Former Jefferson Parish President Pleads Guilty
Aaron F. Broussard, age 63, a resident of Jefferson Parish and former two-term president of Jefferson Parish, entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit bribery, wire fraud, and theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, as well as an additional count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, announced U.S. Attorney Jim Letten, FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Anderson, and IRS-Criminal Investigative Division Special Agent in Charge James Lee. Broussard faces up to 15 years’ imprisonment as a result of today’s guilty plea.
Today’s guilty plea is the fifth conviction stemming from the government’s investigation into corruption in Jefferson Parish under the tenure of former Parish President Broussard. Previously, Thomas Wilkinson, the former parish attorney for Jefferson Parish; Timothy Whitmer, the former chief administrative officer for Jefferson Parish; William Mack, the owner of First Communications Company, a parish vendor; and Karen Parker, the ex-wife of Broussard, have all entered guilty pleas to various federal felonies.
Today, Broussard admitted in open court that he conspired with Whitmer, Wilkinson, Parker, and another Jefferson Parish official to steal taxpayer funds when he and others created a sinecure paralegal supervisor position for Broussard’s ex-wife. Documents filed in federal court conclusively establish that Broussard knowingly and illegally diverted taxpayer funds to his ex-wife in the form of her salary for over six years. Further, Broussard admitted that his wife did not even possess the most basic credentials or requisite experience to hold the position of paralegal supervisor. Moreover, Broussard, knowing of the illegal arrangement concerning his ex-wife’s sham employment, repeatedly sought to conceal the illegal nature of his her employment with Jefferson Parish through multiple material misrepresentations on bank documents, federal income tax returns, and on his State of Louisiana Annual Ethics Disclosure Reports. Broussard had his wife transferred to the ID Management Office at the East Bank Regional Library in an effort to hide the fact that she was not working for the Parish Attorney’s Office as a paralegal supervisor and was not performing any work as a paralegal. Broussard also admitted to illegally giving pay raises to Parish Attorney Tom Wilkinson.
Broussard admitted that his wife’s salary benefited him financially as well. In total, Broussard and his wife improperly diverted over $323,308 in salary over the period of six years, which was over $129,000 more than the individual who held the position of ID/security system coordinator.
In addition, Broussard admitted to receiving numerous bribes totalling over $60,000 while parish president. Specifically, Broussard sought and accepted bribes and payoffs from William Mack in exchange for Broussard’s assistance and intervention on Mack’s behalf. Broussard, while parish president, intervened for Mack in order to assist Mack in receiving parish contracts for telecommunications services and equipment, and Broussard attempted to conceal the relationship with Mack by creating a sham recusal letter. Previously, Mack plead guilty to paying bribes to Broussard for undertaking official acts to benefit Mack’s company.
Broussard faces a maximum penalty of not more than five years in prison as to count one, and 10 years as to count 27 of the second superseding indictment, followed by up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. In summary, Broussard could be sentenced up to 15 years in prison and fined $500,000. Broussard also faces substantial forfeiture related to his crimes as a result of today’s convictions.
Sentencing is set for February 25, 2013, before Senior U.S. District Judge Hayden Head.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office
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