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Archive for the ‘Ethics’ Category

State Trooper Thurman Miller nearly doubles salary in overtime; claims 24-hour days for 4, 9 consecutive days

Posted in Corruption, Ethics, Fraud, State Police on March 16, 2017| 20 Comments »

Even as the so-called mainstream media (and we’re not really certain what qualifies as “mainstream” anymore) shifts into its sympathetic mode for Superintendent of State Police Mike Edmonson, there are lots of loose ends still lying around that LouisianaVoice will continue to report.

As we wrote in Wednesday’s post, the controversy swirling around Louisiana State Police (LSP) headquarters in Independence Boulevard was never just about a trip to San Diego.

It’s about the overall atmosphere permeating the agency and trooper morale which is said to be at an all-time low. That’s because in spite of generous pay raises bestowed upon troopers, the rank and file feel the administration has put its own interests ahead of those of the agency and its personnel.

The parties, inconsistent discipline dictated by whether or not a trooper is a member of the elite clique, distinguished troopers passed over for promotions in favor of lesser qualified candidates, trips, many trips, taken by LSP management and not all strictly for business; and we have received reports of free trips, which would be in violation of regulations set forth by the State Ethics Board.

GENERAL PROHIBITIONS (R.S. 42:1111 – 1121)

  1. 1115 – Elected officials and public employees are prohibited from soliciting or accepting a gift from the following persons: persons who have or are seeking to obtain a contractual or other business or financial relationship with the public servant’s agency; or persons who are seeking, for compensation, to influence the passage or defeat of legislation by the public servant’s agency. Public employees, not elected officials, are also prohibited from soliciting or accepting a 4 gift from the following persons: persons who conduct operations or activities regulated by the public employee’s agency; or persons who have substantial economic interests which may be substantially affected by the performance or non-performance of the public employee’s official duties.

There are events and conditions not yet reported but which will be. And they are scattered throughout the organization, from LSP to the Louisiana State Troopers Association (LSTA), and the Louisiana State Police Commission (LSPC). Especially LSPC, which is charged with overseeing State Police in the same manner as the Civil Service Commission oversees the rights of state civil service employees. That one commission, chaired by a State Trooper, has purged its membership if all but one member who is not easily identified as an Edmonson supporter and has morphed into something of a secretive club now rumored to be carrying on extra-curricular activities far outside the scope of its mission.

And one other facet of operations at LSP largely overlooked up to now is the issue of overtime hours. While troopers charged with carrying out investigations of criminal activity are finding it next to impossible to get overtime approved from their superiors and are forced to conduct investigations on their own time, others are finding it much easier to pad their paychecks.

Take Master Trooper Thurman D. Miller, for example.

Miller, who serves as President of the CENTRAL STATE TROOPERS COALITION, which is affiliated with the National Black State Troopers Coalition, is called the “One Man Overtime Machine” by his fellow troopers, though probably not to his face.

It’s a title well-earned.

From last June 20, 2016, through March 12 of this year, Miller has reported working 1,066 hours of overtime. Of that amount, he was paid time-and-a-half for 951 hours with the balance of 115 hours taken as compensatory, or K-time, meaning he gets paid leave for a like number of hours worked.

That works out to nearly 60 hours of combined overtime and K-time for every two-week pay period since last June—75 percent of a regular two-week, 80-hour pay period.

Miller, who makes $72,600 in regular salary, earned $50,400 in straight time during that period and nearly matched that amount in overtime earnings of another $45,900. Plus, he accumulated almost three weeks extra paid vacation.

So, not quite having worked 70 percent of a year since last June, he already has been paid 131 percent of his base yearly salary.

But the real kicker is found in his daily time sheets.

For example, during one stretch last August when his time sheet shows that he was assigned to disaster relief while working the South Louisiana floods, he logged 24-hour days for four consecutive days.

But that’s nothing. The month before, working extra security in the wake of the Alton Sterling shooting in Baton Rouge, iron-man Miller logged 24-hour shifts for nine consecutive days.

State Police Public Information Officer Maj. Doug Cain said there are provisions for allowing troopers to be called in on emergency duty and not allowed to go home. “They sleep 20 or 30 minutes and go back on duty,” he said.

And on that infamous drive to San Diego in October, Miller initially reported two consecutive 24-hour shifts on Oct. 11 and 12 followed by a 22-hour shift on the 13th, but was forced to trim 12 hours off each of the 24-hour claims of Oct. 11 and 12 and to eliminate altogether the 14-hours overtime claimed for Oct. 13 in a revised timesheet. It was not immediately known if he was paid for the excessive hours and required to repay the state or not.

Here are a few samples of Miller’s timesheets (Click on images to enlarge):

Cain said that during the flood, state offices were closed and Miller and other officers were compensated for hours state offices were closed and for hours actually worked.

The LSP Policy Manual specifically addresses the issue of excessive overtime:

Officers/Civilians shall not work more than a total of 16 cumulative hours without having a rest period of 8 consecutive hours off-duty. An 8 hour rest period shall be required following 16 cumulative work hours before returning to regular duty or an overtime assignment. Exceptions to the 16 hour rule require the approval of the Troop/Section Commander or designee. Cumulative hours are defined as any combination of regular work hours and/or overtime/details.

Commanders and supervisors are urged to exercise caution and sound judgment when considering whether to allow an officer/civilian to work more than 16 cumulative hours.

Troop/Section Commanders, Region Commanders and Unit Supervisors are responsible for effectively managing work schedules to minimize overtime.

 Reasonable justification shall mean that the work could not be performed by other on-duty personnel or that time constraints require that the work be immediately performed.

 If overtime is necessary, every effort to minimize the total accumulation shall be made by all supervisory personnel.

Miller, it should be pointed out, works in Operations and not Investigations. And while he’s racking up all that overtime, there are troopers spread across the state who need overtime to complete ongoing investigations but cannot get approval for it.

They do their investigations on their own time which somehow makes the whole picture seem a little out of kilter.

Yet another symptom of a much large problem that is plaguing LSP.

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We were early on the call but it finally came: Edmonson to retire as LSP Superintendent amid growing disenchantment

Posted in Commissions, Corruption, Ethics, Governor's Office, Judges, Lawsuits, Legislature, Legislators, Media, Politicians, Public Records, State Police on March 15, 2017| 30 Comments »

Louisiana State Police (LSP) captains were called in to headquarters in Baton Rouge on Monday to hear the news that had already leaked out across the state that Superintendent Mike Edmonson was stepping down but officially, the head of LSP’s public information office said he knew nothing of reports that he said were “above my pay grade.”

But truth be told, after the way LouisianaVoice has latched onto the sorry story at LSP, had I been in Doug Cain’s position, I probably would’ve done the same thing. I hold no ill will toward him because he was in an unenviable position. On the one hand, his job is to inform the public but on the other, he had a boss to whom he answered. I’m old enough to grasp the realities of the situation.

That boss, while defiantly denying he would resign as late as last Friday when LouisianaVoice first said he was on his way out (and we did say it first), ended his 36-year career at State Police with a whimper today with his announcement that he would resign his position as the longest-tenured superintendent in LSP history.

Today’s online edition of the Baton Rouge Advocate carried the STORY of Edmonson’s announced retirement and in so doing, tied his decision to the “widening controversy” surrounding that San Diego trip taken by Edmonson and 15 subordinates to see him receive a national award.

But that trip, including the side trip taken to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon by four troopers in a state vehicle en route to San Diego, is not the story of what is really wrong at LSP. As one veteran observer of law enforcement noted, the San Diego trip is a mere symptom of a much larger problem festering in the bowels of State Police headquarters. It was never the story.

This was a story of a State Police Superintendent who once told a group of sheriffs at a roundtable meeting at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Baton Rouge that when it came to choosing between State Police and the sheriffs, his loyalty was with the sheriffs.

There are the ever-persistent rumors of parties, too many parties being held in conjunction with official functions. They simply did not coalesce with what the image of law enforcement is supposed to be about.

There are reports, growing in number even as this is being written, of junkets to New York in private jets paid for by a police uniform vendor, to the Washington Mardi Gras celebration paid for by a local contractor, to Cancun on the private jet of a north Louisiana supporter, and of trips to gaming conferences in the company of the owner of video poker machines (Edmonson is ex-officio member of the State Gaming Commission).

There were seemingly endless reports documented and posted by LouisianaVoice of inconsistent discipline of State Troopers, depending on whether or not the trooper was in the inner circle of the Edmonson clique.

A trooper with multiple prescriptions for a controlled narcotic, instead of being disciplined for showing up to work impaired, was promoted and made commander of Troop D in Lake Charles.

A married lieutenant who, along with a few buddies and a couple of single female “bartenders,” took a borrowed limo to a Vicksburg casino. At the casino, he took one of the girls, who was underage, onto the floor of the casino to play blackjack. He was apprehended by Mississippi gaming officials and tried to negotiate his way out of the situation by proclaiming he was a Louisiana State Police lieutenant and “can’t we work something out?” He was fined $600 by Mississippi officials and promoted to commander of Troop F by Edmonson.

A trooper who twice had sex with a female while on duty (once in his patrol car, no less), was barely disciplined at all.

Troopers at Troop D were given days off for making a minimum number of DWI arrests, no matter if the driver was actually drinking. Just make the arrest and let the district attorney dismiss the case—you’ll still get credit for the stop—that was the unwritten policy.

Another trooper at Troop D owned a daytime construction company. So, instead of working a full shift at night, he would work a couple of hours and then go home to sleep the rest of the night so he could work his private job during the day. This was allowed to go on for an extended period of time until LouisianaVoice revealed what was taking place.

Department of Public Safety (DPS) Undersecretary Jill Boudreaux was allowed to take a buyout for early retirement but stayed retired only a single day before coming back with a promotion and about $55,000 in early buyout money which she was ordered to return—but did not. https://louisianavoice.com/2014/08/24/edmonson-not-the-first-in-dps-to-try-state-ripoff-subterfuge-undersecretary-retiresre-hires-keeps-46k-incentive-payout/

When she finally retired for good, Edmonson, appearing before a compliant State Police Commission stacked with his supporters, pushed through the creation of a new lieutenant colonel position to take over her duties. In pitching the position, he told the commission that it would create no additional cost and that it was not being designed specifically for Maj. Jason Starnes.

Guess what? Starnes got the job, the promotion, and a $25,000 raise. Now he administers Management and Finance for LSP despite having no accounting degree or background. When member Lloyd Grafton asked about Edmonson’s promise of no additional expense, no one on the commission seemed to remember.

It was Grafton who first used the term “money laundering” when discussing how the Louisiana State Troopers Association (LSTA) funneled LSTA funds through the personal checking account of its executive director David Young so that political contributions could be made to key political candidates. Young subsequently submitted expense reports for reimbursement of the campaign contributions. Grafton should know a little about money laundering: he is a retired ATF agent.

The LSTA did refuse Edmonson’s request that the association pen a letter to Governor-elect John Bel Edwards recommending that Edmonson be reappointed superintendent. Edwards reappointed him anyway.

And, going back to 2014, there was that surreptitious amendment inserted onto an otherwise benign bill in the closing minutes of the regular legislative session. State Sen. Neil Riser (R-Columbia) did the honors in introducing the amendment. Passed overwhelmingly over the promise that it would have no financial impact on the state budget, it instantly awarded Edmonson a healthy bump in retirement income.

Edmonson had, years earlier, entered what was referred to as DROP, a special retirement plan that was said to be “irrevocable” which at the time locked in his retirement at about $76,000. At the time the amendment was approved, it would have meant an additional $55,000 to his retirement but with the recent pay increases pushing his salary to its current level of $177,400, it would have meant a retirement increase of a whopping $101,000.

LouisianaVoice was notified of the amendment via an anonymous letter. That was when Mike Edmonson first appeared on our radar.

Then State Rep. John Bel Edwards, who unwittingly voted for the amendment, subsequently called for House Speaker Chuck Kleckley to investigate the maneuver but the invertebrate Kleckley refused.

State Sen. Dan Claitor (R-Baton Rouge) then filed suit in 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge and a district court judge struck down the amendment.

Edmonson, true to form, at first denied any knowledge of the amendment but later admitted that one of “his people” came up with the idea and he gave the approval.

That was pretty much in line with the blaming of his secretary for using a signature stamp to approve overtime pay for that San Diego trip and his decision to throw the four who drove to San Diego under the bus for taking an unauthorized detour—even though it has since been learned by LouisianaVoice that he knew the route the four were taking and was in touch by text and phone the entire trip.

That’s the Edmonson persona. He has consistently shirked responsibility for actions that could cast him in a bad light and basked in the glow when things went well. He even is said to have told a retiring trooper—a veteran of two tours in the Mideast wars, no less—that he was a coward and a disgrace to his uniform in a late-night telephone conversation.

While other media have only recently joined in the investigation of LSP and Edmonson (and make no mistake, it was heartening to see them doing solid investigative work), LouisianaVoice has been there all along. This was not a sprint to LouisianaVoice, it was a marathon. And if this sounds a little vain and boastful…well, it is.

And it isn’t over. LouisianaVoice has pending numerous public records requests with LSP on other matters within the agency. We do not intend to let Edmonson’s resignation diminish our ongoing examination of why one man was allowed to bring a great department into such disrepute and disgrace.

The rank and file Louisiana State Troopers deserve better.

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LSP in ‘Shoot the messenger’ mode: IT works overtime in effort to learn ID of critics; suit against LV also rumored

Posted in Attorney General, Corruption, Ethics, Fraud, Lawsuits, State Police on March 11, 2017| 19 Comments »

It’s such a truism that it’s almost a cliché: if you don’t like the news, shoot the messenger.

That is precisely the scenario that is unfolding as this is being written, according to three separate reports received today by LouisianaVoice.

  • The first is an unsubstantiated (to this point, at least) report that LouisianaVoice is about to be named a defendant in a defamation/libel suit by certain employees of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections.

That would be the Louisiana State Police (LSP), since those are virtually the only DPS personnel I’ve written about.

And if they want to play that game, I’m more than ready because any litigation on their part will open them up for discovery of every questionable, unethical or illegal act they have ever committed during their entire careers. If they don’t have a little dirty laundry they don’t want exposed, then bring it on.

Anyone can sue and whenever feathers are ruffled, the potential for litigation is a given, but it does not come without risks on the part of the plaintiffs. They will be propounded with more interrogatories and requests for documents than they ever thought possible.

But the other two actions, in my opinion, are far more ominous.

  • A terse email from one person says simply, “Rest assured, he (State Police Superintendent Mike Edmonson) has already begun trying to destroy you. He is frantically trying to learn who emailed you.”
  • That’s a normal reaction by someone backed into a corner but for the third message received today by telephone. The caller said simply, “LSP has IT (Information Technology section) being paid overtime in efforts to determine who is communicating with LouisianaVoice and who is the ‘Trooper Underground.’”

If Edmonson is indeed finished at LSP as several sources have indicated, then there are two possible explanations about the timing of these efforts. One is they were initiated prior to the serving of those 18 subpoenas and while he was still trying to hang on to his job by discrediting his critics—and most likely cleaning house of those he deemed to be malcontents.

The second possible explanation is that as he exits, he fully intends to pull others down with him. And if the right (for Edmonson) person is appointed to succeed him, it will be a seamless transition and the witch hunt will continue unabated and heads will roll with collateral damage hopefully extending to the pesky media, i.e. bloggers.

And just to clear the air a little, LouisianaVoice is a Web blog which covers the entire spectrum of Louisiana politics and Trooper Underground is a Facebook blog that concentrates on matters of concern exclusively to Louisiana State Troopers and retired troopers. We are separate entities.

The ones behind this effort should know that if this is true, and they’re doing this without a valid search warrant, there well could be serious legal (read civil and criminal) repercussions for their actions.

Be that as it may, the efforts to out whistleblowers and to discredit those who report waste, favoritism, fraud, and other nefarious activities within the agency charged with protecting the state’s citizens presents a chilling prospect not just for LouisianaVoice or the Trooper Underground, but for all of us.

This is reminiscent of Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Jerry Larpenter’s raid on the home of a Houma blogger because the blogger, a city policeman, dared to criticize Larpenter. More puzzling even than the sheriff’s efforts to silence a critic fully protected under the First Amendment was the fact that a sitting judge actually signed the search warrant. Thankfully, it was quickly ruled unconstitutional by an appeal court.

It’s also reminiscent of a number of other tyrants, dictators, despots and demagogues down through history. Names like Joe McCarthy and Richard Nixon come immediately to mind. There are others who ruled entire countries and waged wars while silencing critics. You know who they are.

These are the acts of desperate people who will go to any end to exact revenge on those who, unable to improve things from within, go outside the agency for help. Whether or you agree with them, were it not for the Baton Rouge Advocate (see its recent outstanding series on the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola), New Orleans TV reporter Lee Zurik, retired TV reporter Ken Booth, Lamar White’s CenLamar, Bob Mann’s Something Like the Truth, Robert Burns’ Sound Off Louisiana and yes, LouisianaVoice, to whom could these people turn?

The Attorney General? He’s too busy running for governor. The East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney? We don’t know where the hell he is. The Louisiana Office of Inspector General? (Insert chortles, yuks and guffaws here).

So, let them come after us. We’re ready. If we go down, we go down swinging.

Lawsuits can be filed in both directions.

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LSP’s Cain denies report Supt. Mike Edmonson forced out by Gov. Edwards in wake of investigation and federal subpoenas

Posted in Corruption, Ethics, Governor's Office, Public Records, State Police on March 10, 2017| 44 Comments »

Gov. John Bel Edwards has seen and heard enough.

Or has he?

Today, Edwards apparently decided the advantages of keeping the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association happy by retaining Louisiana State Police (LSP) Superintendent did not outweigh the political liabilities.

A formal announcement was said to have been scheduled for today that Michael Edmonson will step down after 36 years with LSP and slightly more than nine years as the state’s top cop. Now, it looks as though a “retirement” announcement won’t be forthcoming until Monday at the earliest.

State Police public information officer Maj. Doug Cain denied the report. “I just talked to the colonel and he said he is not resigning, nor has he been asked to resign.” he said.

Calls to the governor’s office for comment were not returned.

An interim superintendent will be named by Edwards until a permanent replacement can be found, LouisianaVoice has learned. Speculation that Edmonson’s second in command, Deputy Superintendent Lt. Col. Charles Dupuy would be elevated to Edmonson’s post apparently is not true as sources say Dupuy will not get the post.

Dupuy was among those who took that trip to San Diego back in October and it was his state vehicle in which four troopers drove to San Diego with stops in Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.

Even before the California trip, Edmonson has been the subject of scrutiny by LouisianaVoice since July 2014. It was then that State Sen. Neil Riser slipped an amendment to an otherwise benign bill in the last hours of the regular legislative session which would have given Edmonson an illegal retirement increase. Initial reports said that increase would have been around $55,000.

His retirement was frozen at a rate based on his $76,000 per year salary at the time he entered DROP. The amendment would have adjusted that retirement based on his salary of $131,000 in 2014. Since that time, however, his salary has been increased to $177,500 which would have ended up giving him an additional $101,500 in retirement income had Claitor not filed his legal action voiding the illegal maneuver.

Edwards was among those in the House who voted in favor of the bill with the amendment attached which would have allowed Edmonson to circumvent requirements of the so-called DROP program which froze his retirement at a rank lower than his present colonel rank. The decision to enter DROP was supposed to be irrevocable but the bill allowed Edmonson, and coincidentally, one other trooper, to make an end-run around the requirements.

Even as then-Rep. Edwards was calling unsuccessfully for then-House Speaker Chuck Kleckley to call for an investigation into the matter (Kleckley refused), State Sen. Dan Claitor filed suit in 19th Judicial District Court and obtained a ruling legally blocking the raise.

But LouisianaVoice continued revealing lapses in Edmonson’s leadership of LSP. Those included cases of payroll fraud; promotions of a trooper who had a documented prescription addiction but was promoted nonetheless to troop commander; and another who was promoted to troop commander after being caught by Mississippi authorities sneaking an underage woman into a Vicksburg casino; examples of token punishment for other troopers, including one who twice had sex with an informant while on duty—once in his patrol unit, were also reported by LouisianaVoice.

LouisianaVoice has presented LSP with scores of public records requests in efforts to determine how the LSP metes out punishment on those troopers found in disfavor as well as how it spends its money.

A recent request for a record of expenditures at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, other than on those who were detailed to the event for security, was met with a response that there were no such records for expenditures other than for SECURITY.

But Suzanne Edmonson, wife of the LSP Superintendent, posted this 2014 Facebook photo with the caption “Here to protect & serve but mostly drink.”

This photo, as well as other photos and messages, have been removed from Suzanne Edmonson’s (on right) Facebook page.

Edmonson was first appointed Superintendent by Gov. Bobby Jindal in January 2008. Prior to that, he was best known as the ever-present bodyguard first for Nick Saban and then for Les Miles at LSU football games. Before that, he was public information for LSP and had never served in a supervisory capacity.

He was reappointed by Edwards in January 2016 as a trade-off for the much-needed endorsement of the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association in his 2015 runoff election against U.S. Sen. David Vitter.

Edwards’ brother, Daniel Edwards, is the sheriff of Tangipahoa Parish and his office was raided by the FBI last year as part of an ongoing investigation by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.

Gov. Edwards has steadfastly stood behind Edmonson throughout his superintendent’s turbulent tenure marked by sporadic rumors of partying and lax administration of subordinates, particularly his troop commanders who were pretty much given free rein.

He also has been linked to the Louisiana State Troopers Association’s (LSTA) political contributions even though he says he has nothing to do with the LSTA operations. But LouisianaVoice was able to document that Edmonson approached LSTA right after Edwards’ election victory over Vitter to request the association to write a letter to Edwards endorsing him for reappointment.

LSTA’s board denied that request but did wash members’ money through the personal bank account of its executive director, David Young. Jindal and Edwards, at different points in time, each received $10,000 from Young, who subsequently filed expense reports for reimbursement from LSTA.

Edwards returned his contributions but Jindal never did.

Earlier this week, the FBI walked in on a board meeting of LSTA and served each of its board members with subpoenas to appear before a federal grand jury. The date of that grand jury has not been announced. In all, 18 subpoenas were served on current and former board members and Young.

In another surprise move, former Lafayette Parish Sheriff Donald Breaux resigned from the Louisiana State Police Commission (LSPC). He was the second member to quit the commission in just over a month. Commission executive director Cathy Derbonne resigned under pressure, prompting Lloyd Grafton, a retired career federal agent, to also resign, saying he had tried without success to bring integrity to the board.

Following that meeting yesterday, commission members Eulis Simien and Calvin Braxton met with Gov. Edwards for more than an hour. Braxton, contacted by LouisianaVoice, acknowledged that the meeting took place, “but I’m not saying what was discussed,” he said.

LouisianaVoice will have more details about Edmonson’s resignation as they become available.

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18 State Troopers served subpoenas for federal grand jury even as DPS declines to investigate Millet LSTA complaint

Posted in Corruption, Courts, Crime, DOA, Elections, Ethics, Governor's Office, Media, State Police on March 8, 2017| 22 Comments »

Perhaps it’s time to direct some hard questions to Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DPSC) Secretary Jimmy LeBlanc.

LeBlanc, after all, is technically Mike Edmonson’s boss. Besides holding the title of Superintendent of State Police, Edmonson is also Deputy Secretary of DPSC.

LeBlanc only recently came through an intensive investigation into the Corrections, also under the DPSC umbrella. That investigation cost Angola Warden Burl Cain and several of his family members their jobs.

And yet DPSC general counsel Kathy Williams notified retired State Trooper Leon “Bucky” Millet by letter dated last Thursday (March 2) that DPS would not consider his complaint against the Louisiana State Troopers’ Association because Louisiana State Police (LSP) “considers the matter closed.”

She may wish to revisit that decision.

Today, FBI agents fanned out across the state to simultaneously serve federal grand jury subpoenas on 18 State Troopers, LouisianaVoice has learned. Included among those served were officers and directors of that very same LSTA that DPSC refuses to investigate.

One report indicated that the LSTA board of directors was in its monthly meeting Wednesday when federal agents walked in and served each board member with his subpoena.

LouisianaVoice has not learned the date of the grand jury nor was the specific subject readily available. But because troopers from across the state were served, it would seem reasonable to assume that the thrust of the federal investigation is the laundering of campaign contributions by the LSTA through the association’s executive director David Young, a story LouisianaVoice broke more than a year ago.

It was not immediately known if Young was one of those served on Wednesday.

It was also learned that the FBI has already interviewed some of those slapped with subpoenas today.

The LSTA board is comprised of trooper representatives from each of the eight state police troops. The individual troop headquarters are located in Baton Rouge in East Baton Rouge Parish, Kenner in Jefferson Parish, Mandeville in St. Tammany Parish, Lake Charles in Calcasieu Parish, Lafayette in Lafayette Parish, Monroe in Ouachita Parish, Bossier City in Bossier Parish and Gray in Terrebonne Parish.

Neither Edmonson, Deputy Superintendent Lt. Col. Charles Dupuy nor Director of Management and Finance Lt. Col. Jason Starnes were among those handed subpoenas. Only LSTA officers, directors and former officers and directors were served.

Regardless, reports out of State Police headquarters in Baton Rouge say command personnel have been in “full panic mode” all afternoon as they hunkered down in meetings. As my grandfather used to say, you probably couldn’t pull a needle out of their butts with a John Deere tractor. A federal grand jury subpoena, after all, is less welcome than an IRS audit letter—and who knows? That might not be far behind.

LSTA general counsel Floyd Falcon cannot represent any of those served if their legal interests should conflict with those of the association, as they quite likely will. That means that each of those served will have to retain his own legal counsel.

With that many having been served subpoenas, it’s likely that at least one, maybe several, will roll over and give the feds information they’re looking for in order to cut a deal. The scramble will be to see who can give up whom first because that’s will will likely get the best deal. What’s not likely is for any of them to lie because we’re sure they are all keenly aware that lying to the FBI, even if not under oath, can get a quick trip to a federal facility where one can work in the laundry for 20 cents per hour.

One thing you can expect out of all of this: there will be no united front. Targets are almost certain to turn on each other as the cannibalization begins in earnest. Edmonson already has thrown the four men who drove the expedition to California—and his secretary—under the bus.

And make no mistake: the clock is ticking on Gov. John Bel Edwards. Mike Edmonson, Charles Dupuy and Jason Starnes represent baggage he simply cannot afford to carry into his campaign for reelection. That campaign cranks up in less than two years.

Edmonson needs to go and he needs to take LeBlanc with him.

Back to you, Kathy Williams.

 

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