The findings of that investigation were released earlier this year, and they weren't pretty. Louisiana Legislative Auditor Steve Theriot's report found that Langlinais directed public funds to improve private property; was inappropriately reimbursed for meals already paid for with parish and state monies; entered into contracts in violation of the parish charter; used public funds for charitable donations and to pay for employee meals and social events; and pressured parish employees to solicit donations and work on his campaign fund-raising golf tournament during parish work hours.
Those charges were so disturbing and widespread that The Independent Weekly called on the Iberia Parish Council to impeach Langlinais and remove him from office ("Impeach Will Langlinais," March 14). Langlinais decried the audit and subsequent investigation by 16th Judicial District Attorney Phil Haney as nothing more than a political witch hunt and steadfastly maintained his innocence.
Not anymore.
In a surprise about-face, Langlinais pled guilty last week to one felony count of malfeasance in office and resigned from his elected position, bringing to an end one of the most unfortunate chapters in Iberia Parish history.
The deal was sealed last Tuesday night during an executive session of the Iberia Parish Council. There, DA Haney, Assistant Attorney General Butch Wilson and Iberia Parish Council special counsel Edward Landry presented a choice to the Iberia Parish Council. Its members had the option of holding out for Langlinais' trial or accepting a deal hammered out by its counsel and Langlinais' attorneys, Gerald Block, Lester Gauthier and Paul Hebert.
Langlinais is fortunate that the plea bargain was accepted. Councilman Bernard Broussard, who led the initial push to audit Langlinais, would have preferred a trial. There are many, many questions still unanswered: the clandestine contract signed by Langlinais and Mosquito Control president Glenn Stokes, giving MCCI a sweetheart 10-year contract extension; another illegal contract between Langlinais and attorney Shane Romero for unauthorized risk management services; and numerous billing discrepancies scattered throughout other contracts and departments. "We had a serious problem in our government of misspending and mismanagement and abusive policies," Broussard says. "We need to make sure everybody understands what was going on."
Langlinais' supporters stood by him. Councilman Naray Hulin has been a staunch defender of Langlinais from the beginning of the investigation and says he approved the plea bargain to avoid further attorney expenses to the public. He also believes the $100,000 restitution settlement was too much and unfair to Langlinais. "I think Will did a great job as parish president," Hulin says. "If Will is guilty of anything at all, it's trying to help the taxpayers too much. Maybe he went astray in doing so, but it was all in an effort to help."
Ultimately the council reached consensus that Langlinais' guilty plea and resignation from office was the best way for government and the community to move forward. Langlinais has also lost his right to vote and to run for office. In return for his plea bargain, Langlinais has been granted immunity from further prosecution.
His fate is now in the hands of 16th Judicial District Judge John Connery, who can send Langlinais to state prison or parish jail for up to five years. Or he can offer him standard probation, set special conditions or simply send him home, facing no more punishment than he has already received. Connery stated from the bench last week that he welcomes input from the council and victims of the crime regarding Langlinais' sentence, which is scheduled for this Thursday, Aug. 2.
There will undoubtedly be friends and family in court on Thursday to defend Langlinais' character. Hulin will speak on Langlinais' behalf. "I don't feel he should serve jail time," Hulin says. "Probation is enough. Will is not a criminal." Broussard, on the other hand, wants to reiterate that the public trust has been violated. "I think when you take the oath of office, it is an honor and you should not represent your own needs and desires," he says. "We asked to hold office and promised to do the right thing. We need to be clear about Will's actions. This was not accidental mismanagement. The withholding of the information was not an oversight."
Louisiana has for too long offered a wink and a nod regarding political crimes ' but there is nothing funny about the abuse of public funds. In the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the state has paid a heavy price for its history of corruption and leniency, as national politicians and pundits have used that history as an excuse to withhold or stall recovery funding. We will never recover from our position at the bottom of the list as a place to do business if we treat corrupt politicians with kid gloves. "We need to send a message by demanding justice," Broussard says ' and we agree.
MAY 17 Here's a column from James Gill, this time in the Advocate. Gill, who has jumped ship from the Picayune, writes about the absurdity of dueling polls in this post. The numbers are so wildly different, it is obvious that both sides are "cooking the books," he writes. In particular, he looks at Sen. Mary Landrieu, and how her recent actions in DC have been received by those polled. Gill's acerbic, amusing prose is a welcome addition to a paper so conservative as to be occasionally lacking in personality.
MAY 17 Blogger Tom Aswell continues delivering bombshells about the state education department and Gov. Jindal's education "reform" efforts. In this post, he reports that students in the Shreveport area have been signed up for a charter school without their knowledge or consent. Most interesting to Aswell is how this Texas-based charter (with ties to GOP types) got the personal student information it has, if the students didn't give it.
MAY 17 This post by JR Ball in the Baton Rouge Business Report is an interesting tongue-in-cheek look at recent Baton Rouge economic development efforts. Among the items he examines is the idea that gaining a Costco makes BR a "world-class city." (Really? All you need is a different brand of Sam's? MK!) This effort, and other recent ones, are all built on the taxpayer's back, with tax zones, tax incentives and tax rebates, Ball writes.
MAY 17 Blogger CB Forgotston is critical of the legislature's reliance on a revenue-estimating committee's decision to include projected tax amnesty income in this year's forecast. That's a problem, CB posts, because the deadline for these people to pay their taxes is June 30, 2014. So when do you think these people who haven't paid taxes in years are going to pay their taxes? Surely not before June 30, and that means the money won't be there for this year's budget, he argues.
MAY 17 Here's an interesting blog out of California by a Hollywood writer, attorney and academic named Brian Alan Lane. He blogs about higher ed, and was a whistle-blower in a scandal over false credentials. In this post, he takes aim at LSU's new top dog, King Alexander. It's convoluted and a little confusing, but it sure makes Alexander a lot more interesting than he was yesterday.
MAY 17 Blogger Robert Mann writes about the LSU Board's refusal to allow Dr. Fred Cerise to testify before the legislature about Gov. Jindal's plan to close down all the state's charity hospitals and dump the poor on the private system. It's hard to imagine anyone more qualified than Cerise to testify about that, so why would anyone try to prevent him doing so? Mann thinks it is because the powers that be aren't interested in hearing any truth about the plan.
MAY 17 This post on the Louisiana Sinkhole Bugle, a blog that notes developments in the Bayou Corne and Jefferson Island salt domes, talks about a proposed expansion of the salt dome storage under Lake Peigneur in Iberia Parish. Residents are working against it for several reasons, including two biggies: the sinkhole disaster in Bayou Corne and the continuing, unexplained bubbling on the surface of the Lake.
MAY 17 NOLA police arrested more people Thursday accused of either being involved in the Mother's Day shooting or hiding the suspect afterward, this Gambit story reports. The NOLA police chief said he suspects the whole thing was gang-related and throws out a challenge to the gangs: he's got informants now, he says, and he knows a lot more than the gangs want him to know. The people who live in the neighborhoods terrorized by gangs are ready to talk, he says.
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