Mike Perlstein / Eyewitness News
JEFFERSON, La. -- As Jefferson Parish President John Young continues his reform push, his attention has again been drawn to the parish attorney's office. For the second time in two months, the department -- already part of a sweeping federal investigation -- has been found in violation its own rules.
Last month, two assistant parish attorneys were forced to resign because they didn't live in the parish as required by a long-standing ordinance.
“You have to be a resident of Jefferson Parish," Young said. "And it has to be a legitimate residency, not just where you have an apartment here. I’m not going to play around with the fact that, yes, you have a house in a different parish but you have an apartment that you only spend one night of the week.”
Citing privacy, Young didn’t discuss the individual cases, but records obtained by Channel 4 show the employees were Jeremy Dwyer, on staff since 2002, and Danielle Mitternight, hired in September 2010, one month before Young took office.
“We can’t as a parish, as a government, but also as a parish attorney’s office, flaunt the law. And that’s what I explained to these individuals and they understood,” Young said.
An example was set earlier by the newly appointed parish attorney, Deborah Foshee, who moved to Jefferson from St. Tammany Parish in order to take the job. Young said the waves of departures have forced him to overhaul the office.
When Young took office in October, he inherited a parish attorney’s office exposed as a tangled web of patronage and nepotism. Part of the ongoing federal probe focuses on employees who were on the law department payroll even though they worked in other departments.
Former paralegal supervisor Karen Parker Broussard has received a target letter, as did her ex-husband, former Parish President Aaron Broussard.
And earlier this year, records obtained by Channel 4 revealed that three of four paralegals did not have paralegal certificates as required by parish rules. Young fired them in January.
“Certainly if you’re going to have a parish attorney’s office, and parish attorneys are supposed to make sure that parish government operates within the confines of the law, I think it’s of ultimate importance that we make sure that department is run in accordance with the law,” Young said. “We can’t as a parish, as a government, but also as a parish attorney’s office, flaunt the law."
Young said the waves of departures have forced him to overhaul the office.
“It’s resulted in some significant turnover, but I can tell you I’ve also been able to hire some very qualified people. I’m happy to say that’s what I ran on: to rebuild the public’s confidence and trust.”
Dwyer and Mitternight could not be reached for comment. Young said they had good track records and he is open to re-hiring them if they move into Jefferson.
This story was developed in conjunction with the website The Jefferson Report, which can be seen at www.TheJeffersonReport.com.
