimer. But officials have indicated that Perez has agreed
to testify in several matters as needed, "including ongoing investigations
of public corruption."

Perez's attorney, Jim Williams, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Williams and others have said Bodenheimer and Perez knew each other before
Bodenheimer became a judge in 1999. When narcotics agents searched Perez's
office at Grand Prix Motors in Metairie the night of the 1999 drug raid,
Perez told them he had been out of town and had left keys to the building
with a maintenance worker and "his friend, Ronald Bodenheimer," according
to the narcotics agents' report. That same night, Bodenheimer told
sheriff's deputies that he had an ongoing sexual relationship with Perez's
girlfriend, court records indicate.

Bodenheimer's attorney, Eddie Castaing, said the judge was "absolutely not"
involved in any drug activities with Perez or anybody else. Castaing said
he has not discussed with prosecutors whether Perez is expected to testify
at Bodenheimer's trial, but he said he could not imagine what Perez could
contribute to the government's case.

"I have no idea what he can possibly say against Judge Bodenheimer in
connection to this trial," Castaing said.

Bodenheimer's trial concerns separate charges that he conspired to plant
the painkiller OxyContin on a critic of his Venetian Isles marina. He has
pleaded innocent and is under house arrest.

According to prosecutors, Perez told them in July he "routinely confided to
a close friend in the law enforcement community" when he would travel to
Houston with wads of cash to buy drugs. The friend, Perez told
investigators, offered him a cover story if police stopped him and inquired
about the cash. Perez was to say, and the friend would confirm, that Perez
was going to buy a luxury vehicle for the friend, according to federal
documents. "Perez further stated that the friend did other things of a
corrupt nature which assisted Perez's drug trafficking in return for Perez
providing the friend with things of value," the documents said.

Perez pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 74
tablets of the drug Ecstasy, which were found at the 1999 raid. He faces a
maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, though his attorney has said federal
guidelines call for four to 10 months only. But he's likely to get a
lighter sentence for cooperating with the government, Rosenberg said.