The Vitter campaign acknowledged the private investigator was working for them — but denied he was there to tape Newell Normand. | AP Photo Vitter rivals pounce after private investigator's arrest

A private investigator working for Sen. David Vitter's gubernatorial campaign was arrested Friday and charged with illegally recording a conversation involving a local sheriff, throwing a last-minute wrench into Saturday's all-party primary as other campaigns pounced on the news.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand told the Baton Rouge Advocate he noticed a man acting strangely while he was having breakfast with several friends at a local coffee shop Friday morning. Normand confronted the man, who denied any wrongdoing, but Normand noticed the man had recording software open on a handheld device. Later, a member of the group took a photo of the man, prompting him to flee out of the restaurant and the breakfast group to give chase. Normand eventually called into sheriff's deputies to search for the man, identified as Robert J. Frenzel, and arrested him for criminal mischief.


Frenzel, 30, works for J.W. Bearden & Associates, a Dallas-based private investigation firm. Vitter's gubernatorial campaign has paid the firm more than $135,000 for "legal services" during the campaign. Normand told the paper there was probable cause to charge Frenzel with interception of communications. In Frenzel's car, police found documents on Jason Berry, a blogger who has been posting unsubstantiated reports about Vitter's relationship with prostitutes. On his recording device, they found Frenzel had recorded several minutes of the group's conversation.

In a statement to the Advocate, the Vitter campaign acknowledged Frenzel was working for them — but denied he was there to taping Normand and said he was focused on John Cummings, a prominent New Orleans-area attorney and backer of state Rep. John Bel Edwards, the major Democratic candidate in Saturday's primary. Normand, a Republican, is a backer of Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne in the governor's race.

"This person works for a firm that we hired to do research, all within the bounds of the law," Vitter spokesman Luke Bolar said. "This includes John Bel Edwards' business associate and major donor, and his relationship with the John Bel Edwards campaign. It has nothing to do with Newell Normand."

The arrest presents a last-gasp opportunity for two Republicans trailing Vitter in the contest to knock him out of the second runoff spot. Edwards, the lone Democrat, is thought to be guaranteed a spot in the runoff. Dardenne and Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle are chasing a wounded Vitter for the second runoff spot.

"So we know this about David Vitter. He's cheated, he's lied and now he's been caught spying," Dardenne says direct to the camera in a web ad his campaign shot late last night. "We're no stranger to political corruption, but they usually wait until after they're elected to betray our trust. This time, it's on us. We now know the real David Vitter. And today is our chance to say, 'No, we've had enough. We're better than this.'"

"This is shocking and beyond troubling. It reeks of old-school politics," Angelle said in a statement. "The questions about David Vitter continue and he refuses to provide any answers. This is yet another reason why Louisiana can't afford to elect David Vitter governor."

Early voting in the state started two weeks ago, and it's unclear how much a late-breaking news story could change Saturday's outcome.

Normand told the Advocate he was determined to get to the bottom of why Frenzel taped the conversation.

"What do I have to do with the governor’s race? Everybody knows I endorsed Jay Dardenne," Normand said. "Everybody at that table is very upset with this. I didn’t know we had become the state of Russia."