COULON ASKED EMBATTLED JUDGE FOR LENIENCY

Private Request Of Bodenheimer Involved Sentencing Of Relative

Jefferson Parish President Tim Coulon said Tuesday that during the time
federal agents were wiretapping Judge Ronald Bodenheimer he met with the
judge in his private chambers to ask for leniency in the sentencing of his
brother-in-law, who had recently been convicted of sex crimes in
Bodenheimer's court.

The meeting took place about April 15, Coulon said, less than two months
before Bodenheimer was arrested and implicated in a sweeping investigation
into possible corruption at the Gretna Courthouse. The popular parish
president's admission is the latest twist in the startling federal probe
and comes amid swirling rumors that Coulon's name had been linked to the
investigation.

Coulon said he has not been questioned by the FBI or subpoenaed to appear
before the grand jury. He also said he has no reason to believe he is a
target of the investigation and that he has broken no laws.

The FBI has declined to comment on the case.

In a written statement, Coulon said he arranged the meeting with
Bodenheimer after his brother-in-law, Gary Mire Sr., was convicted on four
counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile and one count of carnal
knowledge of a juvenile. Coulon said he felt compelled to make a personal
appeal on behalf of his family, but did not specifically ask the judge to
keep Mire out of jail or offer the judge anything in return for leniency.

"At no time during the conversation did we discuss any type of deal in
return for a lesser sentence for my brother-in-law," Coulon's statement
said. "I did not make any offers, and Judge Bodenheimer did not ask for
anything for himself or anyone else."

Coulon, who supported Bodenheimer's opponent in the 1999 election, said
politics also entered into his decision to talk to the judge.

"(I) asked that the judge not penalize (Mire) because I did not support
Judge Bodenheimer in his election to the court. I supported Jim Donelon in
that election," Coulon said. Bodenheimer "indicated that he would not
penalize my brother-in-law because of my endorsement of Jim Donelon."

Coulon said he met Bodenheimer without consulting his parish attorney, Tom
Wilkinson, who along with two other assistant parish attorneys, had agreed
to represent Mire at Coulon's request. All are allowed to have private
practices and were paid for their work.

Coulon said he was unaware that there was anything inappropriate about
approaching a judge to discuss a pending case. The Louisiana Code of
Judicial Conduct, however, prohibits judges from having private
communications designed to influence judicial action.

Loyola University Law School ethics professor Dane Ciolino said
conversations such as the one between Coulon and Bodenheimer are serious
offenses for judges, and are often referred to the Louisiana Judiciary
Commission for investigation. Sanctions can range from a warning to removal
from the bench.

"Once the judge realizes the person on the other end wants to engage in an
ex parte conversation to influence his action, the code says he shall not
permit the conversation to occur," Ciolino said.

Coulon's statements Tuesday are the latest chapter in a riveting political
drama that began unfolding June 6, when Bodenheimer was arrested and
accused of conspiring to plant drugs on an FBI informant who had complained
about problems at the judge's Venetian Isles marina. Since then, federal
agents have raided the offices of restaurateur Al Copeland and bail
bondsman Louis Marcotte III, and have issued subpoenas for several people,
including Bodenheimer's former law partner and several Jefferson Parish
Sheriff's Office deputies.

Mire's case stemmed from a New Year's Eve party at his home in 2000, during
which Mire fondled two teen-age girls, according to police and court
records. Mire was arrested Jan 26, 2001, and released on $70,000 bail.

Coulon asked District Attorney Paul Connick Jr., a close political ally, to
interview a couple of witnesses who could challenge the charges against
Mire as part of his office's investigation, Connick said Tuesday.

The witnesses were not deemed credible and Mire received no special
treatment, Connick said. In fact, his investigators leveled two more counts
against Mire.

"Never once did (Coulon) ask me to . . . do anything improper in connection
with this case," Connick said.

Sentence Delivered

Connick said prosecutors were ready to go to trial in April. Instead, Mire
pleaded no contest and was found guilty on all counts. Bodenheimer
sentenced him to a three-year suspended jail term and five years of
probation. The sentence required Mire to register with the state as a sex
offender and undergo an evaluation to determine whether he needed
counseling. He has complied with all the terms of his probation, said
Judith Curry of the state's probation and parole office in Jefferson Parish.

A former prosecutor who touted his tough-on-crime image to get elected in
1999, Bodenheimer could have sentenced Mire to up to 10 years in prison for
the carnal knowledge count, and up to seven years for each of the indecent
behavior counts. But several criminal defense attorneys said Mire's
sentence was in line with the punishment imposed in juvenile sex abuse
cases in which the defendant is a first-time offender.

"There's nothing unusual about this sentence. The vast majority of carnal
knowledge and indecent behavior cases for first-time offenders end on
probation," said New Orleans lawyer Kevin Boshea, who prosecuted hundreds
of sex crime cases for the Orleans Parish district attorney's office before
he became a defense attorney in the early 1990s.

Coulon says Mire, who is married to a sister of Coulon's wife, did not
receive special treatment.

Connick said his office discussed the sentence with the victims' families,
who were satisfied with Mire getting probation. But the mother of one of
the girls said Tuesday that she asked Bodenheimer the day of the sentencing
to send Mire to jail to protect her daughter.

"I thought the guy deserved jail time and I told the judge (probation) was
not right," said the woman, who asked not to be identified to protect her
daughter's identity.

On Tuesday, Coulon called the whole episode "an embarrassment."

But the parish president said if he had to do it over again, "I'd probably
go visit the judge."