Mr. Schiff: Judges on the take. It was in Louisiana and FBI Special Agent Steve Hall says the case was called Broken Gavel...
Mr. Hall: "We had allegations there were two judges that were taking bribe payments to reduce sentences or to basically lower bond holds so people could get out of jail and not do their whole sentences.”
Mr. Schiff: Hall says rumors were going around for a long time...
Mr. Hall: "There had been allegations swirling around these two judges for about 10 years. Various law enforcement agencies in the Shreveport, Louisiana, area were always coming to us and saying, ‘Hey when are you guys going to something about those crooked judges over here at the State Courts.”
Mr. Schiff: Hall says a big break came during a narcotics case when a subject was approached...
Mr. Hall: "We saw that he was connected to one of the judges. So after we had some really good evidence on him, he was going to go away to prison for a long time. We approached him and asked for his cooperation. He agreed to cooperate.”
Mr. Schiff: The FBI and other police agencies had evidence including wiretaps and witnesses. Both judges were sentenced; one for 10 years and the other for five years. I’m Neal Schiff of the Bureau and that's the FBI's Closed Case of the Week."
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