Prometheus 6

Jefferson said to figure in probe
He and sister ID'd by Shepherd defense
Friday, July 11, 2008
By Meghan Gordon
West Bank bureau

U.S. Rep. William Jefferson and Orleans Parish Assessor Betty Jefferson are the unidentified public officials described in the April conspiracy indictment against state Sen. Derrick Shepherd, according to Shepherd's attorneys.

Federal prosecutors acknowledged in a preliminary hearing Thursday that they recently disclosed the identities of "Public Official A" and "Public Official B" to Shepherd's defense team, but they would not make the information part of the public record, a decision backed by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier.

After the hearing, defense attorney John Reed confirmed speculation that the unnamed public officials were the Jeffersons. Neither is charged in the Shepherd indictment, but they face their own criminal trials in separate cases.