N O L A.C O M
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M o n d ay, F e b r u a ry 2, 2026
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WHAT’S
KREWE WITH yOU?
Andre Robinson holds his granddaughter, Emory Williams, as they wait to catch a throw during the Krewe of Nefertiti parade on Sunday.
Louisiana pharmacy tied to $50M fraud case Hammond business hires big-name attorney
BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer
STAFF PHOTOS By DAVID GRUNFELD
Queen Nefertiti VI LaShonda ‘Radiant One’ Tenner waves to the crowd as the 250 female members of the Krewe of Nefertiti roll in New Orleans East on Sunday. The Krewe of Nefertiti rolled through New Orleans East Sunday under a bright blue cool sky with ‘Bayou Nefertiti’ as its theme, featuring 14 floats with titles such as ‘Bayou,’
A top criminal attorney for Sean “Diddy” Combs, “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli and accused corporate assassin Luigi Mangione just scored a big win for a lesser-known client, in a case involving a mom-and-pop pharmacy in 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 apiece. After a six-week trial, a jury found the pair had used Central Rexall Drugs, one of Hammond’s oldest businesses when it shuttered after 120 years at the end of 2016, to fulfill a massive fraud against two sets of health plans. One insured New Jersey cops, firefighters 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 government built its case against the pair on innuendo and an unbelievable witness. He tossed the jury verdicts, finding them not guilty. “In sum, the evidence did nothing more than paint defendants as bad people who must have done something illegal to make all that money,” wrote Kiel,
ä See FRAUD, page 7A
‘Swamp’ and ‘Sirens.’ In keeping with the Egyptian motif, monarch LaShonda ‘Radiant One’ Tenner ruled alone. Riders also tossed a surprise
CARNIVAL
piece of decorative jewelry during
2026
INSIDE, 1B NOLA.COM
the parade. Founded in 2018, the Krewe of Nefertiti is an all-female social aid and pleasure organization
committed to help the community through The Vintage Baby Dolls make throws during the Krewe of Nefertiti parade.
volunteer service, fundraising and the celebration of Mardi Gras culture.
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.
Vision comes into view for North Shore Square Mall property
Square Mall property could that it purchased two of the mall’s real estate and investment com- sign, cost and ownership would still As grocer purchases Shore be revitalized and put back into former anchor sites, the Conn’s pany Colliers, ranked event center, have to be ironed out. But he said lamenting the sputter- HomePlus store and the adjacent distribution center, light manufac- the study provides a great start for two sites, other plans commerce, ing of what once was an economic JCPenney. An Acquistapace offi- turing facility or logistics/retail hub deciding on future use. The mall site is owned by Morengine that drew shoppers from cial declined to get into specifics, as the top four alternative uses. still undecided
across the northshore. In the past couple of weeks, the future of the old mall has become a Staff writer little clearer. But just a little. A popular, Covington-based groFor years, Slidell’s elected officials have asked how the North cer, Acquistapace’s, has announced
BY BOB WARREN
WEATHER HIGH 61 LOW 45 PAGE 6B
but did say one of the sites would become an Acquistapace-branded store. Meanwhile, a consultant has finished its study of alternative uses for the mall site. That study, by the
Slidell Mayor Randy Fandal said he and some other officials planned to meet with a company that operates event centers to further explore that possibility. Fandal said details such as de-
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guard, a Canadian company that owns and manages billions of dollars of real estate across North America.
ä See MALL, page 7A
13TH yEAR, NO. 174