Does the alleged mastermind behind the bribery scheme in the DA's office have another trick up his sleeve? On Dec. 17 Lafayette private investigator Robert Williamson, his wife and the couple's two daughters successfully petitioned state district court to have him declared incompetent to handle his affairs, claiming in their petition for interdiction that he suffers from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and has suffered mini strokes in recent months. Williamson is the man believed to be the mastermind behind a bribery scheme involving OWI and other cases prosecuted by District Attorney Mike Harson's office. Williamson teamed up with Harson's secretary for the past four years, Barna Haynes, and two years later ensnared Assistant District Attorney Greg Williams and his secretary to help defendants achieve favorable outcomes for their cases.
Williamson and his wife Sonya in 2008, almost two decades after they claimed an electrocution in an Alexandria hotel room left her paralyzed and unable to speak. But the insurance company
fought back and won. "The jury found that Sonya was, indeed, injured in the Best Western Motel, whether by a staged
electrocution gone bad or by a minor or non-existent shock
followed by Robert's administration of paralyzing drugs to make
a case for quadriplegia," the court minutes read.
For his efforts, Williamson (identified in court documents as co-conspirator #1) got $5,000 a pop (though it may have been more), Haynes got $500 and Williams and his secretary, Denease Curry, got gifts and lesser amounts of cash, according to the feds. Haynes, Williams and Curry have all pleaded guilty to their roles in the elaborate scheme.
Williamson took in hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the feds' claims in court documents. On the same day in February that the FBI searched Haynes' and Williams' offices, they also collected evidence in the case from Williamson's 311 Arnould Boulevard home.
Private eye Williamson, whom many observers believe will be arrested and charged any day now, and his family were scheduled to appear in court Jan. 22 for a hearing on a full interdiction but apparently had a change of heart - or a change of strategy. Williamson, his wife Sonya (the woman supposedly left paralyzed by two electrocutions, including one at an Alexandria hotel in 1989) and the couple's two daughters, Jolie Williamson (who lives with them) and Dixie Ann Hundley, decided on Jan. 23 to terminate the interdiction. In court documents they now say the interdiction is "currently excessive" and is "no longer necessary to care for the person and property of Robert T. Williamson." They asked District Judge John Trahan to dismiss the matter in its entirety, which would release Sonya and Jolie from any further responsibility as curator and undercurator, respectively.
Trahan obliged, signing the termination and filing it into the court record Monday.
Robert Williamson's attorney, Peter Piccione Jr., would not comment on why the family terminated the interdiction.
Jolie Williamson and her mother Sonya Williamson, who
were appointed curator and undercurator, respectively,
for Robert Williamson in December, asked the court to terminate the interdiction of the local private investigator, calling it "currently excessive."
So it remains unclear what caused the Williamson clan to turn to Plan B and what Plan B might be. But you can bet this sue-happy family - court records show it made at least 19 injury claims against insurance companies between 1981 and 1989, including three electrocutions, with many of the "accidents" occurring just days after the Williamsons purchased excessive amounts of insurance - has a plan. And if you don't believe that, read this.
And you can also bet the feds won't let Robert Williamson slip away this time.