Category: Uncategorized

Newly-Elected LSPC Chairman Eulis Simien, Jr.

Literally days after Governor John Bel Edwards was sworn into office, a group of retired troopers asked the Louisiana State Police Commission (LSPC) to investigate campaign contributions made by the Louisiana State Trooper’s Association (LSTA) into Gov. Edwards’ 2015 campaign for Governor.  They asserted that a “straw donor,” David Young, LSTA’s Executive Director, made the contributions, which totaled $8,000, through his personal account but was then reimbursed by the LSTA for those contributions, which constitutes a violation of law.

The LSPC assigned T. Taylor Townsend, the head of Gov. Edwards’ Super PAC, to conduct the investigation.  Townsend recommended that the LSPC summarily dismiss the matter in stating that the LSPC had no jurisdiction over the LSTA.  One retired trooper, Leon “Bucky” Millet, has consistently requested a written report from Townsend and has repeatedly requested that the LSPC place the item on the LSPC’s agenda.  Each time the item was discussed, the LSPC said that Townsend was declining to issue a written report, and all the LSPC had to hang its hat on was his oral statement that the matter should be dismissed.

Former LSPC Executive Director Cathy Derbonne has publicly stated that the LSPC strong-armed her resignation (which she granted effective January 13, 2017) as a result of her having reported the illegal campaign contributions.  The Louisiana State Board of Ethics investigated the matter and fined the LSTA $5,000 for the violations.  Former LSPC Member Lloyd Grafton, who resigned on February 9, 2017 in frustration of the treatment he asserts Derbonne received, bluntly characterized the campaign contributions, which Edwards refunded but several other political candidates, including former Gov. Bobby Jindal, did not, as “pure money laundering.”

Millet’s efforts appeared to possibly bear fruit on Thursday, November 9, 2017, when the LSPC, after convening a controversial executive session, shocked observers by voting to set aside Townsend’s findings and re-open an investigation into the campaign contributions.  Sound Off Louisiana’s Robert Burns openly questioned the stated justification for executive session, which was “pending litigation.”  He contended that there was no “pending litigation” and the mere presence of an internal docket number applicable only for the LSPC did not constitute pending litigation before a state judicial court.  Nevertheless, LSPC legal counsel Lenore Feeney stated her opinion that the matter would be assessed as “pending litigation” due to the matter appearing before the LSPC.

Feeney’s response to Burns notwithstanding, just before the regular meeting reconvened after executive session had concluded, Feeney quickly announced that as a “matter of record” the reason for the executive session was being changed to “investigative proceedings regarding allegations of misconduct.”  Burns, who had not had time to get his camera turned on to capture Feeney’s stated change, asked newly-elected Chairman Eulis Simien, Jr. (former Chairman T. J. Doss and Vice Chairman Monica Manzella resigned in disgrace after disturbing videos taken by Burns of the two exiting a movie theater and checking into the Watermark hotel were published by fellow blogger Tom Aswell that same day) if Feeney could restate the reason for the change in justification for executive session for the benefit of his camera.  Simien tersely denied the request and reacted tersely to Burns’ second request for a repeat.  Further, Simien continued his audience-unfriendly demeanor we can only assume will be maintained going forward in dressing Millet down.

Given all the turmoil of LSP and the LSPC, including the following Lee Zurik investigative series installments on LSP payroll fraud:  Installments  one, two, three,  four,  five, and six Simien’s terse language and subsequent condescending commentary directed at audience members, which we’ll report on separately, would seem particularly inopportunely timed.  Nevertheless, the following video captures this surprising LSPC action.

LSPC discusses “Investigation of LSTA political contributions.”

For a 10-segment breakdown of the November 9, 2017 LSPC meeting, CLICK HERE.

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Louisiana Auctioneer Licensing Board Member Darlene Jacobs-Levy

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, on May 9, 2016, provided a (being kind) feeble explanation for his ouster of Rev. Freddie Lee Phillips, Louisiana’s first and only African American auctioneer in its history, only four days before from the Louisiana Auctioneer Licensing Board (LALB).  That May 9, 2016 date was also only 15 days after Edwards made the Phillips appointment.

Later, Phillips would learn that Darlene Jacobs-Levy covertly sought to oust him, but he simply accepted that fact and subsequently founded what is now the only in-state auction school:  The Freddie Phillips School of Auctioneering.  That school was approved by the LALB on March 6, 2017 with Ms. Jacobs-Levy having specifically asked if Rev. Phillips anticipated having online instruction at the school.  Phillips responded that he did, and no LALB member, including Jacobs-Levy, who voted in favor of licensing the school, voiced any opposition or concern.  Nevertheless, at the September 11, 2017 LALB meeting, Jacobs-Levy voted to deny the first graduate of the school, Derek Perry, his auction license.  She was the lone dissenting vote.

At the November 6, 2017 meeting, Phillips made known his preference for “peace and not war,” and school instructor Robert Burns, sensing Jacobs-Levy’s continued hostile sentiments toward Phillips, sought to have Jacobs-Levy recuse herself as a result of a damning email (see image below) wherein Jacobs-Levy cast Phillips in a very desparaging light.  As evidenced by the video below, Jacobs-Levy sternly rejected any notion that she recuse herself; furthermore, she went so far as to state:  “I stand by every word and allegation of that email.”:

Discussion entailing impending vote for John Gore, the second graduate of the  Freddie Phillips School of Auctioneering, to be licensed as a Louisiana auctioneer.  (See damning email read into the record below).
Recorded phone call between Jacobs and Burns of 5/6/16 referenced above.

Jacobs-Levy took matters further when she attempted a Hail Mary outlandish, unsubstantiated, and totally false allegation regarding instruction at the school:

Jacobs-Levy falsely accuses Phillips and/or Burns of “giving out legal advice.”

Jacobs-Levy makes her outlandish claim entailing the school’s illustration of a lawsuit against Gilmore Auction wherein the plaintiff makes the allegation that Frances Braud, Gilmore’s business partner and a real estate broker, “advised petitioner (buyer) that she had to wait until insurance proceeds were known.” The Plaintiff further alleged that Braud specifically said, “there was no need to get an attorney involved.”  The school teaches the exact opposite and emphasized that Braud could have and should have advised, “It may be in your best interest to seek legal counsel.”  How ironic that Jacobs-Levy would then outlandishly state that Burns and/or Phillips are “giving legal guidance” when, in reality, the guidance was to seek the services of an attorney!!

As to her statements about the “legal interpretation of the judgment,” the judgment is self-explanatory and states what it states!  Lawsuit illustrations of this nature are replete throughout the school’s online video instruction, and Jacobs-Levy, rather than assisting aspiring auctioneers to learn from others’ mistakes (lesson 17, informal title searches, demonstrates instructor Burns’ own misfortune by not engaging in an informal title search before taking on his first real estate auction client and the ensuing mess he got himself into) and thereby not repeat them, Jacobs-Levy is actively working to shut this school, together with the invaluable instruction it provides, down!

Perhaps such shoot-from-the-hip, ill-advised statements by Jacobs-Levy are to be expected given that she totally imploded in a recent “wrongful death” civil suit by making similar shoot-from-the-hip statements in court (after having 13 years to prepare for trial!!).  Despite her 13 years to prepare, Jacobs-Levy had the following horrendous performances in open court:

1.  Stating to LSP Trooper Phillip Tagliarino, after he’d responded to a question of whether he’d called for backup with “Yes, ma’am,” that, “It’s not on the video!”  She then had the embarrassment of playing the video in open court, only for the entire courtroom, including three jurors who raised their hands upon him calling for backup, readily seeing and hearing the man call for backup!  Just what does the family of Mr. Arway, who’d retained Jacobs-Levy and waited 13 years for this disastrous episode, think of their counsel upon that episode?  Likely not much.  What does the bankruptcy trustee who’d agreed to retain Jacobs-Levy to pursue the claim (and thereby expend precious resources of the bankrupt estate) think of that horrendous performance in court? It probably wasn’t that favorable would be our guess!!

2.  Asking of Trooper Tagliarino, after he’d responded to her question of why he didn’t retreat to his vehicle by stating, “because that would violate every aspect of training we’re given in these circumstances,” the following question:  “Oh, so for you, it was not an option?”  Do we really need to elaborate on the utterly asinine nature of that question?  Tagliarino was justifiably baffled as to what kind of response he should even provide.

It’s one thing for Darlene Jacobs-Levy to make a complete fool of herself in the Tagliarino trial in the manner in which she did.  No doubt Andrew Blanchfiled, LSP and Trooper Phillip Tagliarino’s defense counsel, was delighted to have her and her obvious anti-law-enforcement bias as his best weapon for winning over the jury.  If so, she was clearly effective given a 12-0 jury verdict in favor of LSP and Tagliarino in just over 90 minutes of deliberations.  It’s quite another thing to see the incredible degree to which Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards is so willing to let Jacobs-Levy embarrass him and his administration.  Nevertheless, only he can bring a stop to it and, if he is unwilling to do so, we will be more than happy to continue to expose her antics and any obvious embarassment to him and his so-called “Honor Code!”

If you would like to be added to our Sound Off Louisiana email list to be notified of future Sound Off posts, simply scroll to the very bottom of this page (mobile devices) or to the end of the right-hand column (desktops) and supply your email address within the subscribe box.  You’ll then receive an automated email from Word Press, and all you have to do is click on the blue “confirm follow” bar contained within that email, and you’ll begin receiving great posts such as the preceding one above. 

Louisiana State Law Institute Children’s Code Committee Member Richard Pittman

The Louisiana State Law Institute (LSLI) is a state agency most people have likely never heard of.  Originally founded in 1938 and funded by Legislative appropriation, its role is to advise and recommend statute changes to Louisiana’s criminal, civil, and family laws.  Its composition is concentrated in judges, attorneys, and representatives of various agencies such as the Louisiana District Attorney’s Association, etc.

Sound Off Louisiana recently attended the Committee on Children’s Code for their regularly-scheduled meeting.  As depicted below, our camera was not warmly received:

LSLI’s Children’s Code Committee and Sound Off Louisiana‘s Burns spar over the videotaping of the meeting.

Once the issue of videotaping was resolved, the committee commenced with its business of the day.  Sound Off Louisiana will be providing several features of their discussion topics, and in light of recent features entailing Louisiana’s prisoner-release program, our feature for today entails the Children’s Code Committee discussion of a proposal to, with limited exceptions, ban the practice of shackling juvenile defendants in Louisiana’s courtrooms.  Highlights from that discussion are presented in the following video clip:

LSLI’s Children’s Code Committee discusses anti-shackling proposal for Louisiana’s juvenile court defendants.

For those curious of the composition of the committee, the following video is them introducing themselves and the list of membership beneath the video is derived from LSLI’s website, which is linked above.

LSLI Children’s Code members and audience members introduce themselves before the 9/29/17 meeting.

Children’s Code Committee:

Karen Hallstrom, Reporter, New Orleans
Jan Byland, Baton Rouge
Andrea B. Carroll, Baton Rouge
Paula C. David, Baton Rouge
Ernestine S. Gray, New Orleans
Margot E. Hammond, New Orleans
Kaaren Hebert, Lafayette
Joan E. Hunt, Baton Rouge
Nancy Amato Konrad, Harvey
Hector Linares, Baton Rouge
Lucy McGough, Baton Rouge
Martha Moran, Baton Rouge
Richard M. Pittman, Baton Rouge
Samuel A. Shealy, Ruston
Kristi Garcia Spinosa, Baton Rouge
Carmen D. Weisner, Baton Rouge
Isabel Wingerter, Baton Rouge

If you would like to be added to our Sound Off Louisiana email list to be notified of future Sound Off posts, simply scroll to the very bottom of this page (mobile devices) or to the end of the right-hand column (desktops) and supply your email address within the subscribe box.  You’ll then receive an automated email from Word Press, and all you have to do is click on the blue “confirm follow” bar contained within that email, and you’ll begin receiving great posts such as the preceding one above.