Former DA heads to prison Monday for obstruction of justice
An investigation called “Operation Twisted Justice” led to the obstruction of justice charge against a former district attorney in Louisiana who heads to federal prison Monday.
The former St. Charles Parish DA, Harry Morel, pleaded guilty earlier this year and was sentenced to three years in prison, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.
Morel was investigated for offering to help women in their pending court cases in exchange for sexual acts, according to the newspaper, which examined FBI records released this week. He pleaded guilty to the obstruction count for urging a woman to destroy photos of their meetings.
According to the records examined by the newspaper, 38 women alleged that Morel had either propositioned them for sex, had sex with them, or touched them inappropriately. “So numerous were the allegations—some 30 instances of sexual bribery and obstruction of justice over two decades,” the newspaper says, “that federal authorities at one point considered charging him with racketeering.”
They key government witness in the case died of a drug overdose in 2013. The newly released records indicate that Morel helped reduce a drunken driving charge against the woman and falsified documents to indicate she had completed community service, according to the article.
