Winn Tax Assessor accused of Punishing Political Enemies
From Sunshine Review
18 May 2008 Records indicate that Tax Assessor A.D. "Bodie" Little of Winn Parish, Louisiana used the powers of his office to effectively punish his political enemies.
On January 15, 2008, a group of taxpayers filed suit against Bodie, claiming that the increase in their taxes was a direct result of their opposition to Bodie's election as Sheriff. [1]
Following these accusations, an investigation into the matter was brought by local paper The Town Talk. In an attempted interview, Little refused to discuss the lawsuit and also the allegation that friends benefited from under-assessment. Among these was Six C Properties LLC, whose 45,000 acres were assessed at rates set in 2000, even though use value rates rose in 2004.
On the other hand,one of the plaintiffs, timber manager J.D. Rudd saw his land that was considered marshland the year before be redesignated Class 2 timber. This effectively raised his taxes on it from $132.16 in 2006 to $540.06 in 2007. Little refused to discuss Mr. Rudd.
[edit] Previous Charges of Malfeasance
In 2004 the Louisiana Attorney General's Office brought charges of official malfeasance against Mr. Little. The charges claimed Little gave two homestead exemptions to himself, along with one to a business. [2]
Little denied any wrongdoing, saying the allegations were just part of the political campaign, referring to it as a "political vendetta." The arrest never came and the case was more or less allowed to fade away after District Attorney, and Little ally, Terry Reeves killed himself in 2005.
