SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) - Gus Mijalis, a Louisiana businessman and close friend of former Gov. Edwin Edwards has died at age 83.

Rose-Neath Funeral Homes in Shreveport confirmed the death Thursday. Louisiana news outlets say Mijalis died Tuesday of complications from heart disease.

Mijalis' business interests include the family-owned Farmers Seafood in Shreveport. He also served on the state Board of Regents for higher education.

But the rotund and jocular Mijalis was best known as a friend of Edwards, the high-living four-term governor.

Both men were indicted - and later acquitted - on federal charges involving health care permits. Their 1985 trial in New Orleans was highlighted by the defendants' out-of-court antics. They included a gathering at a French Quarter bar where Mijalis lumbered to the piano and sang "I Did It My Way."