LouisianaVoice has received unconfirmed word that State Trooper Ronald Picou has been placed on leave pending termination following a months-long investigation of Louisiana State Police (LSP) Troop D in Lake Charles. The investigation was prompted by LouisianaVoice revelations that Picou would often leave work after only a couple of hours on shift to go home and sleep so that he would be able to work at the construction company he owned.
Our sources from within Troop D have reported that Picou’s patrol unit is parked at the troop and all of his equipment has been turned in. Those same sources say he is on leave. It is common practice to place a terminated trooper on leave until his or her effective termination date.
Those sources also say he will appeal his termination.
Left undetermined is whether or not he will face prosecution for knowingly accepting payment for time not worked.
LouisianaVoice first broke the story on September 11 in which we reported the awarding of gift cards to troopers for making ticket quotas and an unwritten policy of giving time off for DWI arrests. https://louisianavoice.com/2015/09/11/gift-cards-for-tickets-payroll-chicanery-quotas-short-shifts-the-norm-in-troop-d-troopers-express-dismay-at-problems/
In that story, we wrote that Picou “habitually works the first two or three hours of his 12-hour night shift (or four-to-six hours of his 12-hour day shift) and then go on radio silence for the remainder of his shift.
Radio records obtained by LouisianaVoice from independent sources after LSP denied our request for the logs, saying they, along with other requested records had become the subject of an ongoing investigation and therefore “are not subject to release at this time.” The records given LouisianaVoice indicated frequent extended periods of time during which there was no radio traffic at all from Picou.
Of course, LSP brass launched its initial investigation into discovering the identity of the whistleblower(s) before finally turning attention to the allegations themselves.
Louisiana Secretary of State corporate records show that Picou, of Beauregard Parish, operates TRP Construction in Deridder. When his fellow troopers took it upon themselves to determine where Picou was spending his shift, they invariably found his patrol vehicle parked at his home while taxpayers’ investment in protection was being ignored. Some even said Picou bragged about sleeping at home.
Picou was placed on Lt. Jim Jacobsen’s shift every year. It is rare, if ever, for a trooper to remain with the same lieutenant. Following Jacobsen’s retirement, Picou was placed on Lt. Paul Brady’s shift. Both Jacobsen and Brady, along with Troop D Commander Capt. Chris Guillory, are said to be close friends.
Jacobsen even sent a letter to LouisianaVoice in November that he said cleared Picou of any wrongdoing. https://louisianavoice.com/2015/11/12/explanation-of-retired-state-trooper-beauregard-parish-sheriff-candidate-jim-jacobson-is-less-than-illuminating/
There were several problems with that letter, however.
First, the letter was dated August 1, 2013, long before our story was published.
Second, the letter itself said that the investigation was carried out by Troop D rather than LSP internal affairs investigators.
In that letter, the allegations of Neglect of Duty, Unsatisfactory Performance, Secondary Employment Obligations and Performance of Duty were all determined to be “unfounded.”
The letter was signed by “Captain Chris Guillory, Troop D, Louisiana State Police.”
Guillory has experienced his own problems. Besides being given a letter of reprimand on November 13 for allowing a State Trooper to continue work after being placed on suspension, he was given an earlier reprimand for abusing prescription narcotics while on duty—and was subsequently promoted from lieutenant to captain and was named commander of Troop D.
So the observation must be made that the poop doesn’t always flow downhill. Those charged with supervisory duties are accountable for the transgressions of those who answer to them. When behavior that casts a dark shadow across the entire organization and which puts everyone in an unfavorable light is allowed to continue unabated, perhaps even encouraged, that’s when the sewer begins to back up.
Louisiana Voice 
Reblogged this on tmabaker.
[…] Source: State Trooper in LSP Troop D is reportedly terminated in aftermath of investigation into LouisianaVo… […]
There are a bunch of folks who work at Troop D that are Wonderful, Honest, Hard Working Folks. There is also some who retired just to get away from Chris Guillory and his cronies. This crap has gone on way to long. The Brass at Headquarters needs to fire Guillory and his band of crooked brothers,
So the good guy’s can do their jobs.
You have to wonder if the timing of this notice of termination has anything to do with the Ronald Thomas case. If Trooper Thomas is being terminated due to theft of police evidence and time sheet fraud, it might present problems with accusations of racism by LSP Brass if Trooper Picou isn’t terminated for his crime. I’m thankful for the employees in Troop D who have had the courage to come forth and provide evidence implicating Commander Guillory and others of wrongdoing, especially since Edmonson seems more concerned about the reputation of the organization than he is in rooting out corruption! Unfortunately, Edmonson doesn’t realize he is further destroying the organization’s reputation by his unwillingness to take appropriate action!
Another thing: a large portion of the leave Trooper Picou is utilizing was accrued by illegal means, so why is he able to cash in on it?
Very thorough job, Tom. Thank you for your diligence.
It’s sad that it takes an independent journalist’s investigation to force officials to stop looking the other way and do the right thing.
Each member of Picou’s upline who knew about his continual payroll fraud and allowed it, condoned illegal behavior. By signing his timesheets, allowing him to be paid, they are legally responsible, and are guilty of both condoning and commiting a felony.
When people complain about wasteful government spending and employees who do nothing while on the timeclock, they are complaining about the very small minority of public employees who do this.
Thanks, Tom for dogged investigation and reporting. Too bad the LSP Internal Affairs staff AND the Inspector General are not as diligent.
Excellent points, earthmother. However, I would take what I see as your main point a step further. It should not be Tom’s, Lee Zurik’s, Bob Mann’s, the Inspector General’s, the Legislative Auditor’s or any watchdog’s responsibility to catch these things – It should be the very well-paid people allegedly running these departments.
Not since Buddy Roemer has any governor, with one exception, seriously held the heads of departments directly accountable for ensuring their departments are run as efficiently, effectively, and ethically as possible. [The only case I have seen in recent history involved firing a department head by Jindal for serious failings to adequately respond during Hurricane Gustav and there were allegations that firing was really based on enmity between the two unrelated to Gustav].
The public, already believing government is corrupt and wasteful, loves to read about this kind of thing because it reinforces the belief encouraged by John Kennedy and others that all we need to do is simply cut $2 billion in waste and our fiscal problems are solved.
Until our governor and legislature start to enforce accountability for these things all the way up the line from the individual miscreant to the department head level and convince the public they are addressing this, additional revenue is going to be hard to come by and then seriously resented if taxes are raised.
BINGO (especially your final paragraph). Jindal, rather than holding his appointees accountable for abuses such as those extensively documented on this webpage, http://www.auctioneer-la.org/toc_payrolli.htm, chose instead to, as Tom has pointed out so perfectly, permit his appointees to actively pursue whistleblowers because, had he fired the perpetrators and enablers, Jindal feared it would harm his presidential aspirations (especially given the sheer number of his appointees who aided and abetted theft).
Fortunately, despite strongly supporting Gov. Edwards in the election, Tom (and Bob Mann) have held Edwards accountable for rewarding high-level Jindal appointees like Edmonson by letting them stick around to try and conceal the totality of their corrupt operations, such as the “49-5 club” pointed out by the late C. B. Forgotston: http://forgotston.com/2014/08/22/the-49-5-club/.
For low-level appointee abuses like the one depicted on the first link above, Edwards is entitled to a 9-month free pass because there was just too much corruption left over from Jindal to try and clean up in a few months. After 9 months, however, Jindal’s holdover appointees become Edwards’ tacit appointees, and he will be held accountable. Further, we are indeed fortunate to have an AG in Jeff Landry who has made it clear he is going to prosecute corruption and theft. Buddy Caldwell is even more responsible for the type abuses Tom outlines than Jindal!
Re: Audits, Accountability and Oversight
On February 4, 2016, the Legislative Auditor’s office acknowledged receipt of my request to update the 2013 report Louisiana Department of Education – Monitoring of Charter Schools. Given recent findings coupled with the existing lack of oversight by the Department of Education, we requested the office formally audit LDOE’s financial oversight of ALL charter-type schools, update the earlier report and expand the scope to include recent financial management issues by LDOE.
$1/4 billion dollars is being transferred from state control to private operators with little oversight.
Audits are not new to the LDE and LA’s charter schools. The latest, in December 2015, highlighted the Recovery School District (RSD)’s inadequate financial controls for the ninth year in a row.
I have received a great response from BESE members, representatives and senators. I am continuing to push the issue this week as the Senate begins budget hearings this weekend.
If they fired him based on the facts, then there is also enough evidence to convict him of felony fraud
Amen. Prosecute to the fullest extent of the law and take the fraudulently “earned” retirement pay away! You cant earn retirement pay when you’re not working! Don’t let any of these idiots who were involved benefit from their part in public corruption! That’s how I see it.
Good work,Tom.
Who can you trust if you can’t trust the State police to make sure their officers are working on the streets to protect us, and not home in bed sleeping while on on the taxpayers dollars? And to hear this case was covered up a while back by his higher up buddies is disgusting. How many other cases like this did they sweep under the rug to keep out of the public eye?
This officer should be prosecuted for malfeasance in office and lose any pension benefits that may be due him from the state retirement system. If he is not convicted, he will be eligible to draw some retirement when he reaches eligibility age – for work he didn’t even do. Justice needs to be served in this case. This is an absolute outrage. There is no way he thought it was ok to do what he was doing. He has absolutely no defense for his conduct. At a minimum, restitution is in order to pay back the taxpayers for this theft.
Clay Collins – I completely agree. Public payroll fraud is a felony in Louisiana. “Trooper” Picou and, as mentioned, his entire upline who condoned and allowed this criminal activity to go on, should be arrested and prosecuted. There is plenty of precedent for prosecution in LA. The leaders of the agency from which I retired did not tolerate payroll fraud and took appropriate action after investigation proved the wrongdoing. Years ago several top administrators at two agencies were terminated for allowing their staff to claim and be paid for hours not worked.
As you said, who can we trust to enforce the law if not the State Police? Are y’all paying attention, LSP brass?? This is not going to quietly go away.
YES earthmother! They swept it under the rug once before. How could they have cleared him before? The blank radio logs were there all along… This is Louisiana Public Corruption at its finest. He was friends with the whole chain of command. The state police need to take a strong stand on this issue or they will have lost all public confidence.
Pretty sure he didn’t invent this. I would suspect he “learned” this particular behavior from co-workers & they protect one another. There’s more than one rat here.
One thing i have noticed is if you’re a LSP you’re above the law so that word everyone keeps saying arrest that won’t happen lsp don’t arrest anyone that wears the boot woohoo. . Crazy but the feeling to be above the law must be a rush. ..
And now Jacobson is a candidate running for Sheriff of Beauregard Parish in the election coming up.🤦♂️