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NEW ORLEANS - A federal grand jury has issued a superseding indictment alleging more specifics in the government's case against former Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard and former Parish Attorney Tom Wilkinson.
The government's case appears to be getting stronger with the cooperation from two central figures - Broussard's former wife Karen Parker and former Chief Administrative Officer Tim Whitmer.
The superseding indictment gives additional detail about Parker's lack of credentials for her title of paralegal supervisor and says she was assigned to an department that already had the one staff member it needed.
The superseding indictment has 38 counts and alleges that Broussard repeatedly authorized substantial pay raises for Wilkinson from 2003 through 2010.
It also alleges that Wilkinson recommended pay raises for Parker despite her lack of work.
Altogether, Broussard authorized an 80 percent increase in Wilkinson's pay over those seven years.
Wilkinson started at $100,000 a year and by 2010 was making $184,000.
In turn, Wilkinson recommended pay increases for Parker that boosted her salary from about $48,000 in 2004 to $64,000 in 2010.
And the superseding indictment says those raises increased retirement benefits for both Wilkinson and Parker.
Legal analyst Chick Foret says the government's case has grown stronger with cooperation now from Parker who has already pled guilty to misprision of a felony, and from Tim Whitmer, who is soon expected to enter a guilty plea to misprision of a felony.
“From reading the superseding indictment, Karen Parker has filled in a lot of the blanks,” he said. “Tim Whitmer, who as the chief administrative officer, has filled in a lot of the blanks in the government’s theory of the case.”
In addition, the new counts allege that Broussard used about $36,000 in taxpayer funds to reward Wilkinson for helping a family member get into a local private school where Wilkinson was a board member.
According to the indictment, around January 2009, Broussard directed Whitmer to give Wilkinson "the maximum salary possible because Wilkinson had helped Broussard's family member get into a local private school."
“So Tim Whitmer, now cooperating with the government, who was the chief administrative officer who would have been the nuts and bolts guy to administer those raises and clearly his cooperation is helping to fill in the blanks and explain to the government in the indictment as to exactly how those raises took place,” said Foret.
The superseding indictment alleges that Wilkinson knew the only reason why Broussard gave him the $36,000 raise was because he had assisted Broussard’s family member get into the private school.
If the case goes to trial, Foret says Whitmer will provide crucial details of the alleged crimes.
“Tim Whitmer can meet with the government and can testify as to conversations, specific conversations that he had with Aaron Broussard.”
