Louisiana Voice

I have added a new signing for my new book Bobby Jindal: His Destiny and Obsession but first I want to begin this post with a sincere apology.

When I submitted the finished manuscript to Pelican Publishing, I was asked to submit the usual list of acknowledgements to those who helped with the book, those who inspired me and those who supported my efforts. I did so, including the editors at Pelican, members of my family and others who have influenced me through the years—from teachers to former employers.

But I committed the unpardonable sin of neglecting to thank five important people who gave of their time and efforts to add to the book. Each of them contributed an entire chapter about Bobby Jindal, writing about ethics, higher education, budgetary matters, public education and his general policies that did so much to damage this state.

Accordingly, I would like to use this space to thank the following:

• Clancy DuBos, publisher of New Orleans’ Gambit newspaper, who wrote a scathing critique of Jindal’s audaciously insensitive “farewell tour” of Louisiana. DuBos pointed out—correctly—that Jindal had bid farewell to the state long before his term of office ended.
• Bridget Jacobs, a veteran of more than 20 years in higher education, who, appropriately enough, provided an in-depth examination of how Jindal single-handedly almost dismantled Louisiana’s state colleges and universities with crippling budget cuts and soaring tuition costs.
• Lamar White, publisher of his own political blog, CenLamar, and who has broken some significant national stories about Jindal’s failed policies. For the book, White wrote extensively about Jindal’s failed ethics reform and ultimately, how “reform” was anything but that.
• Stephen Winham, retired Director of the state’s Executive Budget Office, was unquestionably the most qualified of just about anyone in the state to write about Jindal’s catastrophic budget and tax policies that dug the state deeper in debt with each passing year of his tenure in office.
• Jason France, aka The Crazy Crawfish, as his blog is known. Jason is a former employee of the Louisiana Department of Education and was in position to give us an insider’s perspective of the controversial policies pursued by Jindal and Superintendent of Education John White.

To these five individuals, I literally cannot adequately express my gratitude. Without their contributions, the book would have been a much more difficult project.

I also would like to take the opportunity to express my thanks to three individuals who were kind enough to take the time to read advance copies of the manuscript and to provide a few favorable words on the back cover of the book. They are:

• Bob Mann who holds the Manship Chair of Journalism at LSU and who writes his own political blog, Something Like the Truth, which was chosen by the Washington Post in 2014 as one of the top 100 political blogs in the nation;
• Tom Kelly of Winnfield (or more specifically, Garr’s Mill), who gave me my very first newspaper job at the Ruston Daily Leader and now Publisher and Editor of the Piney Woods Journal, a publication dedicated to Louisiana’s timber industry, and
• Bill Brown, a fellow Ruston High School alumnus and retired editor of the Columbus, GA. Ledger-Enquirer and the Montgomery, AL. Advertiser.

The latest book signing date that was finalized on Saturday will be in my hometown of Ruston on June 25 and will be during the annual Louisiana Peach Festival so if you want a book signed then, you’ll have to catch me between bites if sweet, juicy peaches, the best I’ve ever tasted.

I will be sharing a booth with Winnsboro native and longtime Ruston resident (he was there long enough to marry a wonderful Ruston girl) Fred Mulhearn. Fred, an attorney, recently retired from the state. He has published a terrific book of his classic Louisiana political cartoons, Life in Looziana, and continues to create his cartoons for a number of Louisiana newspapers. Go here and click on Classic Editorial Cartoons:

http://www.fredmulhearn.com/

Before we go any further, it might be worthwhile to point out that my book about Jindal is not a puff piece in the mold of the two books by Jindal which probably resulted in his dislocating his shoulder from repeatedly patting himself on the back. It’s important to make that clear because some readers still think I’m shilling for a book that is pro-Jindal. I can assure you it is not.

It’s the kind of book that result in my being removed from Jindal’s Christmas card list—had we ever been on that list, which we certainly were not.

This 294-page book is an examination that addresses several issues:

• How did Jindal become a multi-millionaire after only three years in Congress?
• Jindal’s claims of a new high standard of ethics are debunked by his own actions as governor.
• Jindal’s claim of transparency is also belied by his penchant for secrecy.
• His vindictive nature in firing or demoting anyone and everyone who dared disagree with him.
• His awarding of prestigious board and commission memberships to big contributors.
• His sorry record in protecting the state’s environment and the state’s coastline.
• His mysterious deal to sell state hospitals via a contract containing 50 blank pages.
• His single-handed destruction of higher education and health care.
• His near-comical, yet pathetic candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination.

There is much, much more, of course, but you will have to get the book to read it.

Here is the current schedule for upcoming book signings:

• The Winn Parish Library in Winnfield: Thursday, May 19, at 2 p.m.
• Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Mandeville, Saturday, June 18, from 2 to 4 p.m.
• Louisiana Peach Festival in Ruston. No specific time has been set, so I’ll probably be hanging around most of the day.

You may order a signed copy of the book from Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs by clicking on the image of the book cover at the upper right. You may also purchase it directly from me at the Winnfield or Ruston signings, at the Barnes and Noble signing in Mandeville, from any other Barnes and Noble or from Amazon.com.

This schedule will be updated as additional signings are scheduled.

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LouisianaVoice submitted public records request for documents to confirm allegations of payroll fraud. We received a letter of suspension and investigation file on Lieutenant Paul Brady. Brady was issued a 24 hour suspension for violating the code of conduct and ethics. The disciplinary action was in relation to allegations reported to LouisianaVoice of supervisors padding time sheets. The proper time for the day in question was eight hours. Brady was suspended for adding hours or instructing Troopers to add hours.

Integrity among the rank and file

One Trooper interviewed reported he submitted a timesheet with 8 hours and it was changed without his knowledge by Brady to 12 hours.

Two other Troopers reportedly told Brady they worked 8 and 9 hours and Brady told them it was a 12 hour day and instructed them to put 12 hours on the time sheets.

One Trooper admitted to IA he was concerned with claiming 12 hours since he did not work 12 hours. The Trooper reported he discussed it with other Troopers so they spoke to Brady on speaker phone who told them to claim 12 hours.

One Trooper told IA Brady tried coaching him on what to say if someone asked about the time. The Trooper reportedly informed Brady that he was not going to lie.

All these examples are a good reason to remind the public that LSP is full of honest Troopers who want to do the right thing. They have refused to be corrupted by those responsible for their supervision. This should also serve as a reminder for supervisors who mistakenly believe Troopers support unethical practices. They do not.

History of lack of supervision

Brady is the same supervisor who has yet to be held accountable for the actions of recently terminated Trooper Ronald Picou. Brady also supervised Trooper Jimmy Rogers who resigned amid the investigations. We have requested the documents in relation to Rogers’ resignation.

Pertinent aspects overlooked

The letter of suspension states, “You signed the above timesheets knowing that they had worked less hours. You signed the above described biweekly timesheets knowing that the hours related to the firearms transition were not accurate.”

It is the opinion of LouisianaVoice that the investigation file supports a finding of criminal wrongdoing; payroll fraud.

Brady reported he instructed his Troopers to claim the amount of time they actually worked. This contradicts the statements of many Troopers under his supervision. There was no apparent investigation into Brady’s being dishonest. IA investigators proved he was dishonest. If his statement to claim actual time were considered truthful, he could not have been punished.

One witness reported Brady attempted to coach him on what to say if he was asked about claiming 12 hours. The Trooper was asked by Brady why he claimed 12 hours and he said it was because Brady told him to. In an apparent effort to quell a successful investigation, Brady asked if he owed him some time from prior pay periods and suggested he probably did.

The Trooper reported, “LT Brady then told (redacted) that if he was asked about his time, he should say he was owed time from a prior pay period”. The Trooper asked who he was referring to and told Brady he was not going to lie. This appears to be an effort to cover up the allegations. The aspect of interfering with an IA investigation does not appear to have been addressed in the investigation file.

Sources indicate ousted Troop D Commander Captain Chris Guillory knew about the discrepancies and took no corrective action. This is one of the many areas this investigation failed to look at. One thing has held true. Captain Guillory is untouchable when it comes to investigation and discipline regardless of the level of incompetence.

Thanks to the Troopers of Troop D

The majority of personnel at Troop D have shown they are above reproach even in the face of pressure from supervision. Many other supervisors at Troop D have demonstrated the same level of integrity. Their commander has been removed. We are told the practices allowed by the prior administration have been put to a stop. We are sorry you have endured such scrutiny but fully respect your resolve in facing tough decisions. You have held yourselves to the standards expected of public servants even without being required to do so.

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(The following is another installment on the myriad of problems involving the judges of the 4th Judicial District Court which includes the parishes of Ouachita and Morehouse. Former KNOE-TV investigative reporter Ken Booth, now living in Arizona, returns to his familiar North Louisiana stomping grounds for the story.)

By guest columnist Ken Booth

A 35-year-old West Monroe man is being sought by Ouachita Parish authorities who have charged him on nine counts of sex-related crimes involving a 15-year-old juvenile here.

And Sheriff’s detectives say they have developed additional information linking the suspect and now fugitive David Lee Toler to even more sexual activity with the same child on two occasions in a Shreveport Hotel and one more at a hotel in Coushatta, Red River Parish.

The OPSO detectives acted on a complaint filed by a member of the girl’s family who had confronted her about texts on her phone to Toler. At the time, she confessed that she and the suspect had exchanged sexually explicit photos and text communications.

According to authorities the family member quoted the child as having said this led to sexual relations with the suspect on at least a dozen occasions beginning in December of last year and lasting until the first or second week of last month.

The affidavit in support of the arrest warrant issued on April 30 for Toler said the juvenile later told detectives the same things she had originally alleged but added that sexual contact with Toler had occurred “more than a dozen times over the last couple of months.”

Specifically, the warrant listed four felony crimes: 1 count each of Aggravated crime against nature; indecent behavior with a juvenile; Pornography involving a juvenile; and Computer-aided solicitation of a minor. That warrant was signed by Duty Judge Larry D. Jefferson who set bonds totaling $60,000 on April 30.

Toler’s name and bond information was then placed into NCIC’s data base and following a multi-jurisdictional effort, Toler was detained in Brookhaven, Mississippi after being pulled over by a Mississippi Highway Patrolman.

Toler voluntarily waived extradition and was returned to Ouachita Parish by Sheriff’s Office detectives and booked into the Parish correctional center.

On the same day Toler was extradited back to Louisiana, May 2, the juvenile victim was interviewed by officials at the Center for Children and Families whereupon she provided details of additional crimes of intercourse between her and David Lee Toler, twice at the family’s previous residence, once in his car outside a West Monroe fitness center, once at her grandparent’s home, and once in a deer stand in a “secluded wooded area within West Lakes Subdivision.”

It was during that secondary interview at the Center that authorities learned of the three additional alleged acts at hotels in Caddo and Red River Parishes.

Another arrest warrant was issued, this time by District Judge Carl Sharp who had been officially assigned the Toler case for trial.  On the five new additional charges in Ouachita Parish, Judge Sharp ordered no bond pending an appearance by the District Attorney.

Armed now with information on the five new charges, Sharp did not touch Jefferson’s $60,000 bond on the first set of 4 charges—but instead set a new total bond of $2.5-Million on the five new charges.

At some point unknown, Judge Jefferson called to the Correctional Center to see if there were any unsigned 72-hour bond matters that needed to be signed, and although clearly indicating no bond but nevertheless outlining the five additional charges, Jefferson added another $25,000 to bring Toler’s bond up to $85,000 which he posted and was released.

When deputies went out to the Correctional Center to re-book Toler on the newest charges, he had already posted the $85,000 bail set by Jefferson and had been released. He is now the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant for five counts of aggravated crime against Nature with that new bond of $500,000 on each count.

He has not been seen or heard from since. He is scheduled for a May 17 court appearance.

Meanwhile, court officials were questioning how a ‘duty’ or on-call judge can alter bond instructions from a Judge who was already properly assigned to the case at hand.

Add all of this to Jefferson’s inexplicable not guilty ruling in the case of a career criminal indisputably linked by his DNA to the kidnap/robbery of a 76-year-old live-alone Grandmother the other day and before that, a slap on the hand very lenient sentence to a former state police Sgt. who was convicted of stealing dope from an evidence room and enabling an accomplice to sell it on the street for over $1-million.

On top of that, one of the 4^th JDC Judges has sued four of her fellow jurists in federal court for allegedly covering up payroll fraud by their law clerk.

That law clerk, Allyson Campbell, apparently has all the right connections to warrant protection from the four jurists named as defendants in the suit filed by Judge Sharon Marchman.

Campbell’s father is George Campbell, an executive with Regions Bank. George Campbell is married to the daughter of attorney Billy Boles who was instrumental in the growth of Century Telephone and who is a major contributor to various political campaigns.

Allyson Campbell is also the sister of Catherine Creed of the Monroe personal injury law firm of Creed and Creed.

As if the courts and judges of the 4^th JDC didn’t present enough problems, it was learned this week that the Louisiana Legislative Auditor is reviewing an undisclosed issue with the Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court’s office.

A couple of items state auditor Daryl Purpera’s office could be taking a close look at stem from the latest audit that shows Clerk of Court Louis Bond paid herself more than $238,000 in salary and perks (that’s over $100,000 more than the governor’s salary) in 2014—even as her office incurred a deficit of more than $242,000, the third consecutive year her office has ended the fiscal year in the red. The deficit for the year ended June 30, 2014 was more than $423,000, according to the latest audit figures.

(LouisianaVoice Editor Tom Aswell also contributed to this story)

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Bobby Jindal at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday night

So now that he is no longer governor and now that his presidential aspirations are in the dumpster (for the time being, at least, because his ego will not let him ride off into the sunset), it appears that Bobby Jindal may be embarking on a new career as a White House correspondent which is as close as he will ever get to the White House.

Of course, he has written nearly as many op-eds devoid of substance as Jeff Sadow and is almost as familiar on Fox News as Bill O’Reilly, so perhaps he fancies himself as a real-life correspondent. We wondered why he showed at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday night. We later learned that he has apparently jumped Fox in favor of writing essays for CNN. Not that his defection would be a great loss to Fox.

A more believable explanation would be that CNN simply lost a bet with Fox News.

Unfortunately for Jindal, he generated about as much interest at the dinner as he did in Iowa while campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination. While many in the audience were targeted in one-liners from President Barack Obama, Louisiana’s erstwhile chief executive was never acknowledged.

The wistful look on his face says he still thinks he deserves to be the one at the dais in 2017. At least he didn’t try to give a Republican response to Obama’s stand-up routine.

For that, Republicans everywhere can be thankful.

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Let the word go forth. From the bayous in the south to the watermelon patches in the north, from Bourbon Street in New Orleans to Texas Street in Shreveport, from McNeese to Louisiana Tech, let the people know:

It’s been a long wait and there were several delays but at long last, my book Bobby Jindal: His Destiny and Obsession has arrived at the Pelican Publishing Co. warehouse in Gretna.

For those who may need reminding or who may not know, I wrote the book as a reminder of what the voters of this state must never be fooled into doing again: voting for a snake oil salesman like Bobby Jindal. His economic, higher education and healthcare policies have set this state back an entire generation and public education remains in a constant state of turmoil, thanks to his voucher and charter school policies.

And we didn’t even mention his campaign contributions and their links to lucrative state contracts. For that, you will have to read the book.

Pelican will be shipping out to bookstores and to those who pre-ordered through them in the next few days. One of those stores will be Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs where more than 60 copies have already been pre-ordered.

Upon arrival at Cavalier, the bookstore owner, John Cavalier, will summon me to his store where I will sign copies of all his pre-orders before he ships them out to the purchaser.

I also will be sending out my own copies to those who contributed the specified amounts in our October fund drive. If I remember my list correctly, there are about 20 of those who will be receiving free, signed copies.

If you are not on Cavalier’s or my list, and wish to have a signed copy, you may still order from Cavalier by clicking on the image of the book cover to the lower right of this post.

I want to express my deepest appreciation to those of you who participated in October to get your free copy (yes, like a good advertising shill, we still call a book in exchange for a couple hundred bucks donation to LouisianaVoice “free.”).

I also wish to thank each of you who donated for your patience during the delays in publication. The book was supposed to be out in January but got pushed back by unavoidable delays. You should all have your copy by this time next week.

[By the way: our fund drive is officially over, but you may still contribute by clicking on the yellow “DONATE” button to the upper right.]

Thanks again!

Tom Aswell

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