Former State Insurance Official Charged In Probe

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A former deputy commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Insurance has been charged in Baton Rouge with racketeering.

The Advocate reports 67-year-old Richard L. Chambers Sr., of LaPlace, was charged Monday in a bill of information.

Chambers and his attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Mark Upton, signed a waiver of Chambers' right to have the matter sent to a grand jury for possible indictment.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey R. Amundson filed a notice that prosecutors and Chambers intend to file a plea agreement in the case.

Upton declined to comment Monday on the notice.

Chambers' racketeering charge resulted from the FBI's ongoing Operation Blighted Officials investigation, which has resulted in felony convictions against four Baton Rouge-area mayors, a city council member and a police chief since 2010.