LouisianaVoice has learned that Col. Mike Noel has stepped down as chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board barely a year after his appointment by Gov. John Bel Edwards.
Noel officially retired from his job rather than face hostile questioning during a confirmation session that was scheduled for today, sources told LouisianaVoice.
He was appointed by Edwards after State Sen. Karen Carter Peterson blocked the reappointment of longtime chairman Ronnie Jones last year. Jones, now retired, is in the process of moving to Virginia.
An obscure provision allows a legislator who resides in the same district of a nominee to block the appointment and Peterson, in a power play did just that last year when Edwards nominated Jones for another term as chairman.
Edwards then NAMED NOEL, who had been serving as chief of staff to then-Col. KEVIN REEVES who in turn, had succeeded the controversial Mike Edmonson who previously was head of the Louisiana State Police (LSP) since 2008 but who was forced into retirement in 2016.
Noel was chief of staff at the time of the death of Monroe motorist RONALD GREENE in May 2019 at the hands of state police.
State police at the time said Greene died when he left the road and hit a tree while being fleeing state police. That turned out to be a lie as body cam video, kept from public view for nearly two years, has since shown. The truth was that Greene was not resisting and was handcuffed. LSP, meanwhile, REFUSED TO RELEASE INFORMATION pertaining to its so-called investigation which did not seem to kick into high gear until media interest forced LSP action.
Suspicions were first aroused when Greene’s autopsy was performed in Arkansas rather than Louisiana, along with the fact that no disciplinary action was taken against troopers for 15 months – and then only one officer was placed on leave. He was later terminated and subsequently died from injuries suffered in an auto accident that was a suspected suicide attempt.
Noel, as chief of staff, would necessarily have been neck-deep in the controversy, including efforts by LSP to smooth over the incident – if the death of an unarmed, non-resisting motorist at the hands of about a half-dozen law enforcement officers can be justifiably described as an “incident.” Greene’s only crime – and it was a puzzling, ill-advised one at that – was attempting to flee police when he had no alcohol or drugs in his system.
LouisianaVoice learned that Noel knew he was going to be grilled by hostile legislators at today’s Senate confirmation hearings so, rather than subject himself to such intense questioning, he chose to step down.
There has been no word from the governor’s office on a possible nominee to replace Noel.
Louisiana Voice 
You can still subpoena Noel to question.
VJ
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Hey, VJ. Subpoena him for what? This was a confirmation hearing. Now, if at some point there is a legislative hearing on the Ronald Green debacle, then they can subpoena him.
And they should…but probably won’t
I have known Michael Noel all of his life. I have the utmost respect for him and have never questioned his integrity. I still don’t. A senate confirmation hearing is no place to litigate the unnecessary death of Mr. Greene and as Mr. Bella notes above, Col. Noel can still be subpoenaed by a court of law where this case will no doubt land.
You’re wrong. A confirmation hearing is absolutely the right place to question ability, career, character, and anything possibly relevant to a public service post, and your opinion that you think he’s a great guy doesn’t negate that.
KG, the legislature also has subpoena power. Also, Can’t say, you can’t force him to come to a confirmation hearing for the position he just resigned from.
KG, the legislature has subpoena power and could subpoena him to answer questions before a standing committee or a select committee. However, they would want to do it before any court gets involved.
So John Bel Edwards appoints a snake to the board…and Edwards gets a “pass” from you because he is a Democrat? Edwards has been in bed with the LSP managers as well as every other Louisiana police organization for years…but every time the LSP screws up, nothing but crickets from Louisiana Voice on his culpability. If Bel Edward’s was a Republican, you would crucify him if you could.
Nice double standard….
Well, Outlaw, if you read my posts on a regular basis, you’d know I have not given John Bel a “pass.” In fact, I called him out for an outright lie over his intention to reappoint Edmonson when he first took office. In fact, I’ve done that more than once and I’ve called him – and other Democrats – out on other occasions.
Moreover, I have noted on several occasions how he was beholden to the Sheriffs’ Association and how he failed for nearly a year to take action against Edmonson until the San Diego trip forced his hand.
I also have been critical of his failing to shut down the private prisons in Louisiana, which is another story altogether.
If you even bothered to read the above post, you would’ve seen that I took a pretty good shot at Sen. Karen Carter Peterson for her role in this whole mess. And last time I looked, she was still a Democrat.
But you! You conveniently overlook those stories and you choose to make accusations you can’t back up. It seems that by cherry-picking what I say, it just might be you who has the double standard.
Now, stop acting like a fool and go get your GED.
And we wonder why so few people are willing to offer themselves up for sacrifice on the altar of public service?
I know nothing about him, but the fact is Noel should have never been placed in this position, not because of his culpability, or lack thereof, in any wrong-doing, but because Ronnie Jones was unquestionably qualified and deserved to keep the job in the first place and the blackballing that prevented that should be eliminated.
I have been concerned about JBE’s approach to the whole Department of Public Safety and Corrections. His failure to take more direct and immediate actions to address problems in that department apparently provides incentive for its officials to keep doing whatever they are doing. Of course, only people actually on the inside know what is really happening, but the number of reported “incidents” in that department should concern any observer.
I would agree with Stephen. All of this was so unnecessary, but it seems that we have a senate that continues to operate based on Huey Long era traditions. Permitting one senator to hold such unchallenged power and authority over appointments is a travesty. Move the process out of the cloak of secrecy and require those who object to an appointee to present their case and then let the entire Senate vote the collective conscience of the body.
I don’t know Ronnie Jones or Mike Noel, but everything I saw, heard and read about Jones’ tenure as chairman gave me confidence that he was acting with integrity and was trying to do what was in the best interests of the state. And we know how that turned out. Senator Peterson will live with the wreckage she leaves behind. I’m certain she cares not and apparently the voters in the recent Congressional race recognize her for who she is and cast their votes accordingly.
With respect to Noel, who knows? I’ve been told by LSP retirees (who are nauseated over the last year’s disclosures) that Noel should never have been appointed in the first place. The fact that he was, according to what I’ve read, in charge of the day to day operations at LSP, makes him a party to the lack of action in the Ronald Greene inquiry and the coverup which has followed.
[…] But that never happened. […]
[…] And Kevin Reeves was allowed to retire gracefully in October 2020 just before all of this began to tumble out last spring. His chief of staff was appointed as the head of the state gaming board, at least until the word hit that he’d be made to answer about the Greene controversy at his confirmation hearing last year, several months after the appointment. He resigned instead of submitting to those questions. […]
[…] And Kevin Reeves was allowed to retire gracefully in October 2020 just before all of this began to tumble out last spring. His chief of staff was appointed as the head of the state gaming board, at least until the word hit that he’d be made to answer about the Greene controversy at his confirmation hearing last year, several months after the appointment. He resigned instead of submitting to those questions. […]