Grand Jury Supersedes Indictment Against Gretna City Councilman Jonathan Bolar with Two New Wire Fraud Counts

JONATHAN BOLAR, age 47, the City Councilman for District 1 in Gretna, was charged today in an eighteen count Superseding Indictment by a Federal Grand Jury with four counts of Hobbs Act extortion, two counts of wire fraud, four counts of failure to file income tax returns, and eight counts of structuring financial transactions to evade a federally mandated reporting requirement, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten.

In addition to the charges BOLAR faced as a result of the Grand Jury’s May 8, 2009, initial indictment, BOLAR now faces two additional counts of wire fraud stemming from two incidents in which he purported to sell a property in his district that he did not own. According to the Superseding Indictment, BOLAR accepted $3,750.00 in earnest money from the Franklin Street Church of Christ on August 3, 2008, entering into an agreement to sell a property located at 400 Franklin Street in Gretna. BOLAR had previously sold the property nearly 10 months before, on October 8, 2007, relinquishing any and all rights he may have had in the property at that time. Later, on August 21, 2008, BOLAR also entered into an agreement with another prospective buyer, accepting $11,250.00 from a family as earnest money on the same property at 400 Franklin Street.

In addition to the initial charges, which remain unchanged in the Superseding Indictment, BOLAR also faces a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine for the two counts of Wire Fraud. If convicted, BOLAR still faces twenty years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine for the Hobbs Act extortions, one year in prison for each count of Failure to File Income Tax Returns, and a five year prison term for each count of structuring financial transactions. U. S. Attorney Letten reiterated that a Superseding Indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the Gretna Police Department, and the United States Attorney’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel P. Friel and Matthew M. Coman.