It was suspicious enough when Stewart Cathey was arrested and handcuffed for a six-year-old seat belt violation exactly a month before the 2015 primary election for State Senate. But taken with events that have transpired with Louisiana State Police (LSP) and the agency’s former superintendent since that time, it seems less and less likely to have been mere coincidence.
Incumbent State Sen. Bob Kostelka (R-Monroe) was term-limited in 2015. Three-term Rep. Jim Fannin, a Jonesboro Democrat-turned-Republican, then serving as Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, was also term-limited and looking to move to the upper chamber.
Cathey, a Monroe native, a graduate of the University of Louisiana Monroe, and managing partner of the Cathey Group, an information technology management consulting firm in Monroe, also had his eye on the District 35 Senate seat. The district includes all or parts of the parishes of Rapides, Grant, Winn, Ouachita, Lincoln, and Jackson.
A captain in the U.S. Army Reserve, the Republican Cathey had received a ticket for a seat belt violation in 2009 but soon after was deployed to Afghanistan where he managed more than $250 million in infrastructure development projects and, he says, he forgot about the ticket.
Fast forward to the 2015 campaign. Fannin, endorsed by Kostelka and a heavy favorite for the Senate, is pressed by the upstart Cathey. They are only a few percentage points apart when Cathey was arrested and HANDCUFFED on a bench warrant issued by Monroe City Judge Tammy D. Lee.
His arrest was on Sept. 24, exactly one month before the primary election. Cathey said he attempted to pay the ticket, if belatedly, but was denied the opportunity. He said he was told he would have to turn himself in, be arrested and bonded out. Quite naturally, considering the timing and all, Cathey quite naturally suspected that mischief was afoot.
“This is the ugly side of politics,” he said. “Career politicians will stop at nothing to get back to the good old boys’ club in Baton Rouge. This is nothing new to Jim Fannin and Bob Kostelka and their team. I’ve seen them do it in the past.”
But Kostelka, who retired as a state district judge before his own election to the District 35 seat back in 2007, was quick with a sincere “Who, me?” denial, saying he had “no control over Monroe City Court or Judge Lee.”
Fannin subsequently defeated Cathey by 6 percentage points to take the election.
Granted, all that has been written here to this point is old news that got plenty of ink at the time. The story might well have ended there had not Cathey gone one step further with something called a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, better known in Louisiana simply as the garden variety public records request.
And that’s where the questions regarding actions by LSP, certain other unknown municipal and/or parish law enforcement agencies, and former LSP Superintendent Mike Edmonson come in.
On October 12, 2015, just 12 days before the primary election, Cathey submitted a public records request to State Police Lt. J.B. Slaton in which he requested:
- Any and all emails with regards to the account: stacey.barrett@la.gov from September 28, 2015 through October 10, 2015.
- Any and all emails, memos, or other writings discussing the findings from a Background Audit performed between September 28, 2015 and October 10, 2015 into the searches of Stewart Cathey, Jr.’s driving record as well as searches into the NCIC system for Stewart Cathey, Jr.’s record.
(LouisianaVoice has copies of Cathey’s request and the LSP response but because some of Cathey’s personal information is included on both documents, it was decided not to display copies of either.)
On Oct. 21, three days before the primary, LSP attorney Adrienne E. Aucoin responded—somewhat.
After recapping his request, Aucoin said any such searches on the Louisiana Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (LLETS) are privileged, “which exempts from the public view” records collected and maintained by the Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information (LBCII).
A spokesperson for the LSP Legal Department explained to LouisianaVoice that it was LSP policy not to release information on searches. She implied there was usually a good reason for someone checking to see if they were being investigated. She said releasing such information could alert a suspect to an otherwise confidential ongoing investigation of criminal activity. “We would thank them for the tip, though,” she said.
Aucoin’s letter went on to say, “Attached hereto, please find emails that are responsive to your request. Please note that a section of these emails has been redacted. The redacted information pertains to records maintained by the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information.”
(NOTE: The email chain below begins with the most recent communication and reads backward to the earliest. The text of the messages also makes it obvious that Cathey initiated his inquiries about the background checks almost a month before his formal FOIA request.)
The email chain started with a message at 9:59 a.m. on Sept. 28 to criminal records analyst Shelley Scott from Capt. Stacey Barrett of LSP Technical Support Services:
“Stewart Cathey, Jr. is running for a Senate seat in north Louisiana. He was arrested on 09/24/15 on a 6-year-old seat belt warrant. It was a highly publicized event. He called because he suspects the S.O. (sheriff’s office) is running his record without cause. Please run an off-line search from 1.1.15 through today.
“I told Mr. Cathey that we would not release any results to him. If we find what may be inappropriate use of LLETS, we would deal with the agency and the officer directly. Let me know what you find.”
Maj. Jason Starnes and LSP Lt. Chris Eskew were also copied on that email.
At 4:06 p.m. that same day, Scott emailed Barrett, Starnes, and Eskew:
“Attached are the requested LLETS off-line results on Stewart. The below table shows the Cliff’s (sic) Notes version.”
What followed was the “section” alluded to by Aucoin as redacted. The redacted portion was a transaction history for a six-month period comprising about three-quarters of a page and containing 20 redacted lines which appeared to represent background searches or requests for same.
At 12:45 p.m. on Sept. 30, Barrett wrote to Scott, Starnes, and Eskew:
“As discussed, we will wait for further direction from the chain of command before taking any action. Please hold on to (sic) all of the documentation you ran for this search.”
At 3:19 p.m., Starnes responded to Barrett:
“Please proceed with following our policy and protocol regarding the LLETS search inquiries and send the letters we discussed.”
Finally, at 3:45 p.m., also on Sept. 30, Barrett emailed Scott and Eskew:
“Please prepare the standard letters seeking justification for the (redacted) transactions. Please keep us posted and let us know if you need assistance or guidance.”
The cryptic nature of the email communications is curious since routine public records requests do not normally attract such attention up and down the chain of command.
The timing of Cathey’s arrest, the reported discipline of an Alexandria municipal police officer for running a background check on Cathey, and the LSP emails and redacted reports, taken together, would seem to indicate there was some legitimacy to Cathey’s suspicions that someone deliberately sought to undermine his election campaign by initiating widespread background checks and even his arrest—complete with handcuffs—for an otherwise minor offense.
To add icing on the proverbial cake, Cathey said on Monday, Oct. 26, just two days after the Oct. 24 election, he was contacted by Monroe City Court and informed the charges against him for the seat belt violation were being dropped. He also said an investigation begun by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) was abruptly shut down with no explanation given.
No disrespect to the late Gertrude Stein, but there certainly appears to be a there there.
Edmonson had a reputation during his nine years at the helm of LSP as one who would dole out favors to legislators in efforts to ingratiate himself to lawmakers. A relay by state troopers to deliver football tickets to a legislator in New Orleans for an LSU national championship football game when she accidentally left her tickets in Shreveport is one example of that mindset.
Ordering background checks by LSP and/or requesting checks by other law enforcement agencies could be another example.
When contacted by LouisianaVoice about the possibility of an investigation into whether or not Edmonson had taken such action, Public Information Officer Doug Cain said unless a formal complaint was lodged by Cathey, LSP would not initiate an investigation.
After the OIG investigation was suddenly terminated, Cathey did not follow up with a formal complaint to LSP.
He is currently deployed to Puerto Rico where his unit is working on hurricane relief.
Is there anything “dirty” that Edmonson hasn’t been involved in? Seriously!
Mrs. Edith I doubt it seriously, and if there is you could write it all down on the back of a very small business card……………………
Had Edmonson focused his energy on a “life of crime” he’d have made the bigtime. It’s sad that his only accomplishment in life was to destroy all credibility of the Louisiana State Police, and embedded his underlings to continue the Department of State Police in a downward spiral for years to come !
Nothing will change in the ranks of the Louisiana State Police until a new Louisiana Statute is passed to allow someone outside the department to take command and drain the LSP swamp. I personally doubt this will ever happen, because this is after all Louisiana, a state where political corruption is a sport !
You hit the nail on the head: state law *requires* the superintendent to be promoted from within LSP. Right now, it’s impossible to bring in someone from the outside to clean this up. Don’t look for anyone to push to change that, either.
It is obvious the search results by agency and terminal that were redacted by State Police were and are excessive for one individual in a short period of time. LSP conducts audits and inspects all agencies in the State with NLETS access to insure that the integrity and confidentiality of the database is used for the right reasons. Furthermore, the email string contains the names of senior leadership at LSP with responsibility and a duty to protect the integrity and purpose of that law enforcement database. Upon this being brought to their attention by the FOIA request by Cathey, why didn’t they investigate further? This smells of another cover-up by LSP. Where is the U.S. Department of Justice?
Tarnished: Where is the U.S. Department of Justice?
Where’s the little boy who looks after the sheep? Under the haystack, fast asleep.
That’s why we learn nursery rhymes as kids. You will need them later in life.
great article, this is Republican Jindalism, they are very good at using taxpayer money and Koch brothers (John Birch Society) funds. Lying is their basis, remember Jindal got elected by lying about the LSU economic report and said businesses won’t relocate here unless we pass ethics reform. It worked and now we got Trump and the alt right, praise God $$ love always ron thompson
Dang, you keep’m coming. 👍That election was stolen from Stewart, no doubt.
Mary Ann Riddle
Never forget Ladies & Gentlemen,
There is NO SUCH THING AS ‘COINCIDENCE’…
LSP simply looks more and more dysfunctional. These exposed weasels of LSP are running around like Mike the chicken (the actual chicken in 1947 that tried its hardest to act normal with no brains, head, or thought process=== this can get severely confusing with the disgraced retired Mike). Only one email was needed for this. One email that says, FOLLOW THE LAW AND RULES. There is no need to continue the discussion. Instead, LSP goes into meltdown when asked a “yes” or “no” question. These emails are basically saying, “is old mike happy or will this end any of my future promotions?” That’s the hidden message in the garbage emails. Is old mike happy because I don’t want to miss out on anything old mike will GIVE ME. Who cares about the word “EARNED.” A message to the good Troopers: use your recorders, use your cameras, use your cell phone and record all the rats. Don’t let a policy stop you. The policy where they don’t want you to record meeting or office talk. RECORD, RECORD, RECORD IT. You will one day thank me. If you don’t keep them in check, YOU HAVE NOTHING and can work in 5 degree weather while the rats hide at the party house in Vegas or New Orleans or Baton Rouge
You are absolutely right crash and burn Captain Duane Farmer of the Houma Police Department was RECORDED calling citizens vulgar names when they filed complaints against police officers. He was out of control….
Farmer is asked to make an inquiry into an allegation of police misconduct reported by a woman whose husband was arrested at a DWI checkpoint that he was working. Farmer indicates he is familiar with the matter, and immediately says it is not a case. “We didn’t do anything,” an agitated Farmer says. “This pain in the a**, lying mother**** comes in here, she is a lying mother*** and got to go through all this bull**** when she is a lying mother****. (An officer) got to waste his time a week or two over a lying woman.” Both Farmer and Boquet discuss the potential of having the woman charged with a crime if she returns to tell her story and files a formal complaint, suggesting that a police car video will counter any claim. “Let her come in and file the complaint and, as soon as I get the video, she will be charged,” says Boquet. Donna Wedgeworth (Chief Secretary) is heard entering the conversation. “Glad you didn’t call them no bitches or whores,” she says.“We didn’t call the bitch a bitch,” Farmer says.
The RECORDINGS were given to the Houma Municipal Civil Service Board who conducted an investigation on Farmer. The investigator Raymond Miller of HUB Enterprises concluded within his investigation Farmer violated several policies. Miller indicated within his report The vulgar language expressed by Captain Farmer presents as his normal speech expressions. This is based on the ease at which the terms and words flow freely during the conversation. The board then convened and voted 3-1 that Farmer was not guilty of any misconduct with one board member resigning during the meeting. In 2017 Houma PD eliminated one Lieutenant, one Sergeant, and four road patrolman from their budget. However, they added an Asst. Chief position and promoted Farmer who is currently the Asst. Police Chief and now oversees all operations of the department to include citizen complaints. LISTEN TO RECORDINGS BELOW….
https://www.houmatimes.com/hpd-recordings-give-an-inside-look/article_ca61908e-7d2d-11e5-a4c3-f751278efcf3.html
https://www.houmatimes.com/news/hpd-recordings-still-in-limbo/article_8c39a5e2-7cd0-11e5-9df7-7f0f1d273aa5.html
http://www.houmatoday.com/news/20170318/interim-assistant-police-chief-criticized
Mike Edmonson’s replacement, Col. Reeves, is just as big a fraud as he was. Sure he’ll lie, act sincere, and deeply concerned, and appear during TV interviews that he is shocked at the corruption occurring within the department. Then does almost nothing to troopers under his new command that have committed felonies. Don’t be fooled, it’s the same ole smooth Edmonson talk, just a new face behind the voice. At the end of the day, it will still be the “good-ole-boy” Frat House Club down at HQ. Nothing but the name over the door at LSP Command has changed. The entire lot of the upper levels of command at LSP are all corrupt, and it’s been that way now for a very long time. That’s not to say that the majority of troopers that work in the trenches day after day are not fine, respectable people, but the upper levels of Command at LSP are scammers, crooks, drunks, and liars, just like their former leader Edmonson! I’m ashamed to admit it, but I dedicated the best years of my life as a Louisiana State Trooper, and spent twenty four years watching how things worked at LSP HQ in Baton Rouge. That’s not to say that over the course of all of those years that all of the heads of the Department where bad. In fact they were good, honorable men. That all changed when Edmonson was appointed. He spent all of his years as head of the Department setting up his drinking buddies under him, and promoted the entire lot of them to the top. The entire upper tier of LSP needs to be ousted, and replaced with men of integrity who have earned the rank. A total and complete dismantling of the upper levels of State Police Command must be conducted to ever have any hope of bringing the respect of the LSP back to where it once was. The Louisiana Statute must be changed so a leader from outside the Louisiana State Police can come in and clean house. What you’ve got running the Louisiana State Police, as I type this, are Mike Edmonson clones, same ole B.S., just another day!
I agree with all that you said! The upper ranks of LSP are all hand picked and groomed to be exactly like OleEd wanted them to be. These youngsters didn’t rise in rank above well seasoned and well qualified officers who had years of experience just because they are good troooers. They rose in rank because they are hand picked, coached, taught the ropes of deceit and made to think they are the elite of LSP. The WEAK MINDED are the ones who were chosen to rise the ranks because they could be molded into what higher ups wanted them to be.
This example of the gross misuse of LSP systems and authority is exactly why they have lawsuits pending against them. They’ve had ample opportunity to fix their own personal issues for YEARS, yet they have allowed the privileged within this organization to do as they please and then, amongst themselves, discuss how to skirt the issue or deny average citizens of their rights to know how much or how often their name was “searched” at the hands of an officer. The above proves they ran this man waaaayyy too many times and no way should that have gone unpunished! The very fact that LSP knows there is misconduct within but refuses to address it until someone files a formal complaint is why LSP is viewed as an organization with zero integrity.
You sir are exactly right. Scum, breeds scum !