His resignation has been submitted and will become official very soon, according to a spokesperson at the Louisiana insurance department.

Mr. Brown was accused of trying to set up a "sweetheart liquidation deal" for the failed Cascade Insurance Company in his state. He was acquitted of the actual crime, but was convicted of lying to an FBI agent about the case, according Amy Whittington, assistant commissioner, public affairs, for the Louisiana insurance department.

Mr. Brown, however, defended his innocence in his resignation letter. "As you are well aware, I have been fighting to overturn my unjust conviction and fully pursue my appeal through the federal court system for the past two and one half years," he stated. "Unfortunately, the federal government has tied my hands and has kept me during this time from carrying on my duties as Louisiana commissioner of insurance."

In a statement, he added that "the Supreme Court decision not to grant a re-hearing causes me the deepest personal disappointment." Mr. Brown's resignation letter and his statements can be found at www.jimbrownla.com.

When his resignation becomes official, acting insurance commissioner Robert Wooley will be named the state insurance commissioner, said Ms. Whittington. The current acting commissioner took over officially on Friday. "He's been running the department since October of 2000," noted Ms. Whittington.

This fall, Mr. Wooley will also be a candidate for a statewide election for a full four-year term of the insurance commissioner's post.

Mr. Brown, who is 62, is a veteran of Louisiana politics. Earlier, he had served as a state senator and the secretary of state, and later campaigned unsuccessfully for the governorship in 1987. He was first elected Louisiana's insurance commissioner in 1991 and was re-elected to a second term before his conviction in 2000.