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Russian Casino Involvement has Edwards Trial Witness Scared13 February 2001NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana – Feb. 13, 2001 –As reported by the Associated Press: " A former casino executive who testified against ex-Gov. Edwin Edwards says he is looking over his shoulder -- not because of helping to convict Edwards, but because of his involvement in a Russian casino. "John Brotherton, who once worked for now-defunct Players International Inc., said he has turned over e-mail threats that he believes originated in Russia to the FBI. "…The casino carried the brand name of actor Chuck Norris, but Brotherton says it was controlled by Russian mobsters. During testimony in Edwards' trial, he said the casino was in such financial trouble that he loaned it $17,000 and was never paid for his work. "After money disappeared from a safe, along with an assistant manager, Brotherton and his wife were taken to a hotel and told not to leave, he said. After seven days, Brotherton said he contacted his mother-in-law, who called Sen. John Breaux's office. The next day, someone appeared at Brotherton's hotel door with two tickets back to the United States, he said. "…Tapes of recorded conversations that Brotherton made while working for Players in Lake Charles were used as evidence in Edwards' trial. The former governor and four other defendants, including the governor's son, Stephen, were convicted of extorting applicants for riverboat casinos…" |