Ex-investigator in AG's office charged with fraud

By Jessica Williams | Capitol News Bureau Editor​ ​ ​

Investigator charged: A former investigator in Attorney General Jeff Landry's office has been charged with conspiracy to commit federal wire fraud, after he was caught siphoning money from escrow accounts he managed, Sam Karlin reports. Frank LaBruzzo resigned his post not long after Landry's office learned he was under a federal probe.

Next U.S. attorney?: With Keva Landrum out of the running for U.S. attorney in New Orleans, sources close to the nomination process say several others are being considered for the job, our investigations team reports. The White House would prefer that the candidate be a person of color and a woman. See the names being considered.

Priest dies: The Rev. Mark Beard, the pastor at St. Helena Catholic Church in Amite, died this week in a car crash, Tyler Bridges reports. Beard was close to Gov. John Bel Edwards and delivered the benediction at his 2016 and 2020 inaugural ceremonies. See funeral mass details here.