Edwin W. Edwards, Flamboyant Louisiana Governor Later Imprisoned For Fraud And Extortion, Dies At 93

Edwin W. Edwards, who served four terms as governor of Louisiana followed by 8½ years in prison on multiple corruption charges, died Monday morning at his home in Gonzales, Louisiana, at the age of 93 from complications related to respiratory problems.

An Almost-Perfect Election Record: Edwin Washington Edwards was born Aug. 27, 1927, near Marksville, Louisiana, and was raised in a home that lacked electricity and running water. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1944 and the age of 17, and after his military service, he opted to jettison his original career goal of being a pastor and attended Louisiana State University Law Center.

Edwards entered politics in 1954 and won an election to become a councilman for Crowley, Louisiana, a seat that he held until he won an election to the Louisiana State Senate in 1964. He served less than two years before getting elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana’s 7th Congressional District, a seat that he held from 1965 to 1972.

Edwards defeated 17 candidates in the 1972 Democratic primary for Louisiana governor before defeating Republican Dave Treen in the general election. He won re-election in 1975 but was barred by the state constitution from seeking a third consecutive term. He was returned to office in 1983 but lost the 1987 election to Buddy Roemer. He won his fourth term in 1991 in a race that generated national attention when former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke secured the Republican nomination for governor.

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Highs And Lows: As governor, Edwards was notable for providing more state jobs to women and people of color than any of his predecessors.

He would cite the passage of the state’s revised constitution in 1974 and his ability to get the state legislature to tax oil production by market price rather than a flat fee as his greatest accomplishments — the latter brought in greater revenue when the oil market was enjoying a boom period, thus enabling for more infrastructure projects.

Edwards was known for his wit and flamboyant personality – he once quipped the only way he could lose an election was if he was “caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy.”

His career did not suffer when a former aide revealed Edwards’ extramarital affairs and gambling jaunts to Las Vegas, nor was most voters upset when he erased a campaign debt by flying deep-pocketed supporters for a weeklong gambling trip to Monte Carlo, where Edwards won $15,000 at the craps table.

But Edwards’ colorful behavior became a liability when he was indicted in 1985 and accused of paying off gambling debts with $1.9 million in payoffs from hospitals. A first trial ended in a hung jury but a second trial acquitted him.

After leaving office in January 1996, Edwards secured a historical niche as Louisiana's longest-serving governor. But he was also the subject of a new federal probe based on accusations that he received payoffs from businessmen seeking licenses to operate riverboat casinos. He was indicted on 26 counts that included extortion, mail fraud, money laundering, racketeering and wire fraud. He was found guilty on 17 of the counts and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Following his release, Edwards and his third wife, Trina, starred in a short-lived reality television show. In 2014, he ran for Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District seat but lost to Republican Garret Graves. His supporters attempted to get a pardon from President Barack Obama that would allow him to run for governor in 2011, but Obama did not respond to this effort — Edwards would otherwise have to wait 15 years after the end of his sentence if he wanted to seek the governorship.

Ultimately, Edwards never lost his faith in the patience of his constituents.

“I think people realize that public officials are human and that we have our faults, our inadequacies,” he said. “And if we don’t try to be hypocritical or sanctimonious about it, I think they’ll forgive us for it.”

(Photo: Campaign button for Edwin Edwards’ 1991 gubernatorial race; photo by Mpls55408 / Flickr Creative Commons.)