Louisiana Voice

Remember that retired state trooper who was brought back into the fold as a WAE (part time) state trooper who was doing her patrolling while living in Greece?

Well, we have an update. LouisianaVoice has learned that (a) her appointment was apparently made without bothering to get the requisite approval of the Louisiana State Police Commission, which hasn’t held an official monthly meeting now for three full months and (b) the trooper, Melissa Matey (who retired on June 27 and was re-hired the very next day as a WAE state trooper) has been terminated as a result of our AUGUST 19 STORY.

How embarrassing it must have been for Louisiana State Police (LSP) officials to get caught with their proverbial pants down like that.

But wait! There’s more!

It seems that there are two more “retired” state troopers who were re-hired as WAE troopers but who are apparently performing their patrol duties over in Mississippi and Alabama.

Vincent DeBenedetto was first hired by LSP on March 23, 2009, and “retired” a mere four years later, on April 26, 2013, as a Master Trooper before working two separate stints as a WAE trooper, first from June 22, 2015, to May 5, 2019, for $31 per hour and again, from June 13, 2023 to the present at a rate of $35 per hour. In between, he worked as a Department of Public Safety police officer for $31 per hour.

Then there is Jules S. Pinero, III, who was initially hired on October 30, 2000, and retired at the rank of lieutenant a little over six years later, on February 11, 2007 before being brought back as a WAE driver education compliance officer on May 18, 2015 until May 5, 2019 at $31 per hour. The very next day, on May 6, 2019, he began working as a WAE state trooper at $31 per hour and continues in that position – except that his hourly pay was bumped up to $35 on January 11 of this year.

The only problem with all that is that DeBenedetto lives in Long Beach, Mississippi, and Pinero, poor fella, resides in Gulf Shores, Alabama (that must be tough).

Who wouldn’t like a soft cushy part-time job that pays $35 per hour? (Remember now, the Loozeraner Legislature has for years consistently refused to raise the $7.25 per hour minimum wages of a single mother trying to raise two or three kids.) But these guys not only get their LSP retirement, but $35 per hour for doing squat, as well.

Oh, and LouisianaVoice has also learned that there is another whose main job it is to show up to drink coffee with the guys at $35 per hour.

And we were naïve enough to believe that things would get better at LSP once Mike Edmonson was gone.

How foolish of us to forget that this is Loozeraner, where the words ethics, honesty and integrity are foreign concepts.

Since Edmonson’s departure, LSP has dug in its heels on its policy of responding to public records requests. For example, state law says custodians of public records “shall” provide requested records immediately. But LSP has this new policy of taking “up to 45 days” to respond – and all too often, that response is either so heavily redacted as to be useless or they say they have “no records that are responsive to your request.”

We’re still waiting for our requested records on WAE Trooper Matey. Fortunately, we were able to secure most of what we requested from other sources – certainly not from State Police, who tried unsuccessfully to cover up the killing of Ronald Greene by State Police.

Like I said, ethics, honesty and integrity…