He presided over the racketeering trial of Edwin Edwards
U.S. District Court Judge Frank Polozola, the federal judge who presided over the trial that sent former Gov. Edwin Edwards to prison for corruption charges, has died. He was 71.
Chief Judge for the Middle District of Louisiana, Brian Jackson, says Polozola died late Sunday. Jackson says he doesn't know Polozola's immediate cause of death, but the judge had been battling cancer for many years.
Polozola worked for the court for four decades, starting as a law clerk. He was nominated to the bench by President Jimmy Carter in 1980 and served as chief judge from 1998 to 2005.
Polozola oversaw Edwards' 2000 federal racketeering trial, in which the four-time former governor was convicted of extorting applicants for riverboat casino licenses in Louisiana.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
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