Former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards dies aged 93: Democrat who beat Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke in 1991 election, and was jailed for extortion in 2000 over awarding of state casino licenses
Former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards, the charismatic and controversial Democrat who served four terms as governor and spent nearly a decade in prison for extortion, died on Monday at age 93.
Edwards died on Monday surrounded by loved ones, after announcing on July 5 that he had entered hospice care after suffering respiratory problems for several years, a family spokesman told CNN in a statement.
'I have lived a good life, had better breaks than most, had some bad breaks, too, but that's all part of it,' Edwards said in a statement before his death. 'I tried to help as many people as I could and I hope I did that, and I hope, if I did, that they will help others, too. I love Louisiana and I always will.'
Edwards died on Monday surrounded by loved ones, after announcing that he had entered hospice care after suffering respiratory problems for several years
Edwards served in the state legislature and congress before going on to run for Louisiana governor, taking office in 1972 for the first of four terms
The son of a sharecropper, Edwards was born on August 7, 1927, near Marksville, Louisiana.
After graduating law school Edwards served in the state legislature and U.S. House of Representatives early in his political career before going on to run for Louisiana governor, taking office in 1972 for the first of four terms.
'Edwin was a larger than life figure known for his wit and charm, but he will be equally remembered for being a compassionate leader who cared for the plight of all Louisianans,' current Governor John Bel Edwards said.
The witty governor was a known womanizer in his heyday nicknamed 'Fast Eddie,' and had been the subject of 22 investigations by his own count.
During a successful election campaign for governor in 1983, he boasted, 'The only way I can lose this election is if I'm caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy.'
Among his vices was gambling, which would eventually lead to his political downfall when he was convicted of extortion in 2000 for extorting payoffs from people who had applied for riverboat casino licenses.
He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $250,000.
He requested a pardon from then-President George W. Bush but never got one and was released from prison in 2011, CNN reported.
His conviction was not enough to make him give up on politics though, and after serving more than eight years in prison and being freed in 2011, he ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014 at age 87 but received less than 38 percent of the vote, Reuters reported.
Edwards lost the 1987 election but made an unlikely comeback in 1991, when he ran against Ku Klux Klan leader and prominent national neo-Nazi David Duke and won
Edward's widow fondly remembered her husband, who died just a few weeks short of his youngest son's eighth birthday
Prior to his prison-stint, Edwards had a murky record, mired by multiple controversies and accusations of wrong-doing.
The governor had been previously tried in 1985 during his third term as governor for allegedly giving special treatment to companies dealing with state hospitals but the case ended in a mistrial and he was acquitted in a retrial the following year.
Before that there were accusations of accepting illegal campaign contributions and a former associate said state agency jobs had been for sale during Edwards' governorship, Reuters reported.
But the magnetic, sharply dressed politician pressed on and even joked about his reputation.
All the talk about illegal campaign contributions and selling state jobs resulted in no formal charges and did little harm to Edwards' popularity and at one point when the Louisiana economy was struggling, he told voters that if they did not return him to office 'there'll be nothing left to steal.'
He was barred by law from seeking a third consecutive term in 1979 but Edwards was ready four years later and voters returned him to office.
Edwards lost the 1987 election but made an unlikely comeback in 1991, when he ran against Ku Klux Klan leader and prominent national neo-Nazi David Duke and won.
Louisiana voters were left to choose between Edwards' questionable ethics and Duke's white supremacist sentiments, a dilemma captured on a popular pro-Edwards bumper sticker - 'Vote for the crook. It's important.'
Edwards used his fourth term to champion casino gambling, appointing members of the board that granted casino ownership licenses and prosecutors said he eventually was selling his influence over the gaming industry in return for $3 million, Reuters reported.
Edwards' son Stephen was convicted with him.
Edwards and his first wife, Elaine, had four children during a 40-year marriage and when they divorced in 1989.
In 1994 the then 66-year-old married 29-year-old Candy Picou before divorcing in 2004 after Edwards went to prison.
At age 83, he wed Trina Grimes Scott, then 32, and they had a short-lived cable TV reality show titled 'The Governor's Wife.'
Their relationship started after she read his biography and began sending him letters in prison and in August 2013 she gave birth to Edwards' fifth child, Reuters reported.
His widow fondly remembered her husband, who died just a few weeks short of his youngest son's eighth birthday.
'He was so optimistic all the time. Nothing bothered him except bothering other people,' she said in a statement. It’s heartbreaking for me because I know he so wanted to make Eli’s 8th birthday party August 1.”
'His last words were to Eli. Eli told him every night, '‘I love you.’' And he told Eli, ‘'I love you, too.’' Those were his last words,' Mrs. Edwards said.