I just got an e-mail from Jeremy Peppas at The Times of North Little Rock. He’s been notified by the Justice Department that its wiretap of former Alderman Cary Gaines in an investigation that led to recent mob-connected indictments captured some conversations between Gaines and Peppas. He’s curious about others in town who might have chatted with Gaines. (Argenta News proudly posted its letter.)

Well, sure, now that I think about it. They tapped all of Gaines’ calls, not just those to a reputed bookie who reportedly had Gaines on the hook and hoped to leverage that into some city contracts. I talked to Gaines briefly AFTER his indictment. No letter for me so far. About 300 who received or made calls to Gaines’ cell phone between March and June will be getting letters, however, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Jane Duke said.

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This might — or might not — explain why I’ve been hearing from a persistent tipster about North Little Rock officials nervous about the contents of tapped phone calls. Who knows what got overheard? At a minimum, who else might be friends with the same bookie?

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