Noah W. Cross
Encyclopedia
Noah Webster Cross was a controversial Democratic
sheriff
from Ferriday
in Concordia Parish in eastern Louisiana
, who served from July 1, 1944 until July 1948 and again from July 1952 until April 4, 1973, when a conviction for perjury
and a failed appeal
forced him into federal prison
. Cross was succeeded by Fred L. Schiele (1933–2002), a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
, who was appointed by Governor
Edwin Washington Edwards, pending a special election, to fill the remainder of Cross' term. Schiele had run unsuccessfully in the 1967 primary against Cross. At the time of his resignation, Cross was the senior sheriff in Louisiana in terms of service.
in Concordia Parish to Marsalin Gillis Cross and the former Lydia Catherine Wilson. He attended Ferriday High School and Louisiana Tech University
. He married the former Iola May Denham (February 28, 1910 – July 23, 1997) of Baton Rouge, Cross began his career in 1927 with the William Campbell Nabors Oil Company. Iola Cross was an English
teacher
at Ferriday High School. The couple had three daughters: Diane Brakinridge, Kay Faulkner, and Lydia C. Wilson (born August 23, 1950).
Lydia Wilson, named for her paternal grandmother Lydia C. Wilson, is the widow
of Roger Wayne "Butch" Wilson (1948–2006), a Wisner
native and a 40-year law enforcement officer who began his service as a deputy to his future father-in-law, Noah Cross. Wilson was also the chief of police for eight years in Ferriday and was thereafter a deputy under Sheriffs Schiele (1973–1980) and Hubert Lee McGlothin (1984–1990).
Cross was a member of the Sevier Memorial United Methodist Church in Ferriday. He was also affiliated with the Masonic lodge
.
won the first of his two nonconsecutive terms as governor. Cross was, nevertheless, unseated in 1948 by his predecessor, Hartwell Love. That year Earl Kemp Long was elected to the first of his two full terms as governor. Cross then unseated Love in January 1952 in the runoff election which propelled Robert F. Kennon
of Minden
to the state's highest constitutional office.
On January 1972, days prior to the February 1 general election
in which Edwin Edwards defeated Republican
David C. Treen
for governor, a federal grand jury
in Alexandria
, the seat of Rapides Parish in Central Louisiana
, began investigating Cross. On May 6, Cross was convicted on two counts of perjury for having lied to a grand jury
about his acceptance of bribes to protect prostitution
and gambling
in Concordia Parish. The case was prompted by the padlocking on orders of District Attorney
William C. Falkenheiner of the former Morville Lounge, operated by Curt Hewitt, who had come to Concordia Parish from St. Landry Parish, where he had owned the Peppermint Lounge and paid bribes to Sheriff Cat Doucet
.
In Cross's trial before U.S. District Judge Nauman Scott
of Alexandria, two bar operators testified that they made weekly payments to either Cross or the Concordia chief deputy to keep from being arrested. J.D. Richardson, one of the bar operators, testified that Cross was paid $200 per month to allow the bar to operate. Cross denied ever having taken the money. He faced four years in prison and a $10,000 fine. His conviction came the Saturday before the Tuesday, May 9, inauguration
in Baton Rouge of Edwin Edwards as governor.
After the perjury conviction, Cross was charged with jury tampering
and obstruction of justice
. In June 1972, Cross petitioned for a new trial, a month before he took office for his seventh nonconsecutive term as sheriff. In a second trial in Alexandria in January, 1973, Cross was again found guilty of perjury. In March 1973, he filed a motion for an appeal. The request for an appeal was rejected by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
in New Orleans. Cross then changed his plea to guilty in the jury tampering case. Judge Scott ordered him to report to U.S. marshals in Shreveport for transportation to federal prison on April 16, 1973.
Cross then resigned as sheriff to enter the Federal Correctional Institution
in Texarkana, Texas
. He faced six years after the second trial.
Cross was ultimately released from prison after serving less than half of the sentence. He was a member of the Louisiana and national sheriff's associations. A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography credits him with having modernized operations of the sheriff's department. Cross died thereafter in Ferriday at the age of sixty-eight. He is interred at Natchez City Cemetery in nearby Natchez
, Mississippi
.
Though he was known for longevity
in office, Cross was not the longest-serving Concordia Parish sheriff: that designation went to Eugene T. Campbell, who served from 1908 until his death in office in February 1940.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
from Ferriday
Ferriday, Louisiana
Ferriday is a town in Concordia Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population, which is three-fourths African American, was 3,723 at the 2000 census....
in Concordia Parish in eastern Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, who served from July 1, 1944 until July 1948 and again from July 1952 until April 4, 1973, when a conviction for perjury
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
and a failed appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
forced him into federal prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
. Cross was succeeded by Fred L. Schiele (1933–2002), a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
, who was appointed by Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Edwin Washington Edwards, pending a special election, to fill the remainder of Cross' term. Schiele had run unsuccessfully in the 1967 primary against Cross. At the time of his resignation, Cross was the senior sheriff in Louisiana in terms of service.
Background and family
Cross was born in MontereyMonterey, Louisiana
Monterey is an unincorporated community in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The community is located near the junction of Louisiana Highways 129 and 565 in west central Concordia Parish, southwest of Ferriday...
in Concordia Parish to Marsalin Gillis Cross and the former Lydia Catherine Wilson. He attended Ferriday High School and Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
. He married the former Iola May Denham (February 28, 1910 – July 23, 1997) of Baton Rouge, Cross began his career in 1927 with the William Campbell Nabors Oil Company. Iola Cross was an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
at Ferriday High School. The couple had three daughters: Diane Brakinridge, Kay Faulkner, and Lydia C. Wilson (born August 23, 1950).
Lydia Wilson, named for her paternal grandmother Lydia C. Wilson, is the widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
of Roger Wayne "Butch" Wilson (1948–2006), a Wisner
Wisner, Louisiana
Wisner is a town in Franklin Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,140 at the 2000 census.-History:Wisner was home to world's first international plow race in 1946, a light-hearted competition intended to engender a spirit of peace in the wake of World War II.-Geography:Wisner is...
native and a 40-year law enforcement officer who began his service as a deputy to his future father-in-law, Noah Cross. Wilson was also the chief of police for eight years in Ferriday and was thereafter a deputy under Sheriffs Schiele (1973–1980) and Hubert Lee McGlothin (1984–1990).
Cross was a member of the Sevier Memorial United Methodist Church in Ferriday. He was also affiliated with the Masonic lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
.
Cross as sheriff
Cross was first elected sheriff in 1944, when James Houston DavisJimmie Davis
James Houston Davis , better known as Jimmie Davis, was a noted singer of both sacred and popular songs who served two nonconsecutive terms as the 47th Governor of Louisiana...
won the first of his two nonconsecutive terms as governor. Cross was, nevertheless, unseated in 1948 by his predecessor, Hartwell Love. That year Earl Kemp Long was elected to the first of his two full terms as governor. Cross then unseated Love in January 1952 in the runoff election which propelled Robert F. Kennon
Robert F. Kennon
Robert Floyd Kennon, Sr., known as Bob Kennon , was the 48th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1952-1956. He failed to win a second non-consecutive term in the 1963 Democratic primary....
of Minden
Minden, Louisiana
Minden is a city in the American state of Louisiana. It serves as the parish seat of Webster Parish and is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...
to the state's highest constitutional office.
On January 1972, days prior to the February 1 general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
in which Edwin Edwards defeated Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
David C. Treen
David C. Treen
David Conner "Dave" Treen, Sr. , was an American attorney and politician from Mandeville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana – the first Republican Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He was the first Republican in modern times to have served in the U.S...
for governor, a federal grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
in Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
, the seat of Rapides Parish in Central Louisiana
Central Louisiana
Central Louisiana , also known as the Crossroads region, is the part of Louisiana that includes the following parishes: Allen Parish, Beauregard Parish, Catahoula Parish, Concordia Parish, Grant Parish, La Salle Parish, Natchitoches Parish, Rapides Parish, Sabine Parish and Vernon Parish.The five...
, began investigating Cross. On May 6, Cross was convicted on two counts of perjury for having lied to a grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
about his acceptance of bribes to protect prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
and gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
in Concordia Parish. The case was prompted by the padlocking on orders of District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
William C. Falkenheiner of the former Morville Lounge, operated by Curt Hewitt, who had come to Concordia Parish from St. Landry Parish, where he had owned the Peppermint Lounge and paid bribes to Sheriff Cat Doucet
Cat Doucet
Daly Joseph Doucet, Sr., known as Cat Doucet , was a Democratic politician and a law enforcement officer from St. Landry Parish in south Louisiana. He served as sheriff of St. Landry Parish for a total of twenty years.-Background:Doucet was born in Grand Prairie in St. Landry Parish to Lucius...
.
In Cross's trial before U.S. District Judge Nauman Scott
Nauman Scott
Nauman Steele Scott, II , was a Republican-appointed federal judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana from 1970 until 2001, who ordered cross-parish busing guidelines in 1980 to foster racial balance in Rapides Parish public schools...
of Alexandria, two bar operators testified that they made weekly payments to either Cross or the Concordia chief deputy to keep from being arrested. J.D. Richardson, one of the bar operators, testified that Cross was paid $200 per month to allow the bar to operate. Cross denied ever having taken the money. He faced four years in prison and a $10,000 fine. His conviction came the Saturday before the Tuesday, May 9, inauguration
Inauguration
An inauguration is a formal ceremony to mark the beginning of a leader's term of office. An example is the ceremony in which the President of the United States officially takes the oath of office....
in Baton Rouge of Edwin Edwards as governor.
After the perjury conviction, Cross was charged with jury tampering
Jury tampering
Jury tampering is the crime of unduly attempting to influence the composition and/or decisions of a jury during the course of a trial.The means by which this crime could be perpetrated can include attempting to discredit potential jurors to ensure they will not be selected for duty. Once selected,...
and obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice
The crime of obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, refers to the crime of interfering with the work of police, investigators, regulatory agencies, prosecutors, or other officials...
. In June 1972, Cross petitioned for a new trial, a month before he took office for his seventh nonconsecutive term as sheriff. In a second trial in Alexandria in January, 1973, Cross was again found guilty of perjury. In March 1973, he filed a motion for an appeal. The request for an appeal was rejected by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Louisiana* Middle District of Louisiana...
in New Orleans. Cross then changed his plea to guilty in the jury tampering case. Judge Scott ordered him to report to U.S. marshals in Shreveport for transportation to federal prison on April 16, 1973.
Cross then resigned as sheriff to enter the Federal Correctional Institution
Federal Correctional Institution, Texarkana
The Federal Correctional Institution, Texarkana is a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility in unincorporated Bowie County, Texas, near Texarkana, Texas. The prison, near the Texas-Arkansas border, is north of Shreveport, Louisiana and east of Dallas, Texas. It is a low-security facility used for the...
in Texarkana, Texas
Texarkana, Texas
Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States. It effectively functions as one half of a city which crosses a state line — the other half, the city of Texarkana, Arkansas, lies on the other side of State Line Avenue...
. He faced six years after the second trial.
Cross was ultimately released from prison after serving less than half of the sentence. He was a member of the Louisiana and national sheriff's associations. A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography credits him with having modernized operations of the sheriff's department. Cross died thereafter in Ferriday at the age of sixty-eight. He is interred at Natchez City Cemetery in nearby Natchez
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
.
Though he was known for longevity
Longevity
The word "longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography or known as "long life", especially when it concerns someone or something lasting longer than expected ....
in office, Cross was not the longest-serving Concordia Parish sheriff: that designation went to Eugene T. Campbell, who served from 1908 until his death in office in February 1940.