BATON ROUGE — East Baton Rouge Schools Superintendent LaMont Cole will not have to get court permission every time he needs to travel around the country as he awaits trial on bribery and corruption charges.
In a hearing Thursday, State District Judge Carson Marcantel approved a request from Cole’s attorneys to loosen the restrictions imposed on Cole when he posted bond after his Aug. 5 indictment. One of the conditions was that Cole seek advance approval from the court any time he wanted to leave the state.
In the request to remove that bond condition, Cole’s attorneys said that, among other things, Cole is scheduled to attend three out-of-state conferences this fall. He is scheduled to go to a Congressional Black Caucus conference in Washington D.C. later this month, a CUBE conference put on by the National School Boards Association in Chicago less than two weeks later and the Greater City Schools Conference in Boston in October, according to court records.
Cole did not attend Thursday’s hearing. Court minutes indicate that prosecutors did not oppose the request.
The hearing did not address Cole’s motion to have his indictment thrown out.
Cole is scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 29. He is accused of steering contracts to a longtime friend and getting kickbacks. He has repeatedly said he is innocent.
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