NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A judge has agreed to postpone the federal trial of a former state lawmaker and three relatives of a former congressman. U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle didn't immediately set a new date for the racketeering conspiracy trial, which was scheduled to start Aug. 3.
Lemelle's ruling Thursday eliminates a scheduling conflict with a separate case against Mose Jefferson, a brother of former Rep. William Jefferson. Mose Jefferson's trial on charges he bribed a former New Orleans school board president is scheduled to start Aug. 10.
In the racketeering case, Mose Jefferson is charged with conspiring with his sister, New Orleans tax assessor Betty Jefferson; his niece, Angela Coleman; and with former state Rep. Renee Gill Pratt to pocket grant money earmarked for charitable and educational programs.
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