Tagged: theft

The New Orleans Police Department is asking for the public's help in locating a stolen pig statue, snatched from in front of a business in the 3400 block of Esplanade Ave. on the morning of May 1.

The statue is a pig dressed in a chef's outfit, holding a sign that reads "EAT MORE CRAWFISH".

Police spokesman Frank Robertson says the statue is valued at $6700, and was taken from a business that had a themed marquee. He says the police don't have any leads at this time, "But hopefully we will after we air this."

State health officials say more than $800,000 in public money allegedly has been misappropriated by a Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals employee.

The Times-Picayune reports DHH said the theft was uncovered during an internal investigation. DHH's Bureau of Health Care Integrity began the probe after officials noticed unusual accounting practices involving the employee, whose name has not been released.

New Orleans police say a man carrying his family's Super Bowl tickets in his rear pants pocket lost them to a pickpocket as he left Harrah's Casino.

Investigators say a man in a jogging suit and dark knit cap followed the family as it left the casino near the French Quarter just before 11 p.m. on Saturday.

They say the suspect walked up behind the unidentified victim and took an envelope containing seven Super Bowl tickets.

Police said the suspect met four other men and two women on nearby Canal Street and the group left the scene.

A 48-year-old Denham Springs man has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison after admitting he stole $127,600 in high-tech equipment from the U.S. Coast Guard and sold it to people in the United States, Sweden and Colombia.

The Advocate reports Raymond L. Beavers told U.S. District Judge James J. Brady Thursday he sold the equipment because of a gambling problem.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan A. Stevens said Beavers spent some of the money on tickets and trips to LSU athletic events.