Friday, December 2, 2011
Press release: Former Jefferson Parish president indicted for conspiracy, wire fraud, theft
Posted by Charles Maldonado @ChMaldonado on Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 12:43 PM
According to the indictment, ex-Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard, who resigned last year, allegedly overpaid his then-wife Karen Parker — who worked as a paralegal for the parish even though she wasn't qualified — by more than $20,000 per year.
The indictment says Parker earned over $320,000 working for Jefferson Parish from 2004-2010.
The feds allege that ex-parish attorney Thomas Wilkinson, who also resigned last year, was part of the scheme as well. According to the indictment, he authorized Parker's hiring at an inflated salary and then her subsequent raises. Here's how they say he did that:
THOMAS G. WILKINSON directed a subordinate employee to cross out the pay rate for defendant KAREN PARKER of $28,838.00 and write $48,000.00 on an official Parish of Jefferson, Department of Human Services, Request to Fill a Vacant Job Form.
Her salary would jump to $64,000 by 2012 under Wilkinson's watch, despite the fact that Parker wasn't trained or certified as a paralegal, according to the indictment. And while that was allegedly happening, Broussard approved more than $80,000 in pay raises for Wilkinson.
The press release, just in from U.S. Attorney Jim Letten's office:
(Complete press release plus the full indictment after the jump)
And here's the full, 25-page indictment: aaron_broussard__karen_parker__thomas_wilkinson_ind.pdf
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