Cleo Fields

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Cleo Fields (born November 22, 1962) is a lawyer and politician. He is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana.

Fields was born in in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from Southern University in his hometown. He failed his bar exam approximately 6 times before eventually passing. Field was elected as a Democrat to the Louisiana Senate in 1986. In 1987, he founded the fundraising group Young Adults for Positive Action. He attempted to run for Congress in 1990, but was defeated.

Fields represented Louisiana's 4th congressional district in the United States Congress from 1993 through 1997. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for governor of Louisiana in 1995, losing in a landslide to Mike Foster. Fields currently serves as a state senator in Louisiana, representing his old district.

Fields achieved considerable notoriety in 1997 when an FBI surveillance videotape showed him accepting a large amount of cash (about $20,000) from former Louisiana Governor Edwin W. Edwards (now in federal prison) and stuffing it in his pockets. Fields has stated that the incident was just an innocent business transaction between friends, and has refused further explanation regarding its details.