Brenda Jefferson Foster
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Brenda Jefferson Foster | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1955 |
| Died | 17 May 2010 (aged 54–55) |
| Known for | Witness in the 2008–2009 federal trials of Betty Jefferson, Mose Jefferson, Angela Coleman, and Renée Gill Pratt |
Brenda Jefferson Foster (1955 – May 17, 2010) was a witness for the prosecution in the 2008-2009 trials of her older siblings Betty Jefferson and Mose Jefferson, Betty Jefferson's daughter Angela Coleman, and Mose Jefferson's companion former City Councilwoman Renée Gill Pratt.[1]
Jefferson Foster had originally been charged with some of the same offenses but accepted a plea bargain. In exchange for pleading guilty to a minor charge, she averted being prosecuted for the major offenses but agreed to serve as a witness for the office of U.S. Attorney Jim Letten. All the remaining defendants pleaded not guilty in U.S. Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on 5 June 2009. At the 5 June 2009 arraignment, U.S. Magistrate Joseph Wilkinson Jr. instructed the four defendants to refrain from contact with Brenda Jefferson Foster.[2]
In an editorial, The Times-Picayune of New Orleans mentioned Brenda Jefferson Foster's admission of her part in the alleged fraudulent activities.[3]
At a hearing before U. S. District Judge Ivan L. R. Lemelle on 17 June 2009, lawyers for Betty Jefferson and Angela Coleman requested a delay from the 3 August 2009 start date for the racketeering trial; at the same hearing, however, lawyers for Renée Gill Pratt and Mose Jefferson requested that the racketeering trial begin as scheduled on August 3.[4] On 28 July 2009, Lemelle delayed the start of the racketeering trial to 25 January 2010.[5]
Jefferson Foster died unexpectedly on 17 May 2010.[6]
