Brenda Jefferson Foster
Brenda Jefferson Foster | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1955 |
| Died | 17 May 2010 (aged 54–55) |
| Known for | Witness in the 2008–2009 federal trials of Betty Jefferson, Mose Jefferson, Angela Coleman, and Renée Gill Pratt |
Brenda Jefferson Foster (1955 – May 17, 2010) was a witness for the prosecution in the 2008-2009 trials of her older siblings Betty Jefferson and Mose Jefferson, Betty Jefferson's daughter Angela Coleman, and Mose Jefferson's companion former City Councilwoman Renée Gill Pratt.[1]
Jefferson Foster had originally been charged with some of the same offenses but accepted a plea bargain. In exchange for pleading guilty to a minor charge, she averted being prosecuted for the major offenses but agreed to serve as a witness for the office of U.S. Attorney Jim Letten. All the remaining defendants pleaded not guilty in U.S. Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on 5 June 2009. At the 5 June 2009 arraignment, U.S. Magistrate Joseph Wilkinson Jr. instructed the four defendants to refrain from contact with Brenda Jefferson Foster.[2]
In an editorial, The Times-Picayune of New Orleans mentioned Brenda Jefferson Foster's admission of her part in the alleged fraudulent activities.[3]
At a hearing before U. S. District Judge Ivan L. R. Lemelle on 17 June 2009, lawyers for Betty Jefferson and Angela Coleman requested a delay from the 3 August 2009 start date for the racketeering trial; at the same hearing, however, lawyers for Renée Gill Pratt and Mose Jefferson requested that the racketeering trial begin as scheduled on August 3.[4] On 28 July 2009, Lemelle delayed the start of the racketeering trial to 25 January 2010.[5]
Jefferson Foster died unexpectedly on 17 May 2010.[6]
Notes
- ^ The indictment is available on the WVUE-TV New Orleans Channel 8 site. Archived July 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine See also William J. Jefferson and Angela Coleman.
- ^ Michelle Krupa, "Ex-N.O. official pleads innocent" in Times-Picayune, 6 June 2009, Saint Tammany Edition, pp. A1, A11. [Former Councilwoman Pleads Not Guilty To Federal Charges"] on WDSU-TV New Orleans Channel 6, 5 June 2009 (retrieved 6 June 2009).
- ^ "An expected indictment" in Times-Picayune, 28 May 2009.
- ^ Laura Maggi, "Gill Pratt, Jefferson push for August trial" in Times-Picayune, 18 June 2009, Saint Tammany Edition, p. B3 (web version = Gill Pratt, Mose Jefferson push to keep August trial date).
- ^ "Trial delayed for Gill Pratt, Jefferson kin" in Times-Picayune, 29 July 2009, Saint Tammany Edition, p. B3. The bribery trial of Mose Jefferson was still set to begin on 10 August 2009.
- ^ Gordon, Russell (May 18, 2010). "Brenda Jefferson, sister of former Rep. William Jefferson, dies at 54". The Times Picayune. Retrieved March 6, 2026.