BOARD BACKS PARDON FOR BR BUSINESSMAN

A 13-year-old guilty plea to distribution of marijuana stands between
Abozar Shahsavari and U.S. citizenship. That roadblock may soon be gone.

The Louisiana Pardon Board voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend that
Shahsavari, owner of New Orleans Poboys and Gyros in Baton Rouge, receive a
full pardon from Gov. Mike Foster. A pardon would eliminate Shahsavari's
criminal record, making him eligible to become a naturalized U.S. citizen.

"Believe me, he wants that more than anything," Joe Thompson, Shahsavari's
attorney, said.

The recommendation now moves to Foster, who can either pardon Shahsavari or
reject the recommendation.

The Pardon Board's recommendation on Wednesday marks the third time
Shahsavari has become eligible for a pardon.

Just before leaving office in 1991, former Gov. Edwin Edwards didn't act on
a recommendation to pardon Shahsavari, a native of Iran.

Foster rejected a recommendation during his first year in office in 1996.

Shahsavari's problems started in April 1987, when he associated with a
woman who later turned out to be a police informant.

The woman, identified in the Pardon Board's file only as "Beverly," sold
marijuana to an associate while Shahsavari was at her Baton Rouge apartment.

When he left for the evening, "Beverly" asked Shahsavari to take two bags
containing a total of 1 ounce of marijuana with him and that somebody would
pick it up and pay him the next day, Shahsavari told the Pardon Board. "I
got nothing out of the transaction," Shahsavari said.

The person who bought the marijuana turned out to be an undercover police
officer. Shahsavari pleaded guilty to distribution of marijuana.

The plea agreement contained a provision allowing the case to be dismissed
if Shahsavari served two-years probation and didn't get arrested again.

Shahsavari took the deal to prevent being deported to Iran, where his life
would have been endangered, Thompson said. "We were just petrified,"
Thompson said.

Prosecutors dismissed the case in August 2000. But federal immigration laws
still prevent Shahsavari from becoming a U.S. citizen unless he is
pardoned, Thompson said.

"The dismissal cleared everything out but the immigration problem,"
Thompson said.

Shahsavari, who declined to speak after the Pardon Board hearing, said the
drug sale was a one-time deal.

"I will never even think about it again," Shahsavari said.

Pardon Board members were sympathetic to Shahsavari, citing his otherwise
clean record and success with the restaurant at 11806 Coursey Blvd.

"You seem to have a good record," Pardon Board Chairman Irv Magri said.
"This is one of the milder cases I've seen."

No one from either the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney's Office
or any victims' rights groups spoke in opposition of the Pardon Board's
recommendation.

"This is the epitome of rehabilitation," said the Rev. C.J. Bell, the
board's vice chairman.