Texas Co-Defendant May Change NOPD Fraud Plea

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Court records indicate that the owner of a Brownsboro, Texas, security firm might plead guilty in a case accusing him of plotting with a New Orleans police commander to get kickbacks from a hurricane security contract. Both Joseph Branch of Gladius Inc. and police Capt. Michael Roussel are scheduled for trial March 28, but records show Branch has a change of plea hearing scheduled March 10. The Times-Picayune reports that both pleaded not guilty on Friday to federal wire fraud in a six-count indictment that replaces a single count handed up in June. The five new counts involve alleged statements in e-mails and a phone call. The men are charged with scheming to inflate a contract with Entergy Services Inc. – one eligible for Federal Emergency Management Administration coverage.