INDReporter

Funeral Wed. for US District Judge Frank Polozola

by Walter Pierce

Polozola worked for the court for four decades, starting as a law clerk. He was nominated to the bench by President Jimmy Carter in 1980 and served as chief judge from 1998 to 2005.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A funeral Mass will be held Wednesday for U.S. District Court Judge Frank J. Polozola, who died Sunday night after fighting a long bout with cancer. Polozola was 71.

Polozola worked for the court for four decades, starting as a law clerk. He was nominated to the bench by President Jimmy Carter in 1980 and served as chief judge from 1998 to 2005.

He assumed senior status in 2007, meaning he began handling fewer cases.

Polozola presided over several high-profile cases, most notably former Governor Edwin Edwards' riverboat gambling corruption trial.

Edwards was convicted in May 2000 and sentenced by Polozola in January 2001 to 10 years in federal prison.

The funeral will be held at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Baton Rouge.