New Orleans staged wrecks suspect enters plea in bombshell hearing [Video]

A suspect indicted in a wide-ranging staged wrecks investigation has pleaded guilty, and also revealed bombshell allegations in the case. Ryan Harris, who was indicted in connection with the staged wrecks as well as an investigation into the killing of a federal witness in the case, pleaded guilty to three charges Thursday. Harris pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, wire fraud, and causing death by use of a firearm. The factual basis of Harris's plea agreement was read in court. Harris admitted his role in the killing of Cornelius Garrison, who was reportedly working with the federal government in the case against several high-profile New Orleans lawyers and their firms. According to court records, Harris said he assisted with the murder by providing a co-conspirator, Leon Parker, with the gun. However, Harris accused Parker of shooting and killing Garrison. Harris also accused Sean Alfortish, a well-known businessman and disbarred attorney in New Orleans, of paying Parker to kill Garrison, according to the court documents. Harris also admitted to working with Alfortish's fianc, Vanessa Motta, and the King Firm to stage accidents and file false insurance claims. Judge Wendy Vitter accepted Harris' admission of guilt, but not the proposed plea deal sentence of 35 years. Vitter is asking to review the pre-sentence investigation in the case due to the fact Harris' third count carries a life in prison sentence.Vitter asked Harris why he was pleading guilty during the court hearing. "I'm taking responsibility for my actions," Harris replied. Last month, Parker, the accused shooter, was in court for a detention hearing, during which new details about the scheme were revealed.He is being represented by Stephen Haedicke, who was assigned through the federal public defender's office. An FBI agent testified, saying Parker played a part in the killing of Cornelius Garrison after New Orleans businessman Sean Alfortish tried to pay Garrison to go to the Bahamas instead of cooperate with the investigation. The FBI agent testified that Motta and Alfortish offered Garrison money to leave and also arranged for him to get an attorney. The agent said a burner phone was used in the killing of Garrison and was bought by Ryan Harris, who has been indicted in connection with the scheme and homicide. A second burner phone was also used during the crime, and whoever had both was connected to the location where the killing happened, according to the FBI agent. Parker referred to himself as Harris' stepdad, and reportedly searched "Cornelius Garrett" on Google days before the killing. The FBI agent testified that they believed Parker was searching for details on Garrison. Less than a week before the homicide, the FBI agent said Parker and Harris sent photos of a 9 mm gun to each other. The same type of gun was used in the killing of Garrison, according to the FBI agent. One day before the killing, the agent said Parker withdrew more than $47,000 from his bank account and met with Harris.The agent said the first burner phone was purchased in New Orleans East shortly after, and Harris' then-girlfriend, Jovanna Gardner, got the other burner phone from Harris. Gardner used the burner phone to contact Garrison. The agent said whoever had the second burner phone was "running the show" and contacting Gardner. The agent said Harris and Parker met the day of the homicide and had a 71-minute call at 7:55 p.m. Garrison was killed at 8:30 p.m., according to the FBI. The agent testified that investigators believe the call was meant to be "an alibi call." Parker is then accused of going to Kenner after the homicide happened. The FBI agent said Alfortish lived in Kenner at the time, and Parker even searched Alfortish on Google days after the homicide. Alfortish is being held without bond, and Motto and Giles entered not-guilty pleas in connection with the investigation last week. More from the indictment:According to the indictment, Harris, also known as "Red," conspired with Motta, Alfortish, Giles and three others named Leon M. Parker, also known as "Chunky," Diaminike F. Stalbert, Carl G. Morgan and Timara N. Lawrence, to defraud insurance companies and commercial vehicle companies through false wreck claims.The indictment claims Motta, Giles and their firms knowingly pursued lawsuits for staged collisions.Giles and Alfortish, who is a disbarred attorney, worked with Motta by paying what the indictment calls "slammers," or people who staged the collisions.Stalbert, Parker and Morgan are described as "slammers." Lawrence was in a relationship with Harris and Morgan was a family member of Harris, according to the indictment.Parker was involved in at least three staged crashes, and Stalbert was involved in at least two. Morgan was involved in one staged wreck.The indictment claims Lawrence would provide stolen personal information to Harris as part of the scheme.Beginning in 2011, Damian Labeaud and Roderick Hickman began staging collisions for Giles, according to the indictment.Labeaud and Hickman are accused of working as slammers and spotters, helping find tractor-trailers to target for wrecks. They would also refer people involved in the wrecks to Giles' law firm, the King Firm.The indictment accuses Giles of paying $1,000 per passenger in the collisions. To conceal their payments, the checks were often made out as loans or advances on future settlements.In 2017, another slammer introduced Garrison to the scheme by training him to stage collisions, according to the indictment.Garrison was then introduced to Alfortish, who is described as playing "an active role" in staging crashes for Motta's law firm.The indictment claims Garrison would direct passengers to Alfortish and Motta's law firm.Harris eventually began working with Garrison to stage wrecks. At some point, the two stopped working together, and Harris began staging wrecks for other people.Garrison began covertly working with the federal government in 2019 regarding the wrecks.Motta and Alfortish are accused of offering Garrison money to move out of the United States if he stopped cooperating with the federal government.Garrison received a subpoena for a deposition in the case.The indictment claims Harris, Alfortish, Motta and her firm conspired to stop Harris from participating in the deposition.Harris is accused of killing Garrison before he was able to testify in the probe.Alfortish is facing one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, three counts of obstruction of justice, and four counts of witness tampering.Motta is facing one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, three counts of obstruction of justice, and four counts of witness tampering. Her firm is also facing the same charges.Giles faces one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, five counts of obstruction of justice and six counts of witness tampering. His firm also faces the same counts.WDSU has reached out to the attorneys representing Giles, Motta and Alfortish. All are aware of the indictment against their clients.Motta's attorney, Sean Toomey, a partner at New Orleans-based law firm Liskow & Lewis, issued the following statement regarding the allegations:"Vanessa Motta is completely innocent of any wrongdoing. The governments theory that a lawyer barely a year out of law school decided to participate in a sprawling conspiracy is terribly mistaken. If these accidents were in fact staged, my client was also a victim and taken advantage by others. Over the last five years Vanessa has been unjustly vilified in the press and so while we strongly believe this indictment is misguided, we are looking forward to the trial of this case where Vanessa will finally be vindicated."At the time of this publication, responses had not yet been received from Giles and Alfortish's attorneys.About the scheme:Motta represented two clients who have pleaded guilty to federal crimes, admitting to staging wrecks with tractor-trailers in New Orleans and then filing fraudulent insurance claims saying they were injured when they werent and that the wrecks were not their fault when they were.Alfortish is a disbarred lawyer who served jail time over a decade ago after pleading to unrelated fraud charges.Sources say the two are implicated in the death of a federal witness who was executed in 2020. To date, neither have been charged with any crimes.Garrison was gunned down in Gentilly in 2020, just days after he was charged with federal crimes for being a go-between for lawyers and those driving the vehicles used in the staged wrecks.Garrison was cooperating with the FBI and the United States Department of Justice on this matter.In May, WDSU Investigates broke the story of the arrest of two people in the homicide case.Harris, who is accused of killing Garrison, was arrested with his girlfriend, Gardner.Gardner cut a deal days after the arrest.The case had been cold for almost four years.In open court in May, at a hearing for Harris, the FBI said that he had documents at his home linking him to Motta's law firm.The feds say Garrison was shot 10 times. All 10 shell casings were found at the scene.Pictures of his body were also shown in open court.Garrison, along with Gardner and Harris, were involved in Operation Sideswipe.That's the name of the wide-ranging federal investigation into staged wrecks in New Orleans.The FBI said in open court that the probe started in early 2019, just months after WDSU Investigates first reported on how wrecks were being staged in New Orleans and how local lawyers cried foul on how suspect insurance claims were being filed.According to the lead FBI agent, who testified at the May detention hearing, Gardner and Harris were in a relationship and shared a child together.The FBI says the two would work with Garrison, helping to stage wrecks and then work to file false insurance claims.The FBI agent who testified in May told the court that in the fall of 2019, Garrison started working with the feds as a cooperating witness.He admitted that he was providing information on cases, including one involving Harris.Garrison was charged in 2020 and, days later, was killed.The FBI said Harris is on video buying a cellphone at a Family Dollar.They say that the cellphone was purchased one day before Garrison was killed, and it was used to send messages and make calls to him hours before he was killed.One call was made just two minutes before Garrison's mother called 911, reporting his shooting death.Federal prosecutors showed a picture of Harris in court buying the cellphone.They say the phone used then went dead after Garrison was killed.Gardner was in court, wearing a navy blue prison jumpsuit.Several family members attended the court hearing, and all declined to comment afterward.This case is set to go to trial in January but is expected to be delayed.Almost 50 people have pleaded guilty in connection with the staged wrecks.The federal probe was launched months after WDSU's initial report on this matter in 2018 and led to state lawmakers enhancing laws to protect tractor-trailer drivers in the state.

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President Joe Biden on Friday said he was still considering whether to give pardons to people who have been criticized or threatened by President-elect Donald Trump.Related video above: Biden grants clemency to nearly 1,500 people in historic moveSpeaking to reporters at the White House, Biden said he and his aides were playing close attention to rhetoric from Trump and his allies about his political opponents and those involved in his various criminal and civil woes.It depends on some of the language and expectations that Trump broadcast in the last couple days here as to what hes going to do," Biden said. The idea that he would punish people for not adhering to what he thinks should be policy related to his well-being is just outrageous."Biden has just 10 days left in office, and the institutionalist has been using his waning days in office to restore some of the transition norms broken by his predecessor-turned-successor. But issuing preemptive pardons for actual or imagined offenses by Trumps critics that could be investigated or prosecuted by the incoming administration would stretch the powers of the presidency in untested ways.Trump's frequent targets include Republican Liz Cheney, the former Wyoming congresswoman, and Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat. They helped lead the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. He has aimed particular criticism at special counsel Jack Smith, who charged Trump over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.Biden, who Trump has said should be jailed, scoffed at the notion that he would pardon himself. What would I pardon myself for? he asked incredulously. No, I have no contemplation of pardoning myself for anything. I didnt do anything wrong.Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of the Republican members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, rejected the prospect of a pardon from Biden earlier this week in an appearance on CNN.I understand the theory behind it because Donald Trump has clearly said hes going to go after everybody, he said. But the second you take a pardon and it looks like youre guilty of something Im guilty of nothing besides bringing the truth to the American people and, in the process, embarrassing Donald Trump.In his remarks to reporters, Biden said a decision by the social media giant Meta to end fact-checking on Facebook was really shameful, calling it contrary to American justice.The move to replace third-party fact-checking with user-written community notes, similar to those on Trump backer Elon Musks social platform X, was the latest example of a media company moving to accommodate the incoming administration. It comes on the fourth anniversary of Zuckerberg's banning Trump from his platforms after the insurrection.Biden added: You think it doesnt matter that they let it be printed? Where millions of people read it, things that are simply not true. I mean, I dont know what thats all about. Its just completely contrary to everything Americas about. We want to tell the truth.