CHICAGO — Former Louisiana Senate Leader Karen Carter Peterson is back in political circles at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago three months after her release from federal prison for stealing from the Louisiana Democratic Party and her campaign donors.
She has been posting on social media about her trip to Chicago and the events she has been attending with some of Louisiana's Democratic leaders. Other state lawmakers, including Rep. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, have posted pictures with Carter Peterson at the event as well.
Carter Peterson was the highly influential leader of the state's party until a fall from grace that included a federal guilty plea to one count of wire fraud for stealing more than $147,000 to feed her gambling addiction.
Since that time, Carter Peterson has been advocating for better inpatient treatment options for gambling addicts in the state. WWL-TV's media partner, the Times-Picayune, reported last November she was pushing to move planned state funds from Odyssey House New Orleans to the Metropolitan Human Services District to create a new inpatient facility as an adviser to a local law firm, the Davillier Law Group.
The one-time Democratic leader was elected to head the state party in 2012 during her 22 years in the Louisiana Legislature. Ten years later, she resigned in early 2022 while under the cloud of a federal investigation into her use of campaign and Louisiana Democratic Party funds.
Prosecutors proved Carter Peterson paid associates large sums of money from her campaign fund and Democratic Party coffers and then they paid her the money back to pay for gambling debts.
Federal Bureau of Prisons records indicate Carter Peterson was fully released from custody early on May 9, 2024, 14 months into her 22-month sentence.
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