By VICKIE JAMBON

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE – Despite recent, public comments that he has never broken the law or stolen anything in his life, St. John the Baptist Parish Councilman Richard Dale Wolfe is still scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 22 to answer charges on theft and tax evasion.

Councilmen and administrators gathered at the Percy Hebert Building on Airline Highway on Dec. 27 for their regularly scheduled parish council meeting.

This meeting was an important one because the council had to pass a balanced budget for 2005 before the year came to an end.

Discussing aspects of the parish president’s amended 2005 budget, Wolfe became angry with certain councilmen and began charging them with abrupt comments.

Several parish officials thought it feasible to charge parish employees an insurance rate for dependent insurance coverage. Not agreeing with their opinions, Wolfe challenged the councilmen on their stance.

Verbally attacking the councilmen and administrators, Wolfe angrily charged that he had never defaulted the law or taken anything illegally during the course of his lifetime.

Next month, 63-year-old Wolfe will appear in court to face four counts of failure to file state income tax returns for several years.

“A violation of the law has occurred and criminal charges are still a part of the process,” said Wolfe’s attorney, Robert Faucheux Jr. in October 2004.

Faucheux said Wolfe paid his federal withholding taxes but said his client was being held accountable to pay state withholding taxes, interest and penalties.

In October, Faucheux said his client filed and paid state withholding taxes, including interest and penalties, for 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Faucheux said Wolfe partially paid state tax obligations for the years 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Faucheux maintained at the time that an accounting error was possibly made by an accountant filing Wolfe’s taxes from 1999 to 2002.

He said the State Department of Revenue was recalculating Wolfe’s taxes for those years and said the calculations should be complete in 30-60 days – which should have ended in November or December of 2004.

Monday morning, the attorney general’s office said Wolfe has not made additional payments towards his tax obligations.

“Ethical restrictions prevent us from releasing information on the case. However, I can assert that Mr. Wolfe’s case is presently where it was in October 2004,” said a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office. “I can confirm that no additional payments have been made by Mr. Wolfe.”

Faucheux was called repeatedly Monday, in an effort to garner information on the State Department of Revenue’s recalculations. The calls were not returned.