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Attorneys found guilty in staged-crashes trial
N.O. airport unveils master plan Leaders chart growth over next 20 years BY JONAH MEADOWS Staff writer
STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Simpson, center, speaks to members of the media outside the Hale Boggs Federal Courthouse in New Orleans on Friday after two New Orleans attorneys were found guilty in a trial involving staged crashes with 18-wheelers.
Lawyers convicted on eight charges BY JOHN SIMERMAN and JAMES FINN Staff writers
Personal injury attorneys Jason Giles and Vanessa Motta were found guilty Friday on all counts and ordered jailed ahead of sentencing over a brazen fraud scheme involving hundreds of preplanned collisions with 18-wheelers and scores of lawsuits they filed pursuing bogus injury
claims. Giles and Motta were each convicted on eight charges, including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, multiple counts of mail fraud and witness tampering. Each of their law firms was found guilty as well. A jury returned the verdict Friday afternoon in a packed federal courtroom in New Orleans after deliberating for more than five hours. As Chief U.S. District Judge Wendy Vitter read the verdict, Motta sobbed silently, then hugged her teenage daughter at the front of the courtroom gallery. Vitter sparred with defense attorneys
for Giles and Motta about whether they should be remanded to jail ahead of sentencing in July. Motta’s attorney, Sean Toomey, argued that she’s a mother to two daughters, and that defendants are usually released ahead of sentencing in typical fraud cases. Giles’ attorney, Lynda Van Davis, said he’d complied with conditions of his bond. But Vitter found that both presented concerns after being convicted of witness tampering. Vitter also said Motta previously violated a condition of her release when she contacted a potential
ä See GUILTY, page 4A
After convictions, drama erupts in courtroom BY JAMES FINN Staff writer
As the judge read out “guilty” on charge after charge, the stuntwoman-turned-lawyer who once advertised her personal injury services on billboards across New Orleans began to weep. Vanessa Motta, found guilty Friday in federal court alongside attorney Jason Giles in a scheme
to stage car crashes across the city and collect payouts from bogus lawsuits, sat at the defense table facing away from the gallery as her and Giles’ families looked on. Their family members were among spectators of the threeweek trial who heard testimony about “slammers” who made livings staging highway wrecks
STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
ä See DRAMA, page 4A Jason Giles
STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE
Vanessa Motta
Airport officials and parish leaders said Friday they are close to getting the blessing of federal regulators for a massive growth plan that will reshape Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport over the next 20 years, adding more gates, a new parking garage and, eventually, a new terminal. If current travel patterns hold, the nearly seven“We need year-old airport will reach its camore pacity by 2031, capacity. airport officials We have to have said. Over expand. I the past two think that years, they have been working on says a lot drafting a federabout our ally recommend- area and our ed master plan that will provide region about needing a blueprint for its expansion. to have At a news conour airport ference Friday, meet those New Orleans demands.” Mayor Helena Moreno, airport HELENA officials and nine MORENO, New parish presidents Orleans mayor from across the region gave an update on the plan and spoke about why the future of the region’s tourist economy is tied to the growth of the airport. “We need more capacity. We have to expand,” Moreno said. “I think that says a lot about our area and our region about needing to have our airport meet those demands.” Officials shared few new details Friday about the main components of the plan, which have been presented in community meetings over the past two years. But the briefing underscored the emphasis on regional cooperation that Moreno has prioritized in her new administration. The airport —
ä See AIRPORT, page 6A
Benson, archbishop to meet pope in Rome Checchio is bringing New OrAfter Vatican, team representatives head to France gifts: leans recipes to share with the pope,
BY JEFF DUNCAN
Saints and Pelicans owner, who will also head to France to promote the first Staff writer NFL game to be held there. The appointment with Leo will be the On her trip to Europe this weekend, Gayle Benson is making a stop in first for Benson but not for Checchio, Rome to visit Pope Leo XIV with two who has deep roots in Rome, having VIPs as her guests: New Orleans Arch- served as the rector of the Pontifical bishop James F. Checchio and former North American College there from 2006 to 2016. Leo appointed Checchio Archbishop Gregory Aymond. The trip to the Vatican on Monday as the coadjutor archbishop of New kicks off a weeklong international Orleans in September. The contingent will arrive bearing business trip for the New Orleans
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while Benson will bring a customized Pope Leo Saints jersey. Any such visit raises questions about whether a papal visit to New Orleans could be in the asking. Such a visit has been a point of speculation among Catholics in New Orleans ever since the pope’s family ties to New Orleans were revealed. “I am certain it will be mentioned,” said Greg Bensel, the Saints’ vice
STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE
New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson and Archbishop James F. Checchio will meet with Pope Leo XIV in ä See POPE, page 6A Rome on Monday.
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