LSU BLOWS PAST ALABAMA, PICKS UP SEVENTH STRAIGHT WIN 1B
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M o n d ay, F e b r u a ry 2, 2026
La. pharmacy tied to $50M fraud case
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$2.00X
ASCENSION PARISH
Planned well for carbon capture criticized
Experts say the concerns are vastly overblown BY DAVID J. MITCHELL staff writer
and teachers, and the other, TRICARE, is for military members and veterans. Dozens were convicted on the New Jersey end of the scheme, most of them pleading guilty, while the Hammond pharmacist’s daughter and a former sales executive also pleaded guilty, agreed to testify and still await their sentences. But on Jan. 16, a federal judge in Camden, New Jersey, threw out the convictions against Brockmeier and Johnston. In a 65-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Edward Kiel found the
A Houston startup seeking approval for Louisiana’s second-ever carbon-capture and storage well has met opposition from Ascension Parish residents, the latest sign of concern over an emerging industry that state leaders view as key for future economic development. Five-year-old firm Blue Sky Infrastructure is planning an underground carbon dioxide storage hub in the heart of Louisiana’s Mississippi River industrial zone near Geismar and Donaldsonville. The company is currently seeking a permit for the first of seven planned wells, with the initial one to be located in western Ascension Parish. The project is among more than 30 similar proposals that the state has been examining for potential approval, but backlash from residents and politicians has complicated the plans. Gov. Jeff Landry issued a moratorium on new injection applications last fall to provide time to review the process, but the Ascension proposal is one of six that remained on the state’s fast track. Effective carbon capture would in theory address two problems at once. Louisiana’s petrochemical industry could lower its carbon footprint and make its products more competitive for foreign export, while climate-warming emissions could be reduced. But opposition has emerged over land rights, lucrative tax credits helping fund the projects and the potential for CO2 leaks, among other concerns. Environmental groups also oppose carbon capture,
ä see FRAUD, page 4A
ä see PROJECT, page 6A
PHoTo By RANDy BEGERoN
The building that once housed Central Rexall, a pharmacy that imploded in 2016 under a $50 million fraud scheme, is now a coffee shop but still retains the signage.
Hammond business hires big-name criminal attorney
downtown Hammond that New Jersey prosecutors tied to a nearly $50 million fraud scheme. Attorney Marc Agnifilo represents Trent Brockmeier, a Florida man who was convicted last year along with a Louisiana attorney, Christopher Kyle Johnston, on three conspiracy counts BY JOHN SIMERMAN apiece. staff writer After a six-week trial, a jury found A top criminal attorney for Sean the pair had used Central Rexall Drugs, “Diddy” Combs, “pharma bro” Martin one of Hammond’s oldest businesses Shkreli and accused corporate assas- when it shuttered after 120 years at the sin Luigi Mangione just scored a big end of 2016, to fulfill a massive fraud win for a lesser-known client, in a case against two sets of health plans. One involving a mom-and-pop pharmacy in insured New Jersey cops, firefighters
St. George City Council creates public power authority Leaders say it’s ‘another tool’ for the future
they’ve tapped a power that could alter how people get their electricity — the ability to create a municipal utility. The St. George City Council has created its own public power authority, which could enable the BY AIDAN McCAHILL city to sell electricity directly to staff writer residents. City leaders maintain they have As the leaders of the new city of St. George have hustled to set up no plans to form a public utility. a fully functioning government, Rather, they say the new author-
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ity is simply a way to keep ently, and with ratepayers their options open as the in mind.” city plans for its energy But the ordinance, future. passed in October, has “This ordinance gives St. raised some eyebrows. George another tool in our Public Service Commistoolbox as we plan for the sioner Davante Lewis, future,” said Mayor Dustin who represents part of Yates. “It allows us to con- Yates St. George, described the decision to create a power sider options that could benefit our residents, with any de- authority as “baffling,” considercisions made carefully, transpar- ing that three months later, neither
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he nor, to his knowledge, any other commission member has been notified. He added there have been no “high-level” discussions between city officials and Entergy or DEMCO — the main utilities that currently provide power to the city’s 86,000 residents. “If the city goes through with
ä see ST. GEORGE, page 6A
101sT yEAR, No. 217
CORPORATE PARTNERS GUEST SPOTLIGHT
Mario Lee
Key Account Manager OP
Baton Rouge Coca Cola Bottling Company
Roderick Crockett OP Territory Manager
Baton Rouge Coca Cola Bottling Company