The Morning Advocate By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: Aug 9, 2007 - Page: 10A SHREVEPORT — Avoyelles Parish Sheriff William O. “Bill” Belt pocketed profits from jailhouse telephones operated by his office, a federal indictment alleged Wednesday. Belt, 56; his wife, Tracy Bryant Belt, 37; and Julie Ann Bernard, 50, all of Marksville, were indicted, U.S. Attorney Donald W. Washington said. Each Belt was charged with eight counts of mail fraud and one of conspiracy, while Bernard was charged with one count each of obstructing justice and lying to the FBI. Washington said the alleged scheme netted the three more than $500,000. Belt’s attorney, J. Michael Small of Alexandria, released a four-paragraph statement saying he and Belt are disappointed but not surprised. Small said the charges are based “almost entirely on statements from a disgruntled vendor.” Belt, who has been sheriff since 1980, and former state District Judge Michael Johnson had royalty arrangements with Peoples Telephone Co., of Miami, for pay phones at prisons and jails around Louisiana. The Public Service Commission cited Peoples Telephone Co. in 1994 for overcharging customers by $107,695 for long-distance service. In 1995, news reports said that Johnson’s company, Cajun Callers, got $85,000 a year on calls from Avoyelles Parish jails, and Belt’s two companies — Southern Louisiana Communications, a warehouser of other long-distance carriers, and Central Louisiana Communications Inc. — got money from pay phones in other parishes. The Belts’ firms and Johnson’s had the same address. Because of that, the Louisiana Supreme Court removed Johnson from office in December 1996, three months after he was re-elected with 57 percent of the vote in spite of reports about the phone company.