SECOND JUDGE UNDER FEDERAL SCRUTINY

Green, Bodenheimer Chambers Bugged

FBI agents hid microphones and video cameras in the chambers of Judges
Ronald Bodenheimer and Alan Green and wiretapped 20 telephones as part of a
81/2-month investigation into possible corruption at the Jefferson Parish
Courthouse, federal prosecutors say.

A two-page letter from the U.S. attorney's office, mailed to people whose
conversations were intercepted by the surveillance, provides the first
public indication that a judge other than Bodenheimer is a subject of the
investigation. It also illustrates the lengths to which federal
investigators are willing to go to gather evidence against members of the
judiciary, legal analysts said.

"It's pretty extraordinary to put wiretaps and video surveillance in a
judge's chambers," said former U.S. Attorney Harry Rosenberg, who said it's
likely the investigation has been monitored by the Justice Department in
Washington. "The government doesn't do this every day."

Green is a former prosecutor who was elected in 1992 to the state's 24th
Judicial District Court. He would not comment Tuesday.

Ten of the phones tapped by FBI agents between Aug. 29 and May 10 belong to
bail bond companies owned by Louis Marcotte III and his family, according
to phone numbers listed in the letter, signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney
Michael Magner and Nancy Newcomb of the Justice Department's Public
Integrity Section.

Marcotte, 40, has spent half his life building a bail bond empire that
includes about 50 companies in Louisiana and 30 more around the country. A
generous contributor to political campaigns, Marcotte writes about 95
percent of the bonds at the Jefferson Parish jail in Gretna, Sheriff Harry
Lee has said.

Marcotte's attorney, Arthur "Buddy" Lemann, said that despite the extensive
wiretapping, the government has kept his client in the dark about any
alleged wrongdoing.

"This is the way they play the game," Lemann said Tuesday. "Everything is
under this mysterious shroud. They had to have probable cause to get a
judge to sign the wiretap. But what that is, I don't know."

Federal prosecutors would not comment on their case or their letter, which
mentions only Bodenheimer and Green as judges whose chambers were monitored.

Marcotte's home telephone was tapped, as was a phone that is answered by a
recorded voice saying it belongs to Norman Bowley, a Bail Bonds Unlimited
executive, according to phone numbers in the letter. Other phones were
tapped at the homes of Green and Bodenheimer and in Bodenheimer's chambers
at the Gretna courthouse.

Letter doesn't mean guilt

Rosenberg said federal law requires that a judge, typically through the
U.S. attorney's office, notify people whose conversations are intercepted
by audio or video surveillance within 90 days of when the surveillance
stops. The deadline can be extended by court order.

The letters in no way indicate that a person is a target of the
investigation, he said.

"Getting an intercept letter is like appearing before the grand jury: It
doesn't necessarily mean you've done something wrong," Rosenberg said.

The letter, dated Friday, says it was sent by the U.S. attorney's office on
orders from U.S. District Judge A.J. "Buddy" McNamara.

The extensive wiretap disclosure is the latest development in the
government's sprawling investigation, which broke the night of June 5 when
FBI agents searched Bodenheimer's home in Metairie, then arrested him for
allegedly conspiring to plant drugs on a man who had complained about
Bodenheimer's Venetian Isles Marina in eastern New Orleans.

Friday indictment deadline

Prosecutors have until Friday to persuade a grand jury to indict
Bodenheimer and an alleged co-conspirator, Curley Chewning of Chalmette, on
the drug conspiracy charges, said Bodenheimer's attorney Davidson Ehle III.
Ehle said he fully expects the government to seek an indictment now that
Bodenheimer turned down a plea agreement for a maximum 30 months in prison
in exchange for his cooperation in the investigation.

After Bodenheimer rejected the plea deal, one of his attorneys, Ralph
Capitelli, resigned from the case. Attorney Eddie Castaing will likely take
the lead defending Bodenheimer when he returns to town next week, Ehle said.

"We anticipate that the grand jury will meet Wednesday and will do
something Wednesday or Thursday," Ehle said. "The government has to indict
within 30 days of issuing the charges, but all the attorneys agreed on an
extension to the 19th."

In other developments:

Mike Ellis, an attorney for private investigator Danny Denoux, said his
client has been subpoenaed by the grand jury and has produced some
documents requested by federal authorities. Ellis would not say whether
Denoux is the unnamed private investigator who federal authorities
previously have said was involved in the conspiracy with Bodenheimer to
plant the drugs.

"They won't tell me whether he will be or will not be indicted," Ellis
said. "We'll just have to wait and see."

Members of the state Board of Ethics put off deciding Tuesday whether
Bodenheimer may use campaign contributions to pay for his defense. They
said they need more information about the nature of the investigation and
the charges against him before they render their opinion.

The ethics code says campaign contributions may not be used or loaned for
personal use unrelated to a political campaign or to the holding of a
public office or a party position.

"It's a complicated question," ethics board Chairman Robert Roland said.
Board members "don't like to rule on things when they don't know the facts."

Neither Bodenheimer, who requested the opinion, nor his attorney attended
the board's meeting in Baton Rouge.

Bodenheimer also could be trying to raise money for his defense by selling
the Venetian Isles Marina. A sign posted in the window there said the
property and the business are up for sale: $300,000 for the land and
business, or $60,000 to operate the business coupled with a $1,500 monthly
lease on the land.

Fred Herman, who represents Bodenheimer in civil and administrative
matters, could not be reached for comment.