The late comedian Andy Griffith began his classic bit entitled What it was, was Football with this line:
“It was back last October, I believe it was…”
Well, it was back last December—Dec. 5, 2017, to be precise—that I speculated in my LouisianaVoice POST about the “premature” release of that Louisiana State Police (LSP) audit so critical of former LSP Superintendent Mike Edmonson that ol’ Mike most probably leaked that “premature” audit copy himself in order to set up a claim that his defense, in case of ensuring criminal charges, had been tainted.
Back on Dec. 5, I wrote: “A premature release of the audit before Edmonson had a chance to respond could conceivably prejudice the case against Edmonson. Accordingly, Edmonson (or more likely someone acting anonymously on his behalf) slipped a copy of the audit to The Advocate/WWL.”
The ploy may have worked had it not been for WWL-TV posting the auditor’s cover letter to Edmonson. That pretty much put the ball in Edmonson’s court in terms of identifying the leaker. That’s because there were only two copies of the audit draft. One went to LSP and one to Edmonson. Only the one that went to Edmonson contained the auditor’s cover letter. And when WWL abruptly removed the video from its web page when I called attention to it, that pretty much confirmed my theory.
Well, wouldn’t you know Mikey done went and done zackly I said he’d do.
Thanks in no small part to the resourcefulness of Baton Rouge Advocate reporter Jim Mustian, we now know that Mike won’t be submitting his response to the audit. That response, was initially due back on Jan. 15 and I did a post about his missing the deadline. Even then, it was pretty much a certainty there would be no response from Edmonson. It’s difficult, after all, to defend the indefensible.
But now he’s made it official through his legal counsel, Harry Rosenberg. Mustian had a STORY today that quoted Rosenberg as telling state auditors that his client was finding it impossible to “engage in a meaningful preliminary conference” with the auditor’s office “due to the premature release of the ‘draft’ audit.” SEE ROSENBERG LETTER AT END OF AUDIT
Now, folks, I’m not blessed with the ability to see into the future but this wasn’t a hard call to make. WWL’s posting of that cover letter—and its sudden disappearance from the station’s online story—along with Mike’s early protestations made his strategy oh, so very easy to decipher.
And, oh yes, that FBI INVESTIGATION also announced by Mustian on Tuesday is the latest wrinkle in the ongoing probe of his role as Louisiana’s top cop. The feds are interviewing LSP helicopter pilots and looking at flight logs. They’re making a list and checking it twice and Mike has to be feeling the heat.
So, with the news of the FBI investigation and Mike’s declining to provide his response to the audit can mean only one thing: Rosenberg, no stranger to criminal matters given his experience as a former U.S. attorney for Louisiana’s Eastern District from 1990-1993, has undoubtedly admonished his client to sit down and shut up.
That’s what lawyers do. They tell clients to zip it because they’re the smartest people in the room and they think everyone should listen to them. Except in this case, he’s probably right—if you believe the hokum that Rosenberg dropped into his letter to Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera. Edmonson, according to Rosenberg, was nothing less than a saint who was a “consistent calming presence” during hurricanes, shootings, and floods” and that San Diego motor trip by four troopers was all their fault and none of Edmonson’s. In short, we should probably lay rose petals in his path.
There is one unanswered question about Rosenberg’s letter to the auditor, however.
He copied one other person with the letter: State Sen. Mike WALSWORTH of West Monroe.
Walsworth is a member of the Senate & Governmental Affairs Committee, but he’s not chairman or vice-chair and he’s not from Edmonson’s senatorial district, so why would he do that?
It’s enough to make one wonder if Walsworth’s name might be on those LSP flight logs and copying him with the letter was a way of giving him a heads-up. Just sayin’.
State Sen. NEIL RISER must be fuming that he didn’t get a copy of the Rosenberg letter.
In retrospect, maybe it’s unfortunate that Riser’s attempt to bump Edmonson’s retirement up by about $100,000 per year was unsuccessful. He may need the money to pay his attorney.
Louisiana Voice 
NOT PERTAINING TO ANY SPECIFIC IDIOT…but thanks to the advent of the internet AND dogged reporters such as the Louisiana Voice, et al, I think there are several public officials who are not sleeping very soundly, nor should they, tonight or any night in the foreseeable future. Even the pathetically diluted charges they’ll undoubtedly plead guilty to w/ a grin on their “never do a day” faces will not stop this tidal wave of corruption until WE THE PEOPLE stand up and demand these criminals spend some significant time in prison w/ many of the angry people they made into inmates.
Let’s remember that JBE, who railed against corruption during the Jindal Admin, appointed Edmonson. The LLA Has been working overtime exposing the corruption during the Jindal Admin, but JBE now lacks the political courage to follow through. He is under the delusion that he is going to gain republican votes by pandering to their wants. Just like in the speakers race he has built a bridge too far and it will all come crumbling down. Rises to the level of political malpractice.
(Sarcastically) Good post, DB Cooper (coincidentally you have picked/or was given at birth an identical name as the only successful skyjacker in history).
No one notices the irony that on a story about deceit, suspicious activity, and very serious allegations about our state’s top police official; your comment is geared toward an accusation of “political malpractice.” Another problem you have is one of JBE wanting to do too much in choosing the Speaker of the House. Who could imagine an American state where the governor gets to choose the leader of a legislative body (Irony).
I would like a link backing up your claim that “LLA is working overtime on exposing corruption” ANYWHERE. In case you don’t follow any news outlets in our state, corruption accusations are constantly written of. Maybe you meant to write “newspaper reporters” and your typewriter auto corrected to “LLA” (Comedy).
Your previous comments leads me to believe you are LEO in Louisiana. I thank you for your dedicated service to public safety (Falsehood).
See you in the funny papers !
I have to defend the legislative auditor’s office. That is the one agency and Daryl Purpera is the one state official who actually DOES try to ferret out corruption and mismanagement. He does it daily. Just go to the Legislative Auditor’s web page and check out the number of audits performed by his office. It’s a monumental chore and he is constantly pointing out shortcomings, mismanagement, theft, and fraud. The problem is, after he publishes his findings, they’re ignored.
One exception is a recent lawsuit filed against him by someone who did not ignore his report: the subject of the report. Hopefully, the lawsuit will be thrown out because if we ever get to the point where the legislative auditor is fearful of legal liability in issuing audit reports, we’re in deep doo-doo. We already have seen an Inspector General who is fearful of rocking the boat. Purpera is the only one with the courage to face the crooks down.
Also, while I’m not entirely certain what you’re trying to convey re: the governor selecting the House Speaker but historically, in Louisiana the governor has chosen the House Speaker for many decades—that is, until the Republicans decided to force a break with tradition for JBE.
How about this one https://www.lla.la.gov/PublicReports.nsf/355B2031FCDCB03D86258184005E50CD/$FILE/0001618B.pdf
To name only a few. No not a LEO, been in LA pols for 30 Years. Many voted for JBE as a reformer and he has been the opposite. Go along to get along. Perhaps you should read official reports such as those that come from the LLA, and not those in our funny newspapers.
If he has not already done so, Edmonson will have to talk to the FBI about this and he must tell them the truth – the consistency or his statements will be important. He has retained a highly qualified attorney – services that will cost him a chunk of change. At this point, it only makes sense to clam up to everybody but him and the FBI. In the meantime, the more publicity this gets, the worse the State of Louisiana looks, including how it looks to businesses considering locating here.
P. S. I originally interpreted D.B.’s comments about the LLA as an attack on that office, but when I re-read it, I did not see it that way, but rather as an attack on JBE (and, by implication, others) for not following through on the auditor’s findings. Anybody taking the time to visit the legislative auditor’s website will find hundreds of audits with thousands of findings. It is not his fault there is not enough follow-up. He and his staff do their job and they do it well. I don’t know how much overtime they work, but they always seemed to me to give the taxpayers a day’s work for a day’s dollars in any case.
The last time the legislature bucked a governor to the extent they are building up to with JBE was during the Roemer administration. Just as the governor has always heavily influenced, if not outright picked, who becomes the Speaker of the House, the same is true of the Senate President – a more powerful position in the legislature. In the middle of the Roemer administration (1990) the senate removed Alan Bares and replaced him with Sammy Nunez against Roemer’s wishes.
Stephen, I remember that move. Even though Roemer backed/selected Jimmy Dimos as his speaker, I would venture to say that the Alario faction still controlled the House.
Stephen. I have personally witnessed the great work done by the LLA and I have personally witnessed the findings swept under the rug and state employees who were cooperating with the FBI were fired and their reputations ruined. Street is held hostage by the Gov threatening to eliminate his office if he doesn’t fly right. Bill introduced last year to dedicate and protect funding for IG’s office. It failed. Wonder why??
THANK GOD a few other people are exposing Stephen Street for the weak coward that he is!!
http://www.soundoffla.com/?p=561
The preceding feature lays it out bare, but I have quite a few more posts I’ve made on him to buttress my contention above. Street knows I have publicly stated on camera that he stated on the witness stand (entailing Murphy Painter), “I have no knowledge of this case. You’re going to have to speak to my investigator (Shane Evans).”
Had I been Street and a claim like that made against me falsely, I would have STATED PUBLICLY in front of EVERYONE at the Baton Rouge Press Club: “Mr. Burns you have made a very public statement that I testified in the Murphy Painter trial that I ‘had no knowledge of the case.’ I am EMPHATICALLY denying your claim right here and right now in front of everyone. Let’s go get a copy of the transcript of my testimony in Federal Court and read it, shall we?”
Why didn’t Street shoot me down authoritatively as I just proposed? Because he KNOWS DAMN WELL that the transcript is going to reflect what I have publicly said that he testified to. For the Inspector General of the State of Louisiana to testify in open court entailing what was BY FAR the biggest, most high-profile case of his tenure as IG that he “has no knowledge of the case,” is 100% INEXCUSABLE. That alone (not that there are not plenty of other reasons) should have served as a basis for termination.
Since Stephen Street is nothing more than a shield for the Governor of Louisiana (whomever occupies that position) so that an APPEARANCE of an agency working to uncover and pursue state governmental fraud waste and abuse exists, however, he continues to soak the taxpayers of this state for around $140,000/year, not to mention the massive legal fees his sheer incompetence has cost us since the day he was appointed. He is nothing short of a total and complete fraud. If anyone seeks the # 1 reason why corruption has run amuck in Louisiana over the last 10 years, they need look no further than the Inspector General’s Office and Stephen Street, and I will state it publicly again: Anyone who goes to his office with evidence of fraud and governmental waste is a DAMN FOOL, and I’m living proof of that fact!
These people (Investigator Robert Chadwick to be precise) CALLED ME on December 27, 2012 and ASKED FOR MY HELP in substantiating Sandy Edmonds’ payroll fraud at the Auctioneer Licensing Board and at the Interior Design Board. After I worked closely with Chadwick (whom I believe sincerely poured his heart into seeking to prosecute Edmonds, but Street, acting on DIRECT orders from Bobby Jindal, ordered him to “rewrite his ENTIRE investigative findings) and Tom Boulton, this weak-kneed, sorry excuse for Inspector General TOTALLY CAVED to Bobby Jindal and wrote such a watered-down report it isn’t even useful for crawfish wrap! Meanwhile, James D. “Buddy” Caldwell, our former AG, right smack dab in the middle of my assistance with IG Street’s Office, tells the Auctioneer Licensing Board to hire an attorney (who turned out to be convicted felon Larry S. Bankston) to pursue my auction license for issuing “false and misleading reports” entailing Edmonds’ payroll fraud (which was an email to three Auctioneer Licensing Board members informing them the entire setup under which she worked constituted a mechanism for permitting “blatant payroll fraud,” which were NOT my words but the words of Patrick Lowery, the then-head of Civil Service Accountability).
Anyway, THANK YOU, DB Cooper for your brief words which I’ll repeat: “Street is held hostage by the Governor threatening to eliminate his office if he doesn’t fly right.” You nailed it, and I just added more hard-core evidence of same and, in the process, got to get it off my chest one more time!
Mike Edmonson has things on people in government in powerful positions, and they owe him. That is why you see Walworth’s name on the response. That was his recipe for survival and his reappointment by Honor Code JBE. I see this as a campaign issue in two years.
What is really sad is that nothing would have happened had it not been for some whistleblowers and a handful of reporters like Tom to expose this corruption.
I blame the Senior Leadership at LSP for not stepping up and turning him in when they were watching this go on. I also blame the agencies with governmental oversight for not doing their jobs.
And I can only conclude one such “agency with governmental oversight” not doing its job is the Inspector General’s Office. I contend that office has gone further than “not doing its job.” Under Stephen Street, that office has aided and abetted fraud and corruption, and the Corey delaHoussaye prosecution is a textbook case of Street doing so and that one is blowing up in his face far worse than the Murphy Painter so-called “investigation.”
[For anyone wanting some background on the delaHoussaye case, see the link of reply to DB Cooper above].
The only way to upright the corruption that has gutted the Louisiana State Police is to change the Louisiana Statute. Appoint someone from outside the Department as Superintendent and jail, fire, or retire the top two levels of Command at LSP HQ. These Command Officers knew Edmonson was committing felonies and looked the other way, making themselves as guilty as he is. Why? Because they were all his lap boys. Anything short of a total shakedown at LSP HQ will result in allowing the same festering cancer to grow. Remove the tumor, problem solved. Oh, I forgot, this is after all Louisiana, where governmental corruption is a sport.
I would assume Walsworth was included as he is Chair of the Legislative Audit Advisory Council.
Anonymous- you are likely correct. Many don’t know the Legislative Advisory Committee exists and they are just another political arm to minimize the findings of the LLA. The Committee is a joke. One need not look further than the clown court they held on the LLA’s findings on Robert Barham from when he Sec of Wildlife and Fisheries. With the assistance of he and JBE’s attorney he lied to a greased committee- Purpera pointed this out, but the Committee ended up patting him on the back for essentially misappropriation of tens of millions of public funds. Just another political entity full of whores for capital outlay funding.
DB, on the Barham issue. Not a single member of the Audit Advisory questioned Barham on his assertion that the BP money was not public funds. Totally false.
Clifford you are correct. Bodi White did question his claim.
Why did LSP brass allow Edmonson to become completely out of control? Because he was “giving” promotions to his group of friends. Just like Piranha Fish, the brass went into a feeding frenzy (Give me, Give ME, oh Mike, I love you, you are my best friend). Edmonson would hand toss promotions like a Jehovah Witness tossing fliers door to door. Join Edmonson and a blessing was sure to happen for you. If not, the #2 Hitman would act like you are the worse thing that ever happened to LSP. Be prepared, get out the holly water and douse yourself or guzzle the bottle down because the #2 might be lurking in your closet. Edmonson has ruined so much at LSP.
#2 is always given the “dirty work”. It’s a classic case of good cop/ bad cop, no pun intended. Typicaly #2 always takes the fall when things go south in state government, but it seems that Edmonson was found out and will be held accountable directly. Edmonson had plenty of power but not ultimate power when it came to handing out those promotions. That had to be done in cooperation with DOA and probably the most corrupt individual in state government- Mark Falcon. The corruption problem is systemic from the top down and until and unless there is a truly independent oversight body it will continue. Jindal’s “gold standard” of Ethics is a joke because the Governor controls that Board as well.
The Louisiana State Police Commission, the entity with oversight of the classified service has also turned their eyes from the corruption taking place. Many of the positions created, promotions made, and the most extensive raise made in State Police history took place with their rubber stamp and inability to take action. While all this was happening every other State Governmental Agency was going without!
The Commission also has taken over two years to conclude a complaint on illegal political activity by the Louisiana State Troopers Association by their Board of Directors.
The State Police Commission is a puppet to the Agency they are suppose to have some independent oversight on regarding, hiring, promotions and discipline. State Police Commission duplicates the services that could easily be provided by State Civil Service like it once was.
With the Legislative session fixing to begin, it sure would be a good idea to place the State Police back under Civil Service and create legislation for a outside Deputy Secretary of Public Safety Services and require the Colonel of State Police to answer to the Deputy Secretary.
“…create legislation for a outside Deputy Secretary of Public Safety Services and require the Colonel of State Police to answer to the Deputy Secretary.”
Actually, it is simpler than that. Keep the existing position of secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections(maybe not retaining the current secretary) and having two deputy secretaries. One for corrections and one for public safety services. Actually, I think that is the current setup. The deputy secretary for pss could still be the superintendent, but he would answer to the secretary. Unlike now, the colonel answers only to the governor.
Sorry that I have not read all of the comments. but I have to ask does the university president/Chancellors (LSU, ULL) or the Wardens that live on the Prison site have the value of the accommodations added to their taxable income? or might a requirement to live there change the taxable status (like a fireman remaining overnite at the station while on duty) Beyond all of the aspects of this case maybe we are missing tax dollars and maybe it should be required to have the Colonel (or Chancellors) reside as part of their important positions and it may change their tax status. Finally I might note I doubt the US President is assessed the value of white house accommodations either if they kept OR sold their former primary residence. Remi DeLouche