i)

CIVIL DISTRICTCOURT FOR TFIE PARISI] OF ORLEANS

STATEOF ' NO. ./ DIVISION " lf !

FREDERICKR. HEEBE.Plaintiff

VERSUS

JAN MASIILLI MANN, Defendant

FILED: DEPUT'YCLERK

PETITION FOR DAMAGES

NOW INTO COURT, throughundersigned counsel, comes Plaintiff, Frederick

R. Ileebe,who respectfullyrepresents as follows:

PARTIES

l. Plaintiff is a personof ageand a citizen,resident, and domiciliary of the Stateof

Louisianawho residesand is domiciledin the Parishof Orleans.

2. DefendantJan Maselli Mann is a personof age anda cilrzen,resident, and domiciliaryof the Stateof Louisianawho residesand is domiciledin the Parishof Jefferson.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

3. Jurisdictionand venue for this actionare proper in thisjudicial district,pursuant to Article 74 of theLouisiana Code of Civil Procedure.

FACTUAL ALLBGATIONS

I. Introduction.

4. Mr. Ileebe filed a pre-suitdiscovery petition in this Court on March 12,2012, seekingto conductdiscovery in orderto verify the identityof the personresponsible for making libelous and defamatory statementsabout Mr. Ileebe and his family on the Times-Picayune website,Nola.com, under the handle,"Henry L. Menckenl951"("Mencken"). Threedays later,

Jim Letten, the Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana held a press conferencein which he revealedthat "Mencken" was one of his chief lieutenants,(now former)

AssistantUnited StatesAttorney SalvadorPerricone. During the pressconference Letten took great umbrage at the suggestionthat others in his office were involved in suneptitiousonline activity,insisting that despitePerricone's obvious lapse in judgment,the U.S. Attorney'sOffice

("USAO") as a whole "recognize[s]the absoluteduty of all U.S. Altorney's office personnelto refrain from publicly commentingon any pendingmatters pending before the Departmentexcept in strict accordancewith establishedDOJ and U.S. Attorney'soffice policies,procedures, and guidelines."

5. Ilowever,Perricone was not the only memberof Letten'sstaff who regularlyused the Nola.com comment boards as a forum for lashing out against-and in some cases defaming-persons associatedwith USAO investigations.In a four-monthperiod spanningfrom

November201 1 to March 2012,someone posting under the handle"eweman" posted over three dozencomments on Nola.com. Thesecomments-like the "Mencken" comments-reflectnot only a keen interestin USAO investigationsand prosecutions,but a highly detailedknowledge of the office's activitiesand inner workings going back decades.Like "Mencken,""eweman" displayeda particularinterest in the USAO's ongoing investigationof Mr. Ileebe and his company,River Birch, Inc. And, like certain of "Mencken's" comments,at least two of

"eweman's"comments about Mr. I{eebewere libelous and defamatory.l

6, Moreover,like "Menckon's"writings, "eweman's" writings containthematic and linguisticsignposts that point unmistakablyin the directionof the USAO and, in particular,to

Letten'ssecond-in-command, First Assistant United States Attorney Jan Maselli Mann:

. The "eweman" posts are replete with examples of a unique typographic error- superfluousspacing before punctuationmarks-that is evident in writings attributableto Ms. Mann.

o One post containsan obscureslang term-"fender lizard"-that Ms. Mann is known to usein conversation.

o In addition,the "eweman"posts repeatedly castigate two New Orleanscriminal defense attorneys-Arthur A. "Buddy" Lemann III and former U.S. Attorney Eddie J. Jordan, Jr.-for whom Ms. Mann is knownto harborgreat personal disdain.

7. The "eweman" commentsare also notablebecause of the degreeto which they coincidedwith the "Mencken" comments-over sixtv nercentof the "eweman"comments were postedto storieson which "Mencken" also commented.Indeed, in somecases, the "eweman"

The Nola.comprofile page {br ewemanindicates that 40 commentswere postedto the site under that handle. Plaintiff thus far has been able to locate only 35 comments. Plaintiff intendsto subpoenathe full setof ewemanpostings from Nola.comand reserves the right to amendthis petition to accountfor other defamatorycomments eweman may haveposted about Mr. Fleebe.

2012.I I 02 Pelitionfor Damages and "Mencken" commentswere postedminutes apart and evincesome degree of coordination betweentheir authors.

8. Significantly,all activity on the "eweman" accountceased abruptly after the umaskingof Perricone. "Eweman" postedat least40 commentson the Nola.comsite between

November2011 andMarch 2012,including at leastnine relating to the River Birch investigation.

Since the filing of Mr. Ifeebe's pre-suit discoverypetition on March 12, 2012, the Times-

Picayunehas published dozens of storiesabout the invesligation-includingan extensive,multi- part seriesof articlespublished in September.Yet, narya word from "eweman."

9. Mr. Heebefiles this actionto seekredress for damaseshe hassuffered as a result of Ms. Mann's libelousand defamatorv statements about him.

II. "Eweman's" Comme.rt,Anout USAO Investigations.

10. Like "Mencken"before her, "eweman" stood out from othercommenters on the

Nola.comwebsite because of the deepknowledge she exhibited of the USAO and,in particular, investigationsand prosecutions in which Ms. Mann is known to haveplayed a role. For example:

o In onepost, "eweman" defended the reputationof formerU.S. Attorney John Volz, who left offioein 1990:

Brlawyer - you're a racketeering-convictedEWE admirer, a Judge Porteous impeacheddefender, a prosecutorbasher and god knows what else.Under your type of viewpoint politiciansare above the law and your way of thinking is exactlywhy La is 50th in everything.You don't have to know Volz to know that under his leadership politicians and other previously untouchable criminals began to learn that their actionswould not be tolerated.You complainabout fblks who had negativethings to sayabout EWE as hitting below the belt but yet you deridea deadman. Flypocritical eh?

Ex. I at 307 (emphasisadded) (January 19,2072,1:22PM),

In anotherpost, "eweman" waxes philosophical about the motivationsof David Duke, whom Ms. Mann receivedan awardfor prosecuting:

No needto get all healy about the Duke man. He has no real beliefs- it's all about cute young things and the con.the wholeHolocaust-denial thing or when he was in the U.S.the racistgarbage - is all the equivalentof a flim flam man.He doesn'tcare about any'thing other than he found a way to supporthimself in the lifestylehe accustomedhimself to.

Itl. at83 (ernphasisadded) Qrlovember 30,2011, 8:3OAM).

In a November5, 201I post,"eweman" compared River Birch CFO Dominick Fazzioto a stringof otherpersons prosecuted by the USAO, suggestingin a not-so-subtleway that Fazztois foolishfor exercisinghis SixthAmendment rights: "Fazziois certainlyentitled to takehis chancesat trial just as his predecessorsRenee Gill Pratt, Mose Jefferson, Mark St. Pierre etc did." Id. at6 (emphasisadded) Q.Jovember 05,2071 at 10:20AM).

2012 I I 02 Petitionlilr f)amages ll. All told. 2l of the 35 "eweman" commentsrecovered from Nola.com either discussthe USAO and personsit has investigatedor prosecutedor were posted to stories reportingon USAO investigationsor prosecutions.

12. Moreover, "eweman" did not simply discuss USAO matters; she used the commentboards zealously to defendthe office andto attackits detractors.F-or example:

. "Eweman" defendedLetlen in unusuallypersonal terms againstcharges that he was takingtoo muchcredit for the work of the USAO:

Letten is not taking credit for all of the caseshis office prosecutes, he is the facefor his office. If you have ever heard him give a speechhe givesall of the credit to his employeesand takes very little for himself.No one in their right mind thinksLetten personally handles the cases.

Id. at 24 (emphasesadded) (l.Jovember 09,201r l, 9:00AM).

r "Eweman" rebuttedthe suggestionthat the USAO was responsiblefor leaking the existenceof a wire-tapin the high-profile"Wrinkled Robe"investigation:

ANyone who knows anything knows that if the FBI thought they had evidenceproving a federal prosecutorhad leaked a casethey would have beensalivating to chargethe prosecutor.They literallywould havebeen falling all over eachother to tag the prosecutor.They could have goneto DOJ, had the local office recusedand had someonefrom D.C. or anotheroffice cometo NOLA and handlethe case.Nobody getsa pass, no agentand no prosecutor.All this tells me is that there may have been a concernby a know nothing Agent but it never panned out much to his chagrin and the case againstthe Judgesand Marcottesucceeded in spiteof him beingor.rt of his depth.

Icl.at 57 (emphasisadded) Q.Jovember 27 ,2011, 1:19PM).

. In responseto postingsfrom othercommenters suggesting that the USAO had beentoo lenientin chargingformer Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard, "eweman" wrote:

They havebeen accused of stealinghundreds of thousandsof our dollarsand are charged with feloniesgalore. It soundslike a coupleof you out therethink that won't land em in the pen. Flaven'tyou been paying attention?You take the king down for anything you got hirn on. Al Capone went to jail for taxes, remember?

Icl.aL l l9 (emphasesadded) (December 02,2011, 4:37PM).

. Respondingto commentsthat the USAO was too aggressivein the prosecutionof former GovernorEdwin Edwards,"eweman"' wrote: "The Feds did not go after EWE for fun. FIe kept committing crimes and left them no choice." Id. at 251 (January14, 2012, 5:34PM).

13. "Eweman" displayedparlicular interest in the River Birch investigation. From

Novemberthrough March 2012, "eweman"posted at leastnine commentsthat either directly

Indeed, the nom de plume "eweman" appearsto have been inspired by Governor Edwards'sinitials-perhaps in combinationwith Ms. Mann's own last name. And it is worth noting that Ms. Mann's husband,Assistant United StatesAttorney JamesMann, was involved in the prosecution of Edwards and former Louisiana Insurance CommissionerJames Brown.

2012 I r 02 Petitionfor Damagcs referencedMr. Heebeor personsconnected to the River Birch investigationor were postedto

storiesreporting on the investigation. For example"eweman" madethe following comments

aboutl:azzio and -arearadio nersonalitv Garland Robinette:

o "Like ReneeGill Pratt anclMose Jeffersonand Mark St Piene did, Fazzio is certainly entitled to take his best shot at beating the odds for conviction.The juries in federal court seemto uniformly find that the prosecutorsare doing the right thing and proving their casesbeyond doubt. Too bad for Fazzio if he is only taking this route because he's afraid of his boss. Does anyone see a patternhere? He used to work for Al Copelandand now he works for IrredHeebe/Jim Ward? Birds of a feather...."Id. aI 5 (emphasesadded) (\lovember 05, 2011,I 0:1 5AM).

o "Luckily Mr. High Profile attorney won't be able to put the fix in in federal court for Fazzio lihe he did for Cinel in Orleans Parish. Lemannactually referred to himself asa DragonSlayer in his book- you got to be kidding.This guy lookslike BossHog and hasn'tlooked at a law book sincehe left school.He's betterthan thoselast 3 jokers but couldn't you have come up with somebodybetter on the 2nd try Fazz?" Id. at 245 (emphasesadded) (January 73, 2012, 6:27PM).

o "Like the Board at Penn State,whoever runs WWL needs to fire Garlando. FIis disgracewas selling his opinionsto the highestbidder. How can any listenertrust his statementson air afler thal? How do his bossesjustify him not disclosingthis beforehe got caught?If hypocrisy is one of the most damning traits, Mr Robinemblind is the poster boy. He is a two bit journalist/artist/conman who needsto go ASAP. If Penn Statedidn't feel it was necessaryto show JoePaloyalty after46 years,WWL doesn'towe it to VincentVan Robinette!"Id. at 46 (emphasesadded) Q.Jovember 12,2011, 7:15PM).

. "$250.000loan to build a 400 squarefoot arl studio ...arethe floors pavedwith gold? What a crock. I don'tknow much aboutconstruction costs but thatmust be somehelluva 20X20 room.B.S. on its'face.Couldn't Garlandohave come up with a betterstory than that? If he has a lot of moneyin the bankthen this storywon't hold waterin court. Has anyonebeen to this palatialstudio ? Does anyone know if Garland is tap cify or llush?" Id. at 357 (emphasesadded) (February 04,2012, 1 I :59AM).

14. Yet, remarkably,the "eweman"handle went silentafter Mr. Heebefiled his pre-

suit discoverypetition, which revealedthat Perriconewas anonymouslyposting about USAO

investigationson Nola.comand led to his resignation."Eweman's" silence has persisted, despite 's' the fact the Times-Picayune coverageof the River Birch investigationhas not abatedsince

March 2012. Indeed,the paperhas published dozens of articleson the investigationin the past

eight months, including numerousstories about "Mencken," dramatic developmentsin the

Fazziocase (namely the allegationthat the USAO enteredinto a secretplea dealwith Fazzio's

allegedco-conspirator), and a six-part,in-depth series on River Birch that was publishedin

September.The fact that "eweman"has not posteda singlecomment to the sitesince March 12,

2012 indicatesthat the personbehind these posts stopped because she had somethingto fear if shecontinued posting, namely career repercussions similar to thosethat the disgracedPerricone ultimatelyfaced.

2012 I i 02 Pelitionior Damages 15. The "eweman"comments are notable as well for the degreeto which they overlap with the "Mencken" comments. T'wenty-twoof the 35 "eweman" commentsrecovered (63 percent)appear on commentboards on which "Mencken" also posted. Some of tlieseposts appearedwithin minutesof eachother. Compare,e.g.,Ex. I at211 ("eweman"post of January

2,2012,10:39AM),with icl.ar2l2 ("Mencken"post of January2,2012,10:5lAM). And there is a remarkabledegree of consistencyin the points of view expressedby the two commenters, including:

. Shared outrage at the mistrial in the Danziger Bridge Case. Regarclingthe decisionof U.S. DistrictJudge Kurt Engelhardtto declarea mistrialin the caseof former New orleans Police SergeantGerard Dugue, "eweman" wrote: "This Judgedeclared a mistrialbecause his bestbuddy the defenseattorney asked for it as a resultof the butt whippin' his client was taking on the stand."Ex. I at 335 (January28,2012, 4:42PM). "Mencken" wrote: "lf the federalsystem had the supervisorywrit systemlike the state,this judge would be reversed Ex. I at 332 (January28, 2012,9 :26 AM).

o Mutual admiration lbr former U.S. Attorney Volz, In responseto criticismof volz by anothercommenter, "eweman" posted, "you don'thave to know Volz to know that under his leadershippoliticians and other previously untouchable criminalsbegan to learnthat their actionswould not be tolerated.You complain about folks who had negativethings to say about EWE as hitling below the belt but yet you deridea deadman. Hypocritical eh?" Ex. I at30l (January19,2012, 1:22PM). "Mencken"(adopting the falsepersona of a75-yearold retiredlawyer) commentedas well: "I went to law schoolwith JohnVolz and admiredhim and still do. I believethat the standardshe set in that office are still there." Ex. I at 306 (January19, 2012, 7 :24AM').

Shared disgustthat convictedattorney Bryan White regainedhis law license: In responseto an article announcingthat attorneyBryan White regainedhis law licenseafter his convictionin the "Wrinkled Robe"prosecution, "eweman" stated, "Everyjudge who voted for this crookto get his law licenseback shouldbe sent packing.White tried to corrupta judge in orderto fix a child custodycase for his boss,Al Copeland.He committeda crimeas a lawyer.Now they let him backin. thereare over 20,000lawyers in La _ do we really needthis one?outrageous .,, Ex. 1 at 311 (January20,2012,8:54PM). Similarly, "Mencken" posted: "This is a disgracefor the Loooooooooziana Supreme Court. How do they expectthe public of have ANY confidencein ANY judgment they render if they let a convictedfelon becomea lawyer????Incrediblelll Disgusting! Unbelievable and typicalof this havenfor criminals." Ex. I at 3l l (January20,2012, 9:48pM).

Mutual disdain for retired FtsI Agent Charles McGinty: In responseto an article by Times-Picayunereporter Drew Broach outlining retired FBI supervisor CharlesMcGinty's concernsover a leak in the "Wrinkled Robe" investigation, "Mencken" suggestedthat McGinty himselfwas the leak (Ex. 1 at 58 (].{ovember 27,2011,3:34PM)("well, Mr. Broach,it appearsyou found your leak!"))and "eweman" dismissed McGinty as a "know nothing Agent" (Ex, 1 at 57 (November27 ,2011, 1 :19PM)).

Animosity toward .IefTersonParish District Attorney paul Connick: In responseto the suggestionby a fellow commenterthat the JeffersonParish DistrictAttorney, rather than the USAO, shouldhave handled Aaron Broussard's prosecution,"eweman" stated, "lt would be nice if the DA could do somepublic corruptioncases but he'd have to chargehis own father in this casewho was also a ghostemployee - couldbe a little tough." Ex. 1 at 102(December2,20rl at

20ll I I 02 Perirronlur Danagcs 12:07PM)."Mencken" said, "THe DA????????????????Connick???????????? Don'tmake me lausli!!!l!!!l! 1." Ex. I at99 (December 2-20]r 1. l2:3SPM).

Jealousytoward members of the Sugar Bowl Committee: Respondingto an articleprofiling severalmembers of the SugarBowl committee,"Mencken" stated that "l nearly choked on my croissant when I read about the degree of volunteerismrequired by the SugarBowl Committee. I know some of these amoebaon the committeeand the word volunteeris not in their vocabulary."Ex. 1 at 196 (January l, 2012, 10:5lAM). Echoing "Mencken's" criticism, "eweman"wrote: "who arethe membersof this supervolunteer committee? Can we know? I want to veneratetheir civic mindedposteriors along with everyone else."Ex. I at 196(January 7,2012, I :52PM).

16. The temporal proximity of the "eweman" and "Mencken" commentsand the similarity in views they expressimply some degreeof coordinationbetween "Mencken" and

"eweman." Thus to the extent "eweman,"like Perricone,was also a memberof the USAO,

"eweman's" apparentknowledge of "Mencken's" agendaand true identity flatly contradicts

Letten'sassefiion at his March pressconference tliat no one in the USAO, otherthan Perricone,

"autltored, participated in or had knowleclgeof the formulation or posting of the Llenry L.

Menkenl95I comments."

III. Evidenceof "Eweman's" True Identity.

17. Along the way, "eweman" left severalpieces of evidencerevealing her true identity. Among these are a series of unique typographicerrors that appearboth in the

"eweman"posts and in a seriesof writingsattributable to Ms. Mann.

18. The "eweman"posts contain at leasteleven examples where the authoradded a superfluousspace before pr-rnctuation marks:

o "Lettenis not takingcredit lbr all of the caseshis office prosecutes,he is the facefor his office." Ex. I at 24 Q.Jovember09, 2011,9:00AM).

. "Nobody gets a pass , no agent and no prosecutor." Id. at 57 Qllovember27,20II, 1:19PM).

. "Someonehas to comeup with an answer." Id. at 2ll-12 (January02,2012, l0:39AM).

r "EddieJordan is aspathetic as Eclwards is evil ." Icl. at251(January 14,2012,5:34PM).

r "l-lad he not been electedDA our crime problem would not have spun so far out of control ." Id.

. "They don'tcare who yon are." Id. at250 (January15,2072,4:55PM).

"How lre got electedis one of the great mysteries." Id. at 299 (January17, 2012, 8:31PM).

"Now they let him back in. thereare over 20,000lawyers in La _ do we really needthis one?Outrageous ." Id. at 3l I (Janr"rary20,2012,8:54PM),

"Def-enseattorney knew he was aboutto lose and hit the Eject buttonplain and simple andhis fiiend the Judgegave him a way out ." Id. at336 (January28,2072,4:42PM).

20 I 2. i I 02 Perilionfor Darnagcs . "lf he has a lot of money in the bank then this story won't hold water in court. Has anyonebeen to this palatialstudio ?" Id. at 357(February 04,2012,1 1:59AM).

. "Open file discoveryis not the norm anywherein this countryand could endangerthe lives of witnesseswho all too rarelyfeel they can safelycome forward." Id. at398 (February29, 2012,I 0:3IAM).

19. Ms. Mann authoreda seriesof elevene-mails from August 14 throughOctober

14, 2012,which containsat leastsix examplesof superfluousspacing before periods, commas,

andquestion marks. In addition,a pleadingMs. Mann signedin UnitedStates v. DeCuy,No. 05-

186, containsanother example of the sameerror. Ilx. 2 at 3 (Gov't Mem. of Law Re: Rule

404(b) Evid.) ("Vincent funneled approximately$60,000 to Stan Barrd's bank account ."

(emphasisadded)).

20. One of the "eweman" posts misspellsthe possessiveform of pronoun "it" as

"its"': "I don't know much about constructioncosts but that must be somehelluva 20 X 20

room. B.S. on its' face." Ex. I aI 357 (emphasisadded) (February 04,2012, 11:59AM).

Likewise, one of the e-mailsMs. Mann sent during tl-reAugust l4 throughOctober 14,2012

periodcontains an identicalerror.

21. Anothertypographic feature that links the "ewernan"postings to Ms. Mann is the

useof ellipseswithout spacingbetween the periods.Both the "eweman"postings and a pleading

that was filed underMs. Mann's signaturein the DeCaymatter contain ellipses without spaced periods:

. Compare,e.g., Ex. I at 5 ("eweman"post of November05, 201I,10:15AM)("He used to work for Al Copeland and now he works for Fred l-leebe/JimWard? Birds of a feather...."),and id. at 269 ("eweman"post of January15,2012, 4:24PM) ("On the taxpayersdime...Unbelievable!"), with

. Ex. 3 at2 (Gov't Mem. in Opp.to Deft's Requestfor AdditionalPeremptory Challenges) ("Defendantsclaim there exists,'...the reasonablelikelihood to receivean unfair trial beforea partialjury..."'), and Ex. 4 at 2 (Gov't Mot. RegardingTime Limits for Voir Dire) ("The ttse of inflammatoryand racially chargedlanguage by the defensesuch as '...the Morial Adrninistrationhas been investigatedby the Government,as if it were a '...this crimesyndicate.' (Rec. Doc. No. 208,p. 5); caseis all aboutMayor Morial's DBE program, and the real victims of the case are the African American minority businesses..,theprosecutors...elected not to treat the African American minority businessesas the victims...'(Rec. Doc. No. 205, p 2);'the genesisof all theseillicit funds came lrom the "set aside"or DBE money.' (Rec. Doc. No. 205, p.3); and, 'Morial's 'involved open accessplan was one of entitlement'and the expenditureof public fundsto the disadvantagedbased upon a politicaljudgment...' (Rec. Doc. No. 205, p.4).").

This distinctivefeature of Ms. Mann's legal writing is anotherfactor that, in combinationwith the typographicerrors discussed above, links Ms. Mann to "eweman."

2012 | | 02 Pelilionfor Damages 22. One of the "eweman"posts stands out for its use of a seldom-usedslang term

used to describea woman who has an affinity for law enforcementofficers-"fender lizard."

Ex. 1 aI 336 (January28, 2012, 4:42PM) ("The rest of you commentersare NOPD fender

lizards."). Ms. Mann is known to haveused this term in conversation.On one suchoccasion,

sheexplained that "fender lizard" is a synonymfor "cop groupie."

23. The "eweman" posls are notableas well for the degreeto which they attack

individualsfor whom Ms. Mann is krown to feel greatpersonal antipathy.

21. Ms. Mann has worked in the USAO sincethe late 1980s. She quickly rose to

becomethe chief of the office's criminaldivision. But shewas demotedin i994 when EddieJ.

Jordan,Jr. was appointedU.S. Attorney. Ms. Mann is known to harbordeep resentment toward

Mr. Jordanas a resultof her demotion. And hostilitytoward Mr. Jordanis oneof the hallmarks

of the "eweman"posts:

' . " was nothing but Bill Jeffersonspuppet. Eddie has no original thoughts. Hilariously he is now a criminal defenseattorney. The prosecutorsdon't deserveto be this lucky. If Eddie had beenthe leastbit his own man or intelligenthe would have done more damagebut he was too busy firing experiencedemployees to makeway fbr the Jeffersoncrowd. Oh andpicking out new hatsto makehim look taller." Ex. I at 145(emphasis added) (December 04,2011, 12:59PM).

. "Does anyone see a massiveproblem with the DA's secondin commandvoicing a differentopinion from his boss?IIe did thatto createa defenseto any perjurycharge that might result. He says the officers mistatementswere a mistake and as a prosecutorhe couldbe calledas a def.ensewitness to reiteratethat. Marlin's letterclearing the copswas intentional and unethical and hurls good government efforts spectacularly.Martin makes Eddie Jordan look better. At least Jordan was too dumb to pull a stunt like that." Ex. 1 at 221 (emphasisadded) (January 02,2012,10:25AM).

o "The Feds did not go after EWII for fun. He kept committing crimes and left them no choice.Eddie Jordan is as pathetic as Edwards is evil . Luckily Jordanwas sensible enoughto keephis mouth shutfor the entiretrial. EvenEWE saidJordan slept the whole trial. EWE was smart and wastedit on greedand self-service.Jordan was dumb and usedby smarter crooksto advancetheir own agendas.Had he not beenelected DA our crime problem would not have spun so far out of control . IIe virtually did not convictanyone as DA. Thosekillers who walkedare the onesstill out therekilline." Ex.I at 25I (emphasesadded) (January 14, 2012, 5:34PM).

25. Another of the targets of "eweman's" online rants was attorney Arthur A.

"Buddy" LemannIII, who currentlyrepresents Mr.Irazzio. As is evicientfrom public pleadings,

Ms. Mann and Mr. Lemannrepeatedly clashed during the hard-fbtght DeCay matter. Ms. Mann signeda pleadingin that casecomplaining to the Courtabout public statementsby Mr. Lemann suggestingrace-based motives for the prosecution. Ex. 5 at 2_3 (Gov't Mot. in Limine &

IncorporatedMem. in Supportof ExcludingEvid. Of Race/Politics or ProsecutorialMotives).

And, at one point, the relationshipbetween Mr. Lemannand Ms. Mann souredto the point that

2012 I I 02 Pelitionlor Damages Ms. Mannshouted at Mr. Lemannduring a discoveryconference, "Fuck you, Buddy Lemam."

Ex. 6 at 9 (Mem. in Supportof DeCay'sMot. to DismissCounts 14 8. 18 of Superseding

Indictment).

26. One of the "eweman" posts evincessimilar hostility toward Mr. Lemam. In

responseto a Times-Picayunearlicle reportingthat Mr. Lemannhad beenretained to represent

Mr.Fazzio, "eweman"posted the lbllowing:

I-uckily Mr. High Profile attorneywon't be able to put the fix in in federalcourt for Fazzio like he did for Cinel in OrleansParish. Lemann actually referred to himself as a DragonSlayer in his book - you got to be kidding.This guy looks like BossHog and hasn't lool

Ex. 1 at 245 (emphasisadded) (Janr"rary 13, 2012, 6:27PM). Later that evening,"Mencken"

chimedin on the samecomment board with his own criticismof Lemann: "Looks like Fazzio

got a lemon. That book you referto Mr. Rioux is aboutall ol his losses.The guy is a clown and

Fazziois goingdown." Id. (January13,2012,10:36PM).

ry. "Eweman's" Libelousand DcfamatoryStatements About Mr. Ireebe.

27. Like Perricone, Mann's comments crossed the line between inappropriate

commentaryand libel/defamation on at leasttwo occasions,

28. On November5, 2011,in responseto a Times-Picayunestory published the day

before about a supersedingindictment againstMr.Fazzio, "eweman" wrote: "lFazzio] used to

work for Al Copelandand now he works fbr FredI-leebe/Jim Ward? Birds of a feather...."Ex. 1

at 5 Qrlovember5,2011,10:15AM) The lateAl Copeland,founder of the PopeyesChicken &

Biscuits fast food chain, was a key figure in the USAO's prosecutionof a former Jefferson

Parishjrrdge, Ronald Bodenheimer. The governmentcharged Bodenheimer with, inter olia,

agreeingto issuefavorable rr-rlings in a child custodycase in which Copelandwas involvedin

exchangefor a Copeland-controlledentity's promise to do businesswith Bodenheimer'sseafbocl company. Thus by statingthat Mr. Fleebeand Copelandwere "Birds of a feather,""eweman" plainly-and falsely-implied that Mr. IIeebe has bribed public officials. This allegationis defamatoryand libelous per se.

29. "Eweman" furtherdefamed Mr. Heebeby statingthat he paid GarlandRobinette in order to influence Robinette'son-air commentary. "llweman" posted in responseto a

November 11, 20ll Times-Picayunestory reporting on the repaymentof what the paper describedas "a $250,000interest-free loan from a companyor,vned by Heebe." "Eweman,,

t0 2012 I I 02 Peliliorfor Drmagcs falsely statedthat the transactionwas proof that Robinette"was selling his opinionsto the highestbidder," namely to Mr. Heebe.Ex. 1 at 40 ${ovember72,2011,7:l5PM).

30. By virtue of her positionin the USAO, Ms. Mann was awareof evidencein the government'spossession that exculpatesMr. Heebeagainst any chargeof bribery or having made payments or loans to Mr. Robinette for the purpose of influencing the content of

Robinette'son-air commentary. Ms. Mann made thesefalse statementsagainst Mr. Heebe maliciouslyand with knowledgethat the statementswere false.

CAUSE OF ACTION

DEFAMATION

31. Plaintiff herebyadopts, incorporates and reallegesall of the allegationsmade in paragraphs1 through30 of his petition.

32. By posting the commentsreferenced in paragraphs28 and 29 to a publically accessiblewebsite, Nola.com, Defenclantpublished or causedto be publishedstatements to numerousthird parties.

33. The comments,specifically those referencedin paragraphs28 and 29 of this petitionare, and at all relevanttimes were,false, defamatory, and libelouson their face as they applyto Mr. IIeebe.

34. Defendant, at all relevant times, knew that the statements referenced in paragraphs28 and 29 of this petition were false or actedin recklessdisregard as to the truth of thesestatemenls.

35. The commentsreferenced in paragraphs28 and 29 weremade intentionally and with actualor impliedmalice, or, in the alternative,negligently.

36. The commentsreferenced in paragraphs28 and 2() are statementsof fact, not opinion,that Mr. Fleebehas engagedin dishonest,unethical, and illegal conductand thus are defamatorvDer se.

37, The commentsreferenced in paragraphs28 and 29 are,and at all relevanttimes were, of a characterthat have harmed Mr. iJeebe's reputation,lowered his status in the estimation of the community, deterredothers from associatingor dealing with him, and otherwiseexposed hirn to contemptand ridicule"

il 2012 I I 02 Petitionfbr Damages 38. As a proximatecause of Defendant'spublication of the defamatorystatements

referencedin paragraphs28 and 29, Mr. Heebe has suffered loss to his trade, business,and

repulation.

WHEREFORE, PlaintiffFrederick R. Fleebe,prays that:

After due proceedingsare had,judgment be enteredin his favor and againstthe

Defendant,Jan Maselli Mann, for all damagesas are reasonablein the premises,together with

legal interest,thereon, from judicial demanduntil finally paid,for all costsof theseproceedings,

and for any other and further legal and equitablerelief asthe court deemsnecessary and proper.

Respectfully submitted,

le Schonekas.11817 illiamP. Gibbens, 21225 SCHONEKAS,EVANS, MCGOEY & MCEACHIN,L.L.C. 909 PoydrasStreet, Suite 1600 New Orleans,Louisiana 70112 Telephone:(504) 680-6050 [email protected] [email protected]

BrendanV. Sullivan,Jr. Qtro hac vice to be submitted) RobertM. Cary Qtrohoc vice to be submitted) Curtis J. MahoneyQtro hac vice to be submitted) WILLIAMS & CONNOLLY LLP 725 Twelfth Street.N.W. Washington,D.C.20005 Telephone: (202) 434-5000 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Attorneysfor FrederickR. Ileebe

PLEASE SERVE: Jan Maselli Mann 102Homestead Avenue Metairie,Louisiana 70005

ta 2012 I I ul Petitionfor Damages IL