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State Police aside, LouisianaVoice fundraiser continues

February 24, 2017 by tomaswell

Folks, I don’t want to claim any undue credit (after all, it was The Baton Rouge Advocate that broke the story about the trip to San Diego by 15 State Police personnel).

But I believe I can honestly say if LouisianaVoice had not broken the original story about State Police Superintendent Mike Edmonson’s attempt to pad his retirement income illegally way back in 2014, none of the ensuing stories would ever have come to light.

If Louisiana Voice had not revealed all the other questionable practices at LSP—promotions of those with prescription drug addictions, troopers smuggling underage women into gambling casinos illegally, a trooper having sex with a woman in the back seat of his state patrol car, troopers being paid for being on the clock when in fact they were in the sack—the San Diego trip would never have been a blip on anyone’s radar.

If LouisianaVoice had not broken the story about the Louisiana State Troopers’ Association laundering money through its executive director to political campaigns—again, illegally—the practice would probably never have come to light.

And these are just the stories about State Police. We cover them all. We broke the story about Superintendent of Education John White’s plan to share sensitive student data with Rupert Murdoch. We revealed practices by White and Jindal’s staff to communicate via private email accounts in order to hide their activities from the public.

It was LouisianaVoice that broke the story about the shredding of documents at the Department of Health and Hospitals much to the consternation of the Secretary of State’s office. And it was LouisianaVoice that keeps you informed about state contracts going to big campaign donors.

It was LouisianaVoice that first revealed that former director of the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control Murphy Painter was being set up by Jindal. It was LouisianaVoice that informed you of the activities of Painter’s successor Troy Hebert, including highly questionable activities involving a female restaurant manager in New Orleans.

And finally, it was LouisianaVoice that helped rein in the State Dentistry Board and to curb its illegal practices of extorting heavy fines from practicing dentists with threats of license revocations.

If you agree that we’ve done a pretty fair job of monitoring the activities of our elected and appointed officials, I ask that you consider helping defray our legal, travel, insurance, and research costs.

Doing this isn’t free even though we do not charge a subscription fee nor do we accept advertising.

We rely on your generosity and we only do this twice a year. The current fundraiser will run only a few more days.

Please help us continue our efforts. You may click on the yellow “DONATE” button to the right to contribute by credit card or you may send checks or money orders to:

Capital News Service/LouisianaVoice

P.O. Box 922

Denham Springs, LA 70727

Posted in Politics | 2 Comments »

Notable Quotables (in their own words)

February 24, 2017 by tomaswell

Feb. 22, 2017

Dear Governor Edwards:

This letter is to serve as my resignation from the Louisiana State Police Commission.

The commission cannot function as a Civil Service Board with the people you have allowed Col. Edmonson to place on the commission.

Col. Edmonson does whatever he chooses to do. He has no credibility when it comes to the truth, lavish spending, accepting of gifts, taking credit for awards others have earned, destroying evidence, and the list goes on and on.

Col Edmonson has brought shame and disgrace to the honest men and women of the State Police. They deserve better.

I won’t be a part of or participate in a commission that has no integrity or purpose but to rubber stamp what corrupt leadership desires.

May you continue to enjoy the “hayride” for three more years.

Respectfully,

Lloyd Grafton

U.S. Special Agent (Retired)

Associate Professor of Criminal Justice

Ruston, Louisiana

Posted in Politics | 10 Comments »

Breaking: Sen. Kennedy calls for Edmonson resignation

February 24, 2017 by tomaswell

LouisianaVoice has learned that U.S. Sen. John Kennedy is calling for the resignation of beleaguered Superintendent of State Police Mike Edmonson.

Given the strained relationship between Kennedy and Gov. John Bel Edwards, however, that call isn’t likely to have much sway with the governor.

Nevertheless, it is the first public call by an elected official for Edmonson to step down.

Edmonson was first appointed by former Gov. Bobby Jindal in January 2008 and was reappointed by Edwards when he took office in January 2016.

Before his appointment by Jindal, Edmonson was best known as the constant companion of LSU coaches Nick Saban and Les Miles as he stood ready to protect the two coaches from any hostile fans bent on doing bodily harm to the coaches and were able to first get past 100 beefy football players to get to the coaches. (Well, you come up with a better theory; that’s the best we could come up with.)

Kennedy, you might remember, even weighed in on that controversial Act 859 of 2014 which temporarily awarded Edmonson a $55,000-per-year retirement increase bump. In a special LouisianaVoice guest COLUMN, he called on then-House Speaker Chuck Kleckley to call for an investigation of the Act, pushed through in the closing minutes of the 2014 legislative session by State Sen. Neil Riser (R-Columbia).

Ironically, it was then-State Rep. John Bel Edwards who had requested that Kleckley conduct the investigation.

Posted in Politics | 13 Comments »

Williams transfer questioned, Edmonson accused of taking food, drinks from LSP cafeteria, Secretary mulls retirement

February 24, 2017 by tomaswell

In what may turn out to be one of her last official acts, Louisiana State Police (LSP) Executive Officer Rhonda Fogleman, has issued official notice of the transfer, albeit illegal, of Major Derrell Williams from head of Internal Affairs to Technical Support Services “on authority of Colonel Mike Edmonson.”

Additionally, LouisianaVoice has received information from a person who claims to have witnessed Edmonson and family members taking food and beverages from the State Police cafeteria for their personal use.

Edmonson initially said Williams was being transferred to road patrol as punishment for the side trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon during a drive to San Diego last October.

The move would hardly be considered a demotion—or punishment, for that matter. But it would impossible for Edmonson to actually discipline Williams since there has been no due process for him or any of the other three who rode in the unmarked State Police vehicle assigned to Deputy Superintendent Lt. Col. Charles Dupuy to San Diego.

At the same time, LouisianaVoice has learned that Fogleman, who Edmonson earlier threw under the bus along with the four who drove to California in October, has made inquiry into possible retirement.

Edmonson, shown copies of expense reports for Williams that contained his signature, tantamount to approval of the expenses, laid the blame for that approval on Fogleman. He claimed that she used his signature stamp to approve the expenses, which included hotel invoices from hotels in Vegas and the Grand Canyon.

Fogleman has been employed at LSP for 32 years and currently earns $72,800 per year, Civil Service records show.

A terse comment received today from a Department of Public Safety employee who requested anonymity for obvious reasons said, “I have personally witnessed the illustrious Colonel back his state-owned SUV to the back of the cafeteria and load it up with food and drinks and unload at his residence.”

The comment went on to say, “If that wasn’t enough his kids were allowed to do the same. I witnessed it because I was assigned to HQ as my assigned shift.”

LouisianaVoice contacted Edmonson through Public Information Officer Maj. Doug Cain. He did not deny he had taken food and beverages from the cafeteria but did issue a one-sentence statement through Cain:

“DPS cafeteria services are available for purchase by all DPS employees as well as the general public.”

He did not say whether or not he or members of his family actually purchased the commodities. Nor did it address the claim that he and his family members were taking bulk items from the cafeteria in vehicles.

The question of the legality of the reassignment of Williams is hinges on whether or not LSP followed established RULES for filling vacancies. Rule 8.2 says the technical support major must be advertised as a promotion for anyone interested in applying.

That section says, “When proposing to fill a vacancy by original appointment, the appointing authority (Edmonson) shall request the Director (of the Louisiana State Police Commission) to certify the names of persons eligible for appointment, furnishing such information about the vacancy as may be necessary for the Director to decide those persons eligible for appointment.”

Rule 8.4 (a) says, “The Director…shall certify to the appointing authority the names of the highest ranking eligibles from the appropriate list for the class of the vacant position.”

Paragraph (b) adds, “In specific instances, and pursuant to and in conformity with an order of the State Police Commission, a court, or other commission, or agency of competent jurisdiction, the Director may make, or permit the appointing authority to make, selective certification.”

The transfer of Williams and the assignment of Maj. Cathy Flinchum to head of Internal Affairs was Edmonson’s way of addressing the flak over the trip taken by him and 15 other LSP personnel, each of whom was paid for attending the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) conference last October to see their boss receive an award from IACP.

To date, Edmonson has only addressed the travel and overtime of the four State Troopers who drove Dupuy’s vehicle to San Diego.

That apparently was insufficient to Gov. John Bel Edwards who has ordered an investigation by auditors from the Division of Administration.

LouisianaVoice, meanwhile, has requested copies of Training and Travel authorizations for each of those who went to San Diego as well as authorization documents for taking the state vehicle out-of-state. We have yet to receive those documents.

Posted in Corruption, Ethics, Fraud, Governor's Office, State Police | 11 Comments »

Edmonson facade of invincibility may be cracking; Governor refuses to give his vote of confidence to LSP superintendent

February 23, 2017 by tomaswell

Could it be that Gov. John Bel Edwards has finally seen and heard enough about the shenanigans of Louisiana State Police (LSP) Superintendent Mike Edmonson?

Has he been embarrassed one too many times by the state’s top cop who was foisted on him by the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association and the Louisiana Association of Chiefs of Police?

If the tone of this NOLA.com STORY by Julia O’Donoghue Wednesday (Feb. 22) is any indication, Edmonson’s days at LSP may indeed be numbered.

Edwards earlier this week ordered auditors from the Division of Administration (DOA) to conduct an investigation into a trip taken by a gaggle of LSP personnel and hangers-on to witness Edmonson receive an award from the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) at its conference in San Diego.

Of particular interest to Edwards was the expenditure of thousands of dollars in salaries, overtime, fuel, lodging and meals for four State Troopers who drove an unmarked State Police vehicle assigned to Edmonson’s second-in-command to the event. That trek included a side trip to and overnight stays in Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. Three of the four combined to claim 105 hours of overtime on the trip to and from San Diego, figures that appear far out of line with the distances traveled.

For example, each of the four claimed 12 hours to travel from the Grand Canyon resort city of Tusayan, Arizona, to Las Vegas, a distance of only 270 miles, a torrid pace of 22.5 mph. They also claimed 12 hours to drive from Las Vegas to San Diego, a trip of only 290 miles. For that leg of the journey, they put the petal to the metal, averaging a scorching 24 mph.

Can you say payroll fraud?

Maj. Derrell Williams did not claim overtime hours because those of the rank of captain or above are prohibited from claiming overtime. He did, however, claim compensatory leave time for the same hours.

While investigators’ focus will apparently be on the overtime charged by the four and the reasons for their side trip, there are several other aspects of the entire San Diego affair that should be considered:

  • Why was the original award nomination of Maj. Carl Saizan, a former State Trooper of the Year, pulled in favor of Edmonson?
  • Why was it necessary for so many State Police personnel to accompany Edmonson on this trip?
  • Why was Michelle Hyatt, the wife of Lt. Rodney Hyatt and a civilian non-LSP employee, allowed to accompany her husband in the State Police Ford Expedition on that cross-country trip? (The Expedition, by the way, is permanently assigned to Edmonson’s second-in-command, Deputy Superintendent Lt. Col. Charles Dupuy.
  • Why was part-time student worker Brandon Blackburn paid 53.5 hours for attending the conference? And why was Brandon Blackburn, the son of the late Frank Blackburn, formerly the LSP legal counsel, allowed to travel to the conference on his father’s ticket?
  • Finally, since each of the 15 LSP personnel who accompanied Edmonson on the trip, were on the clock and were paid for attending the conference, how many of those personnel actually attended conference sessions for which they charged the state?

LouisianaVoice made inquiry of IACP for attendance lists for the various sessions but we received the expected response: “We do not provide attendance records or make any information about our attendees publicly available.”

Of course, the DOA investigation is barely underway so it’ll be some time yet before any determination is made regarding Edmonson’s future.

One LouisianaVoice reader made an interesting observation when he said in an email to us this morning that the LSP superintendent’s position “is a job needing turnover every so often to avoid a J. Edgar Hoover situation.”

But should the governor decide that Edmonson has embarrassed his administration one too many times and that he must go, it’s crucial that he make the correct choice in selecting a successor—and not listen to the sheriffs and chiefs of police. He—and this is critical—must be his own man in making that decision.

If he simply drops down the chain of command a notch and names Dupuy, Lt. Col. Jason Starnes, or Maj. Beckett Breaux, nothing will have changed and LouisianaVoice will be guaranteed an uninterrupted flow of stories from Independence Boulevard.

Posted in Corruption, DOA, Ethics, Fraud, Governor's Office, Media, State Police | 37 Comments »

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