No "Little" deal.

If you haven’t heard why some of most recent criminal cases in Liberty county's recent history go unpunished, it is time to get clued in. The lack of action by former District Attorney Mike Little over the last few years and his sales pitch that citizens of Liberty County can depend on federal prosecutors has allowed two of the most well known crimes in recent Liberty County history go unpunished, while at the same time charges against political enemies are trumped up and prosecuted by the DA’s office. If you wonder how long this has been going on think back to the hateful treatment and prosecutorial discretion Little ramped up on former Mayor Scott Parker while allowing illicit drug sales and trafficking to sky rocket in Liberty County. We have a theory on why Little allowed the drugs, we will reveal that later, and he wasn’t alone.

More recently, Mike Little allowed the statute of limitations to expire on the Beausoliel mail theft case without exercising any power he had as the man we have paid a couple of million dollars over the years to be the prosecutor of Liberty County justice. Well that is not quite true – he did exercise his power of “prosecutorial discretion” as he sat on his hands and never brought one charge in a case that anyone who reads local media probably felt was going to result in some butts landing in prison.

The FBI agent assigned to the case said it should be “An easy case for your local district attorney to prosecute” but the fact the courthouse mail room was not an official federal post office left the feds out of it. But Mike Little not only failed to act on behalf of the citizens of this county, some speculate he helped stop the 2012 Liberty County grand jury in its tracks.

Last, but surely not least, Mike Little behaved much the same in the infamous FEMA fraud case. It is now said to be dead in the water. Why? – Some might ask… But the answer to that question is only complicated when trying to guess what the federal prosecutors are thinking. It is not complicated when considering what local prosecutors could have (and should have) done.

But just for a minute let’s throw a new thought out there about the FEMA fraud case. We have a new District Attorney and we have new allegations against one of the commissioners that served with former County Judge Phil Fitzgerald. Newly elected D.A. Logan Pickett has at his disposal clear evidence that former county commissioner Todd Fontenot illegally charged repairs for his personal vehicle to the county. Why not take a shot in the dark and offer Fontenot a deal. If he has evidence to re-energize the FEMA case, a plea deal could be in the works. If Fontenot is like Sergeant Schultz and “knows noooothing” then show people what happens when a public official violates the public trust. There are more violations of the law in Fontenot’s paper trail and this is no minor mistake… it is a crime.

It may be far-fetched, but if a deal on the Fontenot case could be pulled off it would be a win-win for the citizens of this county. It would save the expense and the embarrassment of another local scandal and it would announce the end of the Mike Little era where little was done about crimes committed by the F.D.A. - “Friends of the District Attorney”.