State Sen. Wesley Bishop on Monday pleaded not guilty at his first court appearance after being charged with making false statements to a federal agency about a Road Home grant.
Wearing a black suit, the New Orleans legislator stood next to his defense attorney as a federal prosecutor said Bishop faces up to five years in prison on the sole charge filed against him last month after a federal investigation that also probed whether he committed payroll fraud related to his job at Southern University at New Orleans.
Bishop didn't speak to the press as he walked to a waiting car after the hearing.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges that Bishop lied to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development by claiming that "certain individuals were tenants” at his New Orleans East rental property when they were not.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Dana M. Douglas set Bishop’s next court hearing for Jan. 7 and released him on his own recognizance after he agreed to surrender his passport.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andre Lagarde said the government had no objection to Bishop’s release without bail, which was also the recommendation of the court’s pretrial services office.
Despite the not-guilty plea, Bishop seems likely to plead guilty at a future date under an agreement with prosecutors. He was charged under a bill of information after waiving his right to an indictment, which generally indicates that a defendant has agreed to acknowledge guilt.
Bishop is being represented by Harry Rosenberg, a former U.S. attorney who is now in private practice.
Prosecutors have been tight-lipped about the case against Bishop, which centers on a four-unit apartment building that was damaged in Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Bishop, a 51-year-old attorney who owns the property, in 2012 received a $188,000 forgivable loan through the Louisiana Office of Community Development to fix it up and rent the four units at agreed-upon low rates for 10 years.
State Sen. Wesley Bishop owns this dilapidated fourplex on Roger Drive in New Orleans East. He received a forgivable loan to fix it up through the state’s Road Home program.
But the last time there was an active water meter at the building was in 2013, according to the Sewerage & Water Board.
Voters elected Bishop to the state House in 2011 and promoted him to the state Senate four years later. He announced in August that he would not seek re-election.
His decision to stand down came amid the investigation into the apartment grant as well as possible payroll fraud related to his job as a vice chancellor at SUNO. Bishop was paid tens of thousands of dollars in sick leave by the university on days when he reported for duty at the Legislature.
He repaid some of the money after a series of news reports on WVUE-TV and a SUNO audit. While the FBI investigated that matter as well, it did not result in any federal charges.
State Rep. Jimmy Harris will be sworn in to replace Bishop in the Senate next month.
