Ex-Lawmaker To Be Sentenced For Racketeering Plot

A former Louisiana lawmaker is awaiting sentencing for her role in a plot to pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars earmarked for charitable and educational programs.

Renee Gill Pratt faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison when U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle sentences her Wednesday for her racketeering conspiracy conviction.

A jury convicted Gill Pratt, a former state representative and New Orleans City Council member, of conspiring to loot more than $1 million from taxpayer-funded charities controlled by relatives of former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson.

Gill Pratt was convicted in a retrial. Her first trial ended with a deadlocked jury.

Former New Orleans tax assessor Betty Jefferson, a sister of William Jefferson, pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced in August to 15 months of home detention.