Jim Beam column: What did those lawmen do?

Published 6:32 am Saturday, July 26, 2025

The arrest of four Louisiana lawmen, the wife of one of them and a private citizen has left some citizens wondering exactly what they did to be indicted by the federal government.

The six were allegedly breaking laws that helped immigrants get what are called U visas. The visas help them stay in the country while their asylum cases play out.

The indicted lawmen are former Forest Hill Police Chief Glynn Dixon, Oakdale Police Chief Chad Doyle, Oakdale City Marshal Michael Slaney and former Glenmora Police Chief Tebo Onishea. All four pleaded not guilty last week.

Alison Doyle, the Oakdale police chief’s wife, was accused of rigging a bidding process in the mayor’s office where she worked.

Chandrakant “Lala” Patel is a businessman accused of orchestrating the alleged visa fraud scheme. The Advocate in its report on the arrest story said Patel was a mystery to many locals. He was mainly known for running a Subway shop and two convenience stores.

Allen Parish Sheriff Douglas Hebert said Patel has no local criminal record. Patel pleaded not guilty Wednesday to all charges filed against him.

The Advocate’s newly obtained Glenmora police reports provide the first look at what federal prosecutors allege was the bribes-for-visas scheme.

The 62-count indictment includes allegations of faked police reports, fraudulent visas for foreign nationals and tens of thousands of dollars in alleged bribes. The newspaper said it portrays Rapides and Allen parishes as an epicenter of immigration fraud on a large scale.

Prosecutors said each of the four lawmen got stacks of cash from Patel. Then, hundreds of people received visas based on phony police reports that portrayed them as crime victims or witnesses who were helping authorities.

The Advocate said federal authorities haven’t released much information about who exactly received the forged visas.

Prosecutors allege that Patel and the men used the money to buy two pickup trucks, two campsites on Bundick Lake, an RV, a 2025 Land Rover, a Toyota sport van and other vehicles.

Doyle’s wife is accused of rigging the bidding process so Patel could acquire two city-owned properties. He paid $56,200 for two properties.

Law enforcement officials said the scheme involved “several central Louisiana parishes,” suggesting a wider reach, and that it could date back to as early as 2015. It’s unclear if other public officials are involved.

State Attorney General Liz Murrill said she expects her office will lodge additional state charges against the accused.

The response of local citizens to the arrests was interesting.

Ann Odom, 73, a lifelong Oakdale resident, said, “Money is the root of all  evil.”

Oakdale has had other corruption scandals and a gift shop owner said, “It’s everywhere you go. But it’s bad here. Really, really bad.”

A former fellow Oakdale police officer and childhood friend of Doyle’s, who wouldn’t give his name, said, “I honestly thought we wouldn’t have stuff like that once (he) became chief.”

Forest Hill Mayor Elizabeth Jeter said she was “deeply saddened” over the indictment of Dixon. “Forest Hill is a strong, close-know community and we understand how difficult this news is for our residents.”

Local law enforcement in Rapides Parish said they’ve never had any real problems with any noncitizens, either way.

District Attorney Phillip Terrell, “Off the top of my head, I’m not aware of any felony cases that we have out of Forest Hill or Glenmora. There’s not much activity there, other than, apparently, the fraudulent activity.”

The Advocate in an editorial about the lawmen being arrested reminded its readers that an indictment is only an innocent until proven guilty. It said the lawmen, like those swept up in all the immigration raids that have taken place this year, deserve humane treatment and due process.

“… The elderly man on his way to work in Lafayette, the nursing mother in Baton Rouge who showed up for a scheduled immigration appointment or the woman gardening in her New Orleans yard are not the problem with the nation’s immigration system,” the editorial said.

Targeting those folks is cruel, but that isn’t the worst part. How about those arrested immigrants who are being sent to countries they have never been to before? They aren’t getting the humane treatment and due process that the six who were arrested for fraud will be getting.

Jim Beam, the retired editor of the American Press, has covered people and politics for more than six decades. Contact him at 337-515-8871 or jim.beam.press@gmail.com.