NEW ORLEANS - Franklinton Pastor Jerry Wayne Cox asked for mercy from the judge in federal court Thursday morning as he pleaded guilty to moving more than $100,000 around to avoid triggering reporting requirements to the IRS.
Cox changed his plea as part of a plea agreement with the US Attorney's office in which he promised full cooperation with investigators.
"Pastor Cox is doing the right thing. Made a mistake. You know, he's a man of God who is dedicated to his church and his family and he knows that his faith will get him through this," said Eddie Castaing, Cox's attorney.
The pastor is a well-known friend of former St Tammany Parish District Attorney Walter Reed.
The US Attorney's office charged Cox with one count of structuring in a Bill of Information in August. Cox admitted to moving $102,050 around through deposits and withdrawals to various financial institutions to keep his total deposits under the threshold that requires financial institutions to report the money to the IRS.
"He received no personal benefit from this. Everything he's ever done was for the betterment of his church and his family," Castaing said after Cox entered his guilty plea in court.
Cox's church, Faith Tabernacle, is well-known in Washington Parish as an expansive Pentecostal church. Its size is eclipsed only by the mansion that Cox lives in outside of Franklinton. The house sits on hundreds of acres and is surrounded by an iron fence accented with gold. The house has been valued at more than $2 million, not including the value of the hundreds of acres of property surrounding the three acres immediately around the house. Some members of Cox's conservative Pentecostal congregation live in trailers behind the church.
DA Walter Reed and Jerry Wayne Cox were featured in a Pentecostal publication called "Together" a few years ago. The article talks about the personal injury lawsuits Reed handled and the ensuing financial windfalls that Reed garnered for members of Cox's congregation.
The charge Cox pleaded guilty to Thursday only involved financial dealings in the year 2011. Castaing said that's the extent of Cox's wrongdoing.
The plea deal includes the stipulation that Cox fully cooperate with federal investigators. Castaing said Thursday his client will fulfill that agreement. When asked whether that cooperation is aimed at information about Reed, Castaing answered, "The allegations to which he pleaded today have nothing to do with the allegations against Walter Reed at least not at this point."
It's a sentiment echoed by Reed's attorney, Rick Simmons.
Cox's sentencing is scheduled on January 28, two weeks after Reed's trial is expected to start.
