Louisiana Voice

It’s 271 pages of mystery and intrigue as only a seasoned law enforcement officer could write it.

John Rigol, Jr. is a retired Louisiana State Trooper who is more than a little disgusted and embarrassed over events taking place today in the agency he once served with pride and honor.

Junior, a self-described 80-year-old reprobate, has published his first (hopefully not his last) novel, Hyenas in a Domed Savanna.

How he arrived at the title remains unclear but I can say unequivocally that the hyenas are the politicos. They are commonly viewed as frightening and worthy of contempt. A savanna is a grassland ecosystem which, in this case, would be an analogy to the football playing field. Without giving too much of the plot away, I can tell you it’s a fictional account of human trafficking, namely children, through the New Orleans Superdome.

Rigol, who now makes his home in Ft. Myers with his wife (his third or seventh or maybe ninth run at wedded bliss – no one knows for certain).

Back in 1976, when I was a mere babe, Gov. Edwin Edwards, through Louisiana State Police Superintendent Donald Thibodeaux, appointed Rigol as Chief of Staff Security at the dome which was still very much a controversial issue, especially in north Louisiana where the Dallas Cowboys reigned supreme and no one cared about the impotent Saints.

But Rigol’s appointment was the result of more pressing matters. The dome construction had been completed but there were major problems with personal assaults, muggings, and pickpockets.

Catapulted into ground zero of Louisiana and New Orleans politics, a toxic mix if there ever was one, “Johnny,” a lieutenant with LSP, soon found himself entangled in an intricate weave of intrigue completely alien to him.

Today, when he is not writing (which is rarely), he reads and travels – two of his other three passions (drinking is the other). He also has written an as-yet unpublished exegesis about God, religion, and the Bible.

In the meantime, there is Hyenas in a Domed Savanna.

You can order your copy from Johnny by sending him a check for $20 to:

John Rigol, Jr.

3345 North Key Drive, #46

North Fort Myers, FL 33903