Ex-Rapides Official Acquitted Of Bribery Charge

ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) — A former member of the Rapides Parish Police Jury has been acquitted of a bribery charge by a federal jury at a retrial.

The jury acquitted Steve Bordelon on Friday. He faced one count of bribery and up to 10 years in prison.

The Town Talk reports (http://townta.lk/KGg6bK ) that the jury deliberated for a little more than two hours in a trial that lacked testimony or documents tying Bordelon directly to a bribe.

"The government had no evidence," Mike Small, lead attorney for Bordelon, said. "The jury got it right."

Bordelon, 72, declined to comment after the verdict. .

A jury last year deliberated for more than two days and didn't reach a unanimous decision, prompting U.S. District Judge Dee Drell to declare a mistrial.

Federal prosecutors accused the four-term police juror of accepting land in exchange for his influence and vote concerning a subdivision.

Bordelon was a member of the police jury from 1992 through 2007. He was indicted in April 2010.

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Information from: Alexandria Daily Town Talk, http://www.thetowntalk.com