Wilbert Rideau The Real Story

           Wilbert Rideau and his wife, Linda, informed NPR recently that they are working on a new book in the wake of Rideau’s 2010 memoir, In The Place of Justice (Random House). This new book will be about “crime and criminality.” So let’s look at their individual literary endeavors.

            Linda Rideau, the former Linda Labranche, has never written or published a book; in fact, a Google search does not reveal anything written or published by Rideau’s wife. In 2005 she submitted a proposal to the Soros Foundation to write a book, or treatise, about prison publications and a free penal press focusing, of course, on The Angolite, the official inmate publication of the Louisiana State Penitentiary, of which Rideau was editor for more than two decades. The Soros Foundation was impressed—so much so that they gave Labranche a $75,000 grant in 2006 to subsidize this literary endeavor. Problem is: Linda Labranche, the name under which the grant was bestowed, either did not produce or create a project worthy of publication. In a nutshell, she got over on the Soros Foundation to the tune of $75,000.

            Not to be out done, hubby Rideau decided to reap some benefits from the “grant hustle” circuit. With Labranche’s $75,000 snug in the bank, Rideau sought and secured a $75,000 grant to subsidize his memoir, One couple, one household—and they make off with $150,000! Nice haul for a former bank robber.

            And what did Rideau do with his share of the loot? He used it in a 3 ½ -year effort to produce his memoir that turned out to be nothing more than a “pat me on the back” production in which he made the following braggadocio accomplishments: he singlehandedly turned The Angolite into an award-winning publication; he changed the method of execution in Louisiana; he took on and backed down a sitting governor and a federal judge; he instructed prison wardens how to resolve inmate rebellions; he used his “insider” influence with a parole board member to get two convicted murderers released from prison; he instructed a Lake Charles politician how to develop a plan to defeat a rival; he lied about two former prison wardens; he used his “insider” influence to learn about the “secret” workings of the state pardon board; he was responsible for a state police investigation into corruption at the state penitentiary; he criticized Sister Helen Prejean as being “naïve” for supporting an inmate protest; he had a network of spies and informants who kept him apprised of everything that went on in the prison; and he survived an attempt on his life orchestrated by the prison’s warden.

            The problem is: none of it is true! Rideau is a habitual liar. He can’t help himself: it rooted in his DNA.

            And if you look at his two previous books, Life Sentences and The Wall Is Strong, you will see they are anthologies that grave-robbed The Angolite and other inmate publications. And in The Wall Is Strong, he plagiarized four of my articles which resulted in the lead author of the book, criminal justice professor Burk Foster, providing me with a written apology and removing the articles from the book—one of which I was awarded the 1980 ABA Silver Gavel Award. So not only is Rideau a consummate liar, he is a literary thief as well.

            And this brings me back to the new book Rideau and wife are working on about “crime and criminality.” I’m sure they are doing everything they can to sucker another foundation out of grant money to subsidize this “War and Peace” effort. Wilbert Rideau knows nothing about crime or criminality—he couldn’t even tell the truth about his own crime and criminality. And I’m sure wife Labranche knows even less about the subject. This means the couple will have to rely upon the thoughts, ideas, and published works of established criminal justice experts—some of which Rideau will try to pass off as his own work product.

            As New York Jets linebacker Brad Scott said: “Can’t wait!”