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One count of forfeiture also was included in the indictment, meaning any property purchased with money from an alleged crime is subject to forfeiture, U.S. Attorney representative Vicky Chance said. "This indictment alleges that Sheriff Belt deprived the citizens of Avoyelles Parish of the honest and faithful services of their sheriff," U.S. Attorney Donald Washington said.

According to the indictment, the Belts were involved in a conspiracy "to promote and then cover up the receipt of some of the profits from the operation of phone services provided at Avoyelles Parish jails."

The Belts are accused of reaping more than $500,000 in profits, said Washington, who indicated that the sheriff has been under investigation for at least the past five years, if not longer. Washington said he did not expect any additional indictments to come out of the investigation.

Michael Small, Bill Belt's attorney since late 2005, said he and Belt are "extremely disappointed that this indictment came down but frankly not greatly surprised."

Small said in a statement that he has maintained frequent contact with the federal prosecutor assigned to the case and has met with him and the FBI a number of times. He said he has responded fully to all questions asked, providing what he is convinced are "perfectly legitimate explanations for their various inquiries."

"All the explanations clearly demonstrated that Bill and Tracy Belt have conducted their several business entities in a perfectly legitimate and legal manner and have violated no laws in the course of their various business activities," Small said in the release. "Unfortunately, I always sensed that our earnest and truthful representations fell on deaf ears."

The allegations that the Belts profited financially from the operation of the phone services provided by the jails, Small said, are "based almost entirely on statements from a disgruntled vendor." He said he and the Belts are convinced that any fair-minded jury will find those statements to be totally unreliable and unfounded.

Courtney Tassin of Hessmer said she was shocked to hear of the sheriff's indictment.

"I'd have never thought that he'd have done something that would be like this," she said. "It makes me wonder if he's been truthful all along."

Although the announcement of the indictment is far from a conviction, Tassin said the indictment alone may cast a shadow over the Sheriff's Office and its operations. She said she is hopeful Bill Belt's case will be handled fairly, "just like any old person's."

Bernard's charges stem from her alleged interference with the investigation, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. She obstructed the federal grand jury and FBI investigation by lying -- saying she had "minimal involvement" with a company called Cajun Callers and no memory of signing checks on its behalf when she had been issuing checks for the company for more than a year and a half, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Calls placed Wednesday to the phone number listed for Cajun Callers in Cottonport went unanswered.

The Belts could face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,00 fine on each mail fraud charge and a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment and $250,000 fine for the conspiracy charge.

Bernard's maximum jail time under the three counts she is facing totals 20 years and a fine as high as $750,000.

Small, who is representing just Bill Belt, said he and his client are looking forward to "aggressively preparing for the trial" and is confident all charged will be found innocent of any wrongdoing.

None of the three will be arrested but instead summoned to appear in court for their first appearance. Small said he expected that first appearance to be at the end of this month, although a date hasn't been set.

Tracy Belt is being represented by Michael Reese Davis out of Baton Rogue, and defense council for Bernard hasn't been finalized, Small said.

Bill Belt and other Sheriff's Office employees referred comments to Small.

Belt, who has been sheriff since 1980, is not running for re-election this year. Signs and bumper stickers proclaiming "Bill Belt for Senate" could be spotted throughout the parish, although record of his official announcement for candidacy couldn't be found.

Small would not comment on the campaign. Candidates for office are required to qualify between Sept. 4 and Sept. 6.

Background

According to an October 1995 article in The Town Talk, both Bill Belt and former 12th Judicial District Judge Michael Johnson had royalty arrangements with Miami-based Peoples Telephone Co. for pay phones at prisons and jails around the state. Belt was listed as president of Southern Louisiana Communications, a warehouser of other long-distance carriers, and was listed as director at Central Louisiana Communications Inc.

Both of those firms had the same address -- 117 E. Ogden St., Marksville -- as did Johnson's Cajun Callers. Both Johnson and Belt told The Town Talk then that there was "no connection" between their companies.

Johnson signed an agreement to lease his pay phones in Avoyelles Parish jails to Belt, as sheriff, in the late 1980s. Johnson was Belt's attorney at the time, according to the article.

Out of the arrangement, the Sheriff's Office, as a public body, received 5 percent of the net revenue. At that time, Belt "guesstimated" that the Sheriff's office received about $40,000 a year in pay phone revenue.

The Public Service Commission cited Peoples Telephone Co. in 1994 for overcharging customers by $107,695 for long-distance service.

Johnson was re-elected as district judge with 57 percent of the vote in spite of controversy raised during the election about his connection to the prison phones, according to a 1996 Town Talk article. But on Nov. 25, 1996, he was removed from office for what the Supreme Court called "persistent misconduct."

Johnson was sworn into office in December after requesting a rehearing with the Supreme Court, where he vowed to sell his and his wife's interests in the phone company before his new term began on Jan. 1, 1997.

Johnson, who in a 1997 Town Talk article claimed he "has not been charged with a crime, much less convicted of one," said the ruling applied only to his first term that expired Dec. 31. A new election was held the following term to fill his seat after he was removed again.

Johnson died in 2002.

http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007708090329