Con Who Videotaped ACORN Arrested By FBI; Charged In Plot To Tap Sen. Mary Landrieu’s Phones (Updated)

James O’Keefe, hailed as a hero by the right for secretly videotaping ACORN workers, is among four men arrested by the FBI for a plot to tap the phones of Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu.

FBI Special Agent Steven Rayes alleges that O’Keefe aided and abbetted two others, Joseph Basel and Robert Flanagan, who dressed up as employees of a telephone company and attempted to interfere with the office’s telephone system.

A witness from Landrieu’s staff said O’Keefe was present in the office and claimed to be “waiting for someone to arrive.”

O’Keefe is pictured here from the previous caper dressed up as a pimp.

UPDATE: The fourth man arrested, Stan Dai, is being accused of aiding and abetting Basel and Flanagan. The men are being charged with entering federal property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony.

O’Keefe on Thursday gave a speech to Libertarian Pelican Institute for Public Policy in New Orleans. O’Keefe was hailed as a conservative hero for dressing as a pimp and taping ACORN employees offering advice on how he and a partner could get away with running an international under-age prostitution scheme.

The New Orleans event was promoted with this glowing statement about O’Keefe by the Pelican Institute: “James has been a pioneer in the use of new media to drive these kinds of important stories. He will discuss the role of new media and show examples of effective investigative reporting.”

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.