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Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 20:08:27 -0400
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From: "James M. Atkinson" <jm..._at_tscm.com>
Subject: The Rise and Fall of Randy Hundley
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http://www.theind.com/cover2.asp?CID=3D313503798
The Rise and Fall of Randy Hundley
How decades of cronyism and political grudges=20
culminated in a grand jury indictment of Lafayette Police Chief Randy Hundl=
ey
By Nathan Stubbs | 6/28/2006
Interim Police Chief Randy Hundley in May 2004
Photo by Terri Fensel
It=92s 1993, and Randy Hundley is hunched over an=20
open filing cabinet. Using two pencils to hold=20
open and flip through officer personnel files, he=20
leans in, straining to read the documents.
Suddenly Jeanette Luque, secretary to Lafayette=20
Police Chief Gary Copes, walks in the office,=20
startling Hundley. It=92s an awkward moment,=20
especially given the accusations flying around=20
the department that Hundley and other officers=20
have been leaking classified police personnel=20
records to Mayor Kenny Bowen=92s office. Recently,=20
Sgt. Les Jones =AD furious over comments that Bowen=20
made on his public access TV show about Jones=92=20
past =AD suggested that every personnel file in the=20
department be fingerprinted to find out who was=20
looking through them. Bowen had just forcibly=20
promoted Hundley to head Internal Affairs, over=20
objections from Chief Copes and a group of seven=20
officers that petitioned the civil service board.=20
As Internal Affairs supervisor, Hundley now had=20
unfettered access to officer personnel files.
When Luque walked in and unexpectedly found=20
Hundley going through the personnel files, she=20
asked him what he was doing. Hundley, still using=20
the pencils to prop open a file, replied that he=20
just needed to check something on a case. And=20
because of Sgt. Jones, he didn=92t want his fingerprints on them.
The story of Luque=92s run-in with Hundley made its=20
way around the police department and reinforced=20
the notion that Hundley could not be trusted. And=20
Hundley was left wondering whether Luque was=20
among those in the department who suspected him of wrongdoing.
Thirteen years later, Hundley and Luque=92s mutual=20
distrust is playing out in dramatic fashion.=20
Hundley is now facing charges that, six months=20
after being named the city=92s interim police=20
chief, he conspired to place a secret listening=20
device on Luque=92s desk while she was working as=20
his secretary in an adjacent office.
=93Hundley obviously knows he has no loyalty with=20
Jeanette because of that thing [in 1993],=94 says=20
Arthur =93Bubba=94 Cormier, a retired police officer.=20
=93He could have had some animosity toward=20
Jeanette. I=92m kind of surprised he didn=92t try=20
something to get rid of her earlier than he did.=94
A gag order prevents police officers from talking=20
publicly about the events surrounding the Hundley=20
case. But The Independent Weekly interviewed nine=20
former and current city police officers =AD many of=20
whom requested anonymity for this story out of=20
fear of reprisal from the police department =AD as=20
well as attorneys and other sources close to the=20
case. And the felony charges now facing Hundley=20
and three other Lafayette police officers =AD all=20
of whom retired under duress last week =AD are the=20
culmination of longstanding resentments and=20
divisions within the Lafayette Police Department.
Hundley joined the Lafayette police force in the=20
mid-1970s. He was a somewhat gangly, mild=20
mannered patrolman in his early 20s with tousled=20
sandy hair who came from a family of police=20
officers. His father was a state trooper in=20
Lafayette, a career path that Randy=92s older brother Larry followed.
The Independent Weekly=92s request for general=20
police department records related to Hundley=92s=20
career was denied by Lafayette Consolidated=20
Government because it involved Hundley=92s=20
personnel file. However, sources say Hundley has=20
had a remarkably undistinguished career.
=93I think he=92s basically a good guy, but I don=92t=20
think he was a leader [in the department],=94 says=20
one of Hundley=92s former supervisors. =93I always found him to do a good j=
ob.=94
=93There=92s people in the department that we call=20
invisible,=94 said another retired officer.=20
=93Because they really don=92t do anything but just=20
get by. They never excelled, never did anything=20
beyond what was required, and Hundley was one of those people.=94
Hundley=92s inconspicuous reputation began to=20
change in the early =9290s when Kenny Bowen=20
re-emerged as mayor of Lafayette. A controversial=20
figure, the now deceased mayor frequently clashed=20
with then-police Chief Gary Copes and sought=20
increased control over the police department.=20
Soon, several officers, including Randy Hundley,=20
were accused of acting as pawns for the mayor and his political agenda.
=93It was really a rough time at the police=20
department,=94 Cormier says. =93Because officers were=20
using subversion and going to Bowen and giving=20
him dirt on their supervisors because they didn=92t=20
like them. Bowen had informers in every department.=94
In the summer of 1993, Bowen=92s secretary, Mary=20
Parker Brown, told a TV reporter that Hundley=20
secretly delivered the personnel files of fellow=20
police officers to Bowen. Police Chief Copes told=20
The Advocate that Hundley frequently met with=20
Bowen behind closed doors without his knowledge=20
to discuss the police force=92s pay plan and transfers within the departmen=
t.
When Bowen appointed Hundley to the top job in=20
Internal Affairs that year, a group of seven=20
police officers filed a petition with the civil=20
service board asking that Hundley be denied the=20
Internal Affairs job on the basis that he could=20
not be trusted with classified information. They=20
also claimed Hundley=92s promotion came as a result of favors he did for Bo=
wen.
In their petition, the officers wrote: =93It is=20
crucial that officers are hired based upon=20
qualifications and not as a result of political=20
promises or connections. Unfortunately we find=20
ourselves in a very vulnerable position at this=20
time. We cannot afford to have someone in such a=20
sensitive position who willingly violates police=20
protocol and chain of command to further his career with political favors.=
=94
Ironically, among the seven officers rallying=20
against Hundley at the time were Brian Butler and=20
Mike Lavergne =AD two officers recently indicted=20
with Hundley on charges of conspiring to set up an illegal bugging device.
The other five officers who signed the petition=20
were Bob Johnson, Larry Bailey, Angelo Iorio,=20
Paul Mouton and Arthur Cormier. Lacking any hard=20
evidence to back up their claims, the petition was eventually dropped.
=93It was a hot story,=94 says Cormier. =93People in=20
the department started calling us the=20
=91Magnificent 7=92 whenever we filed this petition.=20
And then when we let it fall by the wayside, they=20
started calling us =91the seven dwarves.=92=94
When Randy Hundley became acting police chief in=20
February 2004, it represented a power shift=20
within the police department. Hundley had never=20
been considered one of the department=92s top=20
candidates for chief, but that changed when his=20
childhood friend and new City-Parish President=20
Joey Durel appointed Hundley interim chief. Once=20
Hundley ascended to the top position, he=20
formulated an inner circle of allies who were all=20
hungry for change in the department.
In the halls of the police department, the group=20
was derisively referred to as the Pet Shop Boys =AD=20
a reference to Durel=92s Pet Shop, where Hundley=20
and Mayor Durel worked together in high school.
Hundley=92s right hand man was Maj. Rick Peterson,=20
who was always at the chief=92s side and sometimes=20
served as his driver. Peterson recently retired=20
from the department, shortly after state police=20
began their investigation into the bugging allegations.
The group also included all the officers who=20
faced charges before a grand jury two weeks ago:=20
Mike Lavergne, Brian Butler, Casey Fowler and=20
Shannon Hundley, Randy Hundley=92s nephew. (Fowler=20
was the only officer not indicted.)
Within Hundley=92s circle, Butler, a tech-savvy=20
narcotics agent who sported a long ponytail, and=20
Lavergne, a sharp, ambitious veteran officer,=20
were probably the most experienced in legal=20
bugging and wiretap sting operations conducted by the department.
=93Those two should have known positively what was=20
illegal,=94 says one source. =93Butler worked=20
narcotics for years, and he knows the wiretap.=20
He=92s the tech guy, he knows what he=92s doing. He=92s worked a lot of cas=
es.=94
Despite avoiding indictment, several sources say=20
Fowler was likely a primary player in the bugging=20
operation. =93He=92s probably the strongest=20
personality of them all,=94 one former officer says=20
about Fowler. =93He was knowledgeable of what=20
happened. I think he=92s good at pumping other=20
people and then laying back and letting other=20
people do the work. He=92s an instigator. He=92s been=20
a guy behind the scenes that manipulates=20
situations. But he never gets himself into any kind of trouble.=94
Prior to Hundley=92s appointment as chief, Fowler=20
and his allies had long been shut out by key=20
decision makers in the department. With Hundley=20
in charge, they seized the opportunity to=20
consolidate power and move up in the ranks.
=93It was a case of the have-nots in the department=20
who finally got in the position to have,=94 says a=20
retired officer. =93And none of them were really=20
capable or qualified to handle the authority or=20
power that they had, and regardless if they=92re=20
guilty or not, I don=92t think it was an honorable=20
thing or a professional thing that they did.=94
Hundley=92s brief tenure as chief, which spanned 26=20
months, was a tumultuous time for the relatively=20
small police force and its 315 employees.=20
Officers were transferred across the department=92s=20
four divisions a total of 190 times under=20
Hundley=92s watch, an average of more than seven=20
per month, according to records provided by the=20
city=92s Human Resources department. (This number=20
doesn=92t include straight promotions and demotions=20
within each department, a system almost entirely controlled by Civil Servic=
e.)
Officers viewed as unfriendly to the chief and=20
his supporters were transferred to undesirable=20
positions while Hundley=92s friends moved up.=20
According to two sources, one officer, Bill=20
McGovern, made some complaints to city prosecutor=20
Gary Haynes about Hundley and the department.=20
Shortly thereafter, McGovern, who had just made=20
police captain, was told that he was on =93the=20
wrong side of the fence and needed to get on the right side of the fence.=
=94
Tensions mounted to the point that McGovern began=20
the process for retirement earlier this year but=20
decided to stay when word of Hundley=92s legal problems began to surface.
Being on the right side of the fence brought=20
opportunities. Lavergne became a captain and was=20
placed in charge of Internal Affairs. Hundley=20
also pushed to create two new police major=20
positions =AD one step below chief =AD through the=20
department=92s new Compstat reorganization. Both=20
Peterson and Fowler were promoted to police major=20
this year, considerably enhancing their retirement benefits.
=93All of a sudden, [Fowler] is serving in the=20
capacity of assistant chief,=94 says one former=20
officer who describes Fowler as vindictive. =93He=92s=20
got all these axes to grind, and if you don=92t=20
have a strong chief that can see that and stop=20
it, then it=92s just a runaway train, and that=92s what happened here.=94
Perceptions of favoritism have always existed=20
within the police department. =93There used to be a=20
standing joke in the department,=94 says Interim=20
Police Chief Jim Craft, =93that if you didn=92t play=20
golf or fish you couldn=92t get into the detectives=20
section because you had some supervisors there=20
that liked to play golf and fish.=94
But Craft acknowledges that grudges among=20
different factions in the department got out of control in the past two yea=
rs.
=93There were a lot of cliques in the department,=94=20
Craft says, =93made up of officers of varying=20
ranks. There were occasions when officers had=20
disagreements, and those persons in the right=20
camp could walk into the chief=92s office and=20
actually have people above them transferred=20
because they didn=92t like them. And it happened a=20
number of times over the past two years.=94
Some sources contend that Hundley=92s obsession=20
with rooting out his dissenters within the=20
department sparked the idea of listening in on=20
employee conversations =AD a practice that may have=20
taken root in the Internal Affairs division,=20
under Lavergne and Butler. One attorney, who=20
spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he was=20
involved in a confidential meeting with a client=20
and Internal Affairs investigators two years ago.=20
After the meeting, the attorney says his client=20
was surprised to find that other officers in the=20
department immediately knew about specific issues=20
that were discussed behind closed doors. =93There=20
was a general impression that you had to watch=20
what you were saying and where you were saying it because the walls had ear=
s.=94
The story of how a bugging device was secretly=20
placed under the desk of Luque, the chief=92s=20
secretary, dates back to an Internal Affairs=20
investigation into overtime pay that began in August 2004.
The primary target of the investigation was Lt.=20
Mike DiBenedetto, who was placed on=20
administrative leave along with his two immediate=20
supervisors, Capt. Dwight Faul and Maj. Randy Simon.
For longtime officers in the police department,=20
it wasn=92t surprising to see Hundley go after DiBenedetto.
A hard-nosed investigator and former competitive=20
bodybuilder who helped crack several big cases=20
within the police department, DiBenedetto first=20
clashed with Hundley about a decade ago when the=20
two worked together in the detectives division.
=93DiBenn has a big personality,=94 says former=20
officer Cormier. =93He=92s outspoken. He=92s not afraid=20
to tell someone, =91You=92re a f--king idiot.=92 He=92s=20
not a yes man. He tells it like it is, so I could=20
see how he could be intimidating to some people.=94
In addition to their personality differences, the=20
two found themselves at political odds when=20
DiBenedetto signed a recall petition in the early=20
=9290s against Hundley=92s friend, Mayor Kenny Bowen.
Security work for the Lafayette nightclub scene=20
also divided DiBenedetto and Hundley. DiBenedetto=20
helped head up off-duty security for the Johnston=20
Street nightspot The Plaza. The Plaza=92s chief=20
competitor was Graham Central Station, where=20
Hundley organized security prior to becoming chief.
=93Bar owners are ridiculously competitive and=20
cutthroat,=94 one former officer says, =93and=20
sometimes they would try to get police officers=20
involved when they shouldn=92t have.=94
Shortly after Hundley placed DiBenedetto on=20
administrative leave, DiBenedetto got an attorney=20
and fought back. In a petition to the Civil=20
Service board in September 2004 appealing his=20
continued status on administrative leave,=20
DiBenedetto alleged =93a pattern of persecution=20
against him by Interim Chief Hundley.=94
The petition states that Hundley previously=20
brought a =93petty=94 claim against DiBenedetto to=20
former Chief Ron Boudreaux and that soon after=20
becoming interim chief, Hundley tried to transfer=20
DiBenedetto out of criminal investigations and=20
into patrols =AD =93in effect a demotion=94 =AD before=20
meeting with =93vehement objection from Majors Jim Craft and Randy Simon.=
=94
Hundley may have been justified in challenging=20
DiBenedetto=92s overtime pay. Records from 2004=20
show DiBenedetto was racking up high amounts of overtime pay.
An attorney close to the case says DiBenedetto=20
was exploiting a loophole in the system that=20
allowed supervisors to accumulate overtime duty=20
for being =93on-call=94 =AD sometimes while performing=20
other off-duty work. In addition to working club=20
security, investigation records indicate=20
DiBenedetto also was working for a local dry=20
cleaner, helping collect on bad checks in=20
exchange for free dry cleaning services.
=93They thought [DiBenedetto] was having his cake=20
and eating it too,=94 the attorney says. However,=20
the way DiBenedetto was tracking his overtime=20
wasn=92t an uncommon practice in the department,=20
notes the attorney. =93The people that were casting=20
stones weren=92t necessarily innocent either,=94 the=20
attorney continues. =93That was the frustrating=20
part. There were favorites being played. Some=20
people were allowed to break the rules, and others weren=92t.=94
While the investigation continued, the three=20
high-ranking department veterans were kept in=20
limbo with the department for almost three=20
months. In the end, the officers escaped the=20
investigation with minor reprimand from the city,=20
and all three retired. DiBenedetto is now head of=20
security for River Ranch and Sugar Mill Pond.=20
Faul works security at Our Lady of Lourdes=20
Hospital, and Simon has moved to Austin.
During the investigation, many officers in the=20
department were upset over the way the case was=20
handled. It was particularly troubling to them=20
that Faul and Simon, both well-respected=20
professionals in bureaucratic office positions,=20
were caught up in the overtime dispute. Hundley=20
caught wind that some employees in the department=20
were feeding information they heard about the=20
investigation back to Faul, Simon and=20
DiBenedetto. Employees suspected of leaking=20
information included Hundley=92s secretary, Luque,=20
who was friends with Simon and Faul.
=93They all got caught up in their own personal=20
little vendettas,=94 one source says. =93The bottom=20
line, they thought she was leaking information to DiBenedetto.=94
DiBenedetto declined to comment for this story.
Luque, who still works at the police department=20
as secretary to acting chief Craft, has served as=20
secretary to four Lafayette police chiefs and=20
former District Attorney Nathan Stansbury. That=20
she was targeted as someone who could not be=20
trusted is still disturbing to many police officers.
=93She was by the book,=94 says one former officer.=20
=93She would have never done anything illegal.=94
How Luque and others discovered her desk was=20
bugged is still unclear. One source says the=20
bugging device was uncovered when an unsuspecting=20
officer overheard part of the crew that was=20
indicted laughing about conversations they heard=20
through the secret microphone.
When the officer questioned them about how they=20
had heard conversations in Luque=92s office =AD and=20
the legality of eavesdropping on employee=20
conversations =96 they allegedly responded, =93It=92s a=20
government building, we can do what we want.=94
Two weeks ago, Hundley=92s attorney, Jason=20
Robideaux, told reporters in the parish=20
courthouse that the Internal Affairs=20
investigation into DiBenedetto, Faul, and Simon=20
was expanded to include surveillance of city=20
police employees, including Luque, who were=20
allegedly passing case documents to attorneys outside the department.
Robideaux also said Hundley had approved the=20
operation under the assumption that it would be a=20
lawful video surveillance within the department,=20
and that the other officers acted alone when they=20
installed the audio bug. He also claims that when=20
Hundley discovered the microphone in his=20
secretary=92s office, he personally removed the device.
Just what kind of records Luque was accused of=20
leaking (officer payroll and overtime data is all=20
public record) remains unclear. Robideaux and=20
Hundley did not return follow-up calls for=20
comment. Robideaux believes the other indicted=20
officers are blaming Hundley for masterminding the listening operation.
Assistant District Attorney Bill Babin, who is=20
serving as prosecutor in the case against Hundley=20
and the other three officers, has offered few=20
details about the case evidence, except to say=20
that the listening device in question was=20
purchased at Radio Shack and in use within the department around August 200=
4.
The four indicted officers are scheduled for=20
arraignment July 18, at which point they will=20
enter their official pleas. Prosecutors hope to=20
take the case to trial before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Interim Police Chief Craft is trying=20
to reestablish trust and unity within his police=20
force. =93My philosophy is I want to be a uniter=20
and not a divider,=94 he says. =93That was the=20
message to the command staff: help me heal the=20
divisions within the department. And that=92s what=20
we=92ve been doing since March 29. A lot of=20
officers worked with those guys very closely for=20
a long time, so there are a lot of mixed feelings=20
about what happened. Some officers are very=20
upset, and others say it=92s an isolated incident,=20
and we have nothing to do with it.=94
=93I say it=92s an isolated incident within the=20
administrative staff of the chief and does not=20
affect our ability to provide services to the=20
public,=94 he continues. =93It stops at that door=20
right there,=94 Craft says, pointing out of the=20
chief=92s office to the door of the administrative=20
wing of the police department. =93I think the=20
majority of the citizens of Lafayette believe the=20
department=92s integrity is intact.=94
One recently retired officer believes the=20
Lafayette Police Department reached its lowest point during Hundley=92s ten=
ure.
=93The morale had gotten really bad,=94 he says.=20
=93Being a cop is a tough job. A lot of it is=20
really negative. The only thing you have is being=20
able to do something for your career and your=20
community and you should be comfortable under=20
your own roof and your office, and shouldn=92t have=20
to worry about somebody bugging you or telling=20
you you=92re on the wrong side of the fence.=94
The entire episode isn=92t just an embarrassment=20
for the police force. It=92s also a black eye for=20
Joey Durel and his administration; Durel=20
appointed Hundley after touting his=20
qualifications and pushing to waive the college=20
degree requirement that would have prevented his=20
childhood friend from even applying for the job.
=93Hundley got an opportunity that not too many=20
people in his position would have gotten,=94 says=20
one veteran officer. =93They lowered the bar for=20
him. You would have hoped that he would have=20
taken advantage of that opportunity.=20
Unfortunately he took advantage of it in the wrong way.=94
We Hunt Spies, We Stop Espionage, We Kill Bugs, and We Plug Leaks.
James M. Atkinson, President and Sr. Engineer
Granite Island Group
127 Eastern Avenue #291
Gloucester, MA 01930-8008
Phone: (978) 546-3803
Fax: (978) 546-9467
Web: <
http://www.tscm.com/>
http://www.tscm.com/
E-Mail: <mailto:jm..._at_tscm.com>jm..._at_tscm.com
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<body>
<font size=3D2><br>
<a href=3D"
http://www.theind.com/cover2.asp?CID=3D313503798" eudora=3D"auto=
url">
http://www.theind.com/cover2.asp?CID=3D313503798<br><br>
</a>The Rise and Fall of Randy Hundley <br>
How decades of cronyism and political grudges culminated in a grand jury
indictment of Lafayette Police Chief Randy Hundley <br>
By Nathan Stubbs | 6/28/2006<br><br>
Interim Police Chief Randy Hundley in May 2004<br>
Photo by Terri Fensel<br><br>
It=92s 1993, and Randy Hundley is hunched over an open filing cabinet.
Using two pencils to hold open and flip through officer personnel files,
he leans in, straining to read the documents. <br><br>
Suddenly Jeanette Luque, secretary to Lafayette Police Chief Gary Copes,
walks in the office, startling Hundley. It=92s an awkward moment,
especially given the accusations flying around the department that
Hundley and other officers have been leaking classified police personnel
records to Mayor Kenny Bowen=92s office. Recently, Sgt. Les Jones =AD furio=
us
over comments that Bowen made on his public access TV show about Jones=92
past =AD suggested that every personnel file in the department be
fingerprinted to find out who was looking through them. Bowen had just
forcibly promoted Hundley to head Internal Affairs, over objections from
Chief Copes and a group of seven officers that petitioned the civil
service board. As Internal Affairs supervisor, Hundley now had unfettered
access to officer personnel files. <br><br>
When Luque walked in and unexpectedly found Hundley going through the
personnel files, she asked him what he was doing. Hundley, still using
the pencils to prop open a file, replied that he just needed to check
something on a case. And because of Sgt. Jones, he didn=92t want his
fingerprints on them. <br><br>
The story of Luque=92s run-in with Hundley made its way around the police
department and reinforced the notion that Hundley could not be trusted.
And Hundley was left wondering whether Luque was among those in the
department who suspected him of wrongdoing. <br><br>
Thirteen years later, Hundley and Luque=92s mutual distrust is playing out
in dramatic fashion. Hundley is now facing charges that, six months after
being named the city=92s interim police chief, he conspired to place a
secret listening device on Luque=92s desk while she was working as his
secretary in an adjacent office. <br><br>
=93Hundley obviously knows he has no loyalty with Jeanette because of that
thing [in 1993],=94 says Arthur =93Bubba=94 Cormier, a retired police offic=
er.
=93He could have had some animosity toward Jeanette. I=92m kind of surprise=
d
he didn=92t try something to get rid of her earlier than he did.=94 <br><br=
>
A gag order prevents police officers from talking publicly about the
events surrounding the Hundley case. But The Independent Weekly
interviewed nine former and current city police officers =AD many of whom
requested anonymity for this story out of fear of reprisal from the
police department =AD as well as attorneys and other sources close to the
case. And the felony charges now facing Hundley and three other Lafayette
police officers =AD all of whom retired under duress last week =AD are the
culmination of longstanding resentments and divisions within the
Lafayette Police Department. <br><br>
Hundley joined the Lafayette police force in the mid-1970s. He was a
somewhat gangly, mild mannered patrolman in his early 20s with tousled
sandy hair who came from a family of police officers. His father was a
state trooper in Lafayette, a career path that Randy=92s older brother
Larry followed. <br><br>
The Independent Weekly=92s request for general police department records
related to Hundley=92s career was denied by Lafayette Consolidated
Government because it involved Hundley=92s personnel file. However, sources
say Hundley has had a remarkably undistinguished career. <br><br>
=93I think he=92s basically a good guy, but I don=92t think he was a leader=
[in
the department],=94 says one of Hundley=92s former supervisors. =93I always
found him to do a good job.=94 <br><br>
=93There=92s people in the department that we call invisible,=94 said anoth=
er
retired officer. =93Because they really don=92t do anything but just get by=
.
They never excelled, never did anything beyond what was required, and
Hundley was one of those people.=94 <br><br>
Hundley=92s inconspicuous reputation began to change in the early =9290s wh=
en
Kenny Bowen re-emerged as mayor of Lafayette. A controversial figure, the
now deceased mayor frequently clashed with then-police Chief Gary Copes
and sought increased control over the police department. Soon, several
officers, including Randy Hundley, were accused of acting as pawns for
the mayor and his political agenda. <br><br>
=93It was really a rough time at the police department,=94 Cormier says.
=93Because officers were using subversion and going to Bowen and giving him
dirt on their supervisors because they didn=92t like them. Bowen had
informers in every department.=94 <br><br>
In the summer of 1993, Bowen=92s secretary, Mary Parker Brown, told a TV
reporter that Hundley secretly delivered the personnel files of fellow
police officers to Bowen. Police Chief Copes told The Advocate that
Hundley frequently met with Bowen behind closed doors without his
knowledge to discuss the police force=92s pay plan and transfers within the
department. <br><br>
When Bowen appointed Hundley to the top job in Internal Affairs that
year, a group of seven police officers filed a petition with the civil
service board asking that Hundley be denied the Internal Affairs job on
the basis that he could not be trusted with classified information. They
also claimed Hundley=92s promotion came as a result of favors he did for
Bowen. <br><br>
In their petition, the officers wrote: =93It is crucial that officers are
hired based upon qualifications and not as a result of political promises
or connections. Unfortunately we find ourselves in a very vulnerable
position at this time. We cannot afford to have someone in such a
sensitive position who willingly violates police protocol and chain of
command to further his career with political favors.=94 <br><br>
Ironically, among the seven officers rallying against Hundley at the time
were Brian Butler and Mike Lavergne =AD two officers recently indicted with
Hundley on charges of conspiring to set up an illegal bugging device.
<br><br>
The other five officers who signed the petition were Bob Johnson, Larry
Bailey, Angelo Iorio, Paul Mouton and Arthur Cormier. Lacking any hard
evidence to back up their claims, the petition was eventually dropped.
<br><br>
=93It was a hot story,=94 says Cormier. =93People in the department started
calling us the =91Magnificent 7=92 whenever we filed this petition. And the=
n
when we let it fall by the wayside, they started calling us =91the seven
dwarves.=92=94 <br><br>
When Randy Hundley became acting police chief in February 2004, it
represented a power shift within the police department. Hundley had never
been considered one of the department=92s top candidates for chief, but
that changed when his childhood friend and new City-Parish President Joey
Durel appointed Hundley interim chief. Once Hundley ascended to the top
position, he formulated an inner circle of allies who were all hungry for
change in the department. <br><br>
In the halls of the police department, the group was derisively referred
to as the Pet Shop Boys =AD a reference to Durel=92s Pet Shop, where Hundle=
y
and Mayor Durel worked together in high school. <br><br>
Hundley=92s right hand man was Maj. Rick Peterson, who was always at the
chief=92s side and sometimes served as his driver. Peterson recently
retired from the department, shortly after state police began their
investigation into the bugging allegations. <br><br>
The group also included all the officers who faced charges before a grand
jury two weeks ago: Mike Lavergne, Brian Butler, Casey Fowler and Shannon
Hundley, Randy Hundley=92s nephew. (Fowler was the only officer not
indicted.) <br><br>
Within Hundley=92s circle, Butler, a tech-savvy narcotics agent who sported
a long ponytail, and Lavergne, a sharp, ambitious veteran officer, were
probably the most experienced in legal bugging and wiretap sting
operations conducted by the department. <br><br>
=93Those two should have known positively what was illegal,=94 says one
source. =93Butler worked narcotics for years, and he knows the wiretap.
He=92s the tech guy, he knows what he=92s doing. He=92s worked a lot of cas=
es.=94
<br><br>
Despite avoiding indictment, several sources say Fowler was likely a
primary player in the bugging operation. =93He=92s probably the strongest
personality of them all,=94 one former officer says about Fowler. =93He was
knowledgeable of what happened. I think he=92s good at pumping other people
and then laying back and letting other people do the work. He=92s an
instigator. He=92s been a guy behind the scenes that manipulates
situations. But he never gets himself into any kind of trouble.=94
<br><br>
Prior to Hundley=92s appointment as chief, Fowler and his allies had long
been shut out by key decision makers in the department. With Hundley in
charge, they seized the opportunity to consolidate power and move up in
the ranks. <br><br>
=93It was a case of the have-nots in the department who finally got in the
position to have,=94 says a retired officer. =93And none of them were reall=
y
capable or qualified to handle the authority or power that they had, and
regardless if they=92re guilty or not, I don=92t think it was an honorable
thing or a professional thing that they did.=94 <br><br>
Hundley=92s brief tenure as chief, which spanned 26 months, was a
tumultuous time for the relatively small police force and its 315
employees. Officers were transferred across the department=92s four
divisions a total of 190 times under Hundley=92s watch, an average of more
than seven per month, according to records provided by the city=92s Human
Resources department. (This number doesn=92t include straight promotions
and demotions within each department, a system almost entirely controlled
by Civil Service.) <br><br>
Officers viewed as unfriendly to the chief and his supporters were
transferred to undesirable positions while Hundley=92s friends moved up.
According to two sources, one officer, Bill McGovern, made some
complaints to city prosecutor Gary Haynes about Hundley and the
department. Shortly thereafter, McGovern, who had just made police
captain, was told that he was on =93the wrong side of the fence and needed
to get on the right side of the fence.=94 <br><br>
Tensions mounted to the point that McGovern began the process for
retirement earlier this year but decided to stay when word of Hundley=92s
legal problems began to surface. <br><br>
Being on the right side of the fence brought opportunities. Lavergne
became a captain and was placed in charge of Internal Affairs. Hundley
also pushed to create two new police major positions =AD one step below
chief =AD through the department=92s new Compstat reorganization. Both
Peterson and Fowler were promoted to police major this year, considerably
enhancing their retirement benefits. <br><br>
=93All of a sudden, [Fowler] is serving in the capacity of assistant
chief,=94 says one former officer who describes Fowler as vindictive. =93He=
=92s
got all these axes to grind, and if you don=92t have a strong chief that
can see that and stop it, then it=92s just a runaway train, and that=92s wh=
at
happened here.=94 <br><br>
Perceptions of favoritism have always existed within the police
department. =93There used to be a standing joke in the department,=94 says
Interim Police Chief Jim Craft, =93that if you didn=92t play golf or fish y=
ou
couldn=92t get into the detectives section because you had some supervisors
there that liked to play golf and fish.=94 <br><br>
But Craft acknowledges that grudges among different factions in the
department got out of control in the past two years. <br><br>
=93There were a lot of cliques in the department,=94 Craft says, =93made up=
of
officers of varying ranks. There were occasions when officers had
disagreements, and those persons in the right camp could walk into the
chief=92s office and actually have people above them transferred because
they didn=92t like them. And it happened a number of times over the past
two years.=94 <br><br>
Some sources contend that Hundley=92s obsession with rooting out his
dissenters within the department sparked the idea of listening in on
employee conversations =AD a practice that may have taken root in the
Internal Affairs division, under Lavergne and Butler. One attorney, who
spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he was involved in a
confidential meeting with a client and Internal Affairs investigators two
years ago. After the meeting, the attorney says his client was surprised
to find that other officers in the department immediately knew about
specific issues that were discussed behind closed doors. =93There was a
general impression that you had to watch what you were saying and where
you were saying it because the walls had ears.=94 <br><br>
The story of how a bugging device was secretly placed under the desk of
Luque, the chief=92s secretary, dates back to an Internal Affairs
investigation into overtime pay that began in August 2004. <br><br>
The primary target of the investigation was Lt. Mike DiBenedetto, who was
placed on administrative leave along with his two immediate supervisors,
Capt. Dwight Faul and Maj. Randy Simon. <br><br>
For longtime officers in the police department, it wasn=92t surprising to
see Hundley go after DiBenedetto. <br><br>
A hard-nosed investigator and former competitive bodybuilder who helped
crack several big cases within the police department, DiBenedetto first
clashed with Hundley about a decade ago when the two worked together in
the detectives division. <br><br>
=93DiBenn has a big personality,=94 says former officer Cormier. =93He=92s
outspoken. He=92s not afraid to tell someone, =91You=92re a f--king idiot.=
=92
He=92s not a yes man. He tells it like it is, so I could see how he could
be intimidating to some people.=94 <br><br>
In addition to their personality differences, the two found themselves at
political odds when DiBenedetto signed a recall petition in the early
=9290s against Hundley=92s friend, Mayor Kenny Bowen. <br><br>
Security work for the Lafayette nightclub scene also divided DiBenedetto
and Hundley. DiBenedetto helped head up off-duty security for the
Johnston Street nightspot The Plaza. The Plaza=92s chief competitor was
Graham Central Station, where Hundley organized security prior to
becoming chief. <br><br>
=93Bar owners are ridiculously competitive and cutthroat,=94 one former
officer says, =93and sometimes they would try to get police officers
involved when they shouldn=92t have.=94 <br><br>
Shortly after Hundley placed DiBenedetto on administrative leave,
DiBenedetto got an attorney and fought back. In a petition to the Civil
Service board in September 2004 appealing his continued status on
administrative leave, DiBenedetto alleged =93a pattern of persecution
against him by Interim Chief Hundley.=94 <br><br>
The petition states that Hundley previously brought a =93petty=94 claim
against DiBenedetto to former Chief Ron Boudreaux and that soon after
becoming interim chief, Hundley tried to transfer DiBenedetto out of
criminal investigations and into patrols =AD =93in effect a demotion=94 =AD
before meeting with =93vehement objection from Majors Jim Craft and Randy
Simon.=94 <br><br>
Hundley may have been justified in challenging DiBenedetto=92s overtime
pay. Records from 2004 show DiBenedetto was racking up high amounts of
overtime pay. <br><br>
An attorney close to the case says DiBenedetto was exploiting a loophole
in the system that allowed supervisors to accumulate overtime duty for
being =93on-call=94 =AD sometimes while performing other off-duty work. In
addition to working club security, investigation records indicate
DiBenedetto also was working for a local dry cleaner, helping collect on
bad checks in exchange for free dry cleaning services. <br><br>
=93They thought [DiBenedetto] was having his cake and eating it too,=94 the
attorney says. However, the way DiBenedetto was tracking his overtime
wasn=92t an uncommon practice in the department, notes the attorney. =93The
people that were casting stones weren=92t necessarily innocent either,=94 t=
he
attorney continues. =93That was the frustrating part. There were favorites
being played. Some people were allowed to break the rules, and others
weren=92t.=94 <br><br>
While the investigation continued, the three high-ranking department
veterans were kept in limbo with the department for almost three months.
In the end, the officers escaped the investigation with minor reprimand
from the city, and all three retired. DiBenedetto is now head of security
for River Ranch and Sugar Mill Pond. Faul works security at Our Lady of
Lourdes Hospital, and Simon has moved to Austin. <br><br>
During the investigation, many officers in the department were upset over
the way the case was handled. It was particularly troubling to them that
Faul and Simon, both well-respected professionals in bureaucratic office
positions, were caught up in the overtime dispute. Hundley caught wind
that some employees in the department were feeding information they heard
about the investigation back to Faul, Simon and DiBenedetto. Employees
suspected of leaking information included Hundley=92s secretary, Luque, who
was friends with Simon and Faul. <br><br>
=93They all got caught up in their own personal little vendettas,=94 one
source says. =93The bottom line, they thought she was leaking information
to DiBenedetto.=94 <br><br>
DiBenedetto declined to comment for this story. <br><br>
Luque, who still works at the police department as secretary to acting
chief Craft, has served as secretary to four Lafayette police chiefs and
former District Attorney Nathan Stansbury. That she was targeted as
someone who could not be trusted is still disturbing to many police
officers. <br><br>
=93She was by the book,=94 says one former officer. =93She would have never
done anything illegal.=94 <br><br>
How Luque and others discovered her desk was bugged is still unclear. One
source says the bugging device was uncovered when an unsuspecting officer
overheard part of the crew that was indicted laughing about conversations
they heard through the secret microphone. <br><br>
When the officer questioned them about how they had heard conversations
in Luque=92s office =AD and the legality of eavesdropping on employee
conversations =96 they allegedly responded, =93It=92s a government building=
, we
can do what we want.=94 <br><br>
Two weeks ago, Hundley=92s attorney, Jason Robideaux, told reporters in the
parish courthouse that the Internal Affairs investigation into
DiBenedetto, Faul, and Simon was expanded to include surveillance of city
police employees, including Luque, who were allegedly passing case
documents to attorneys outside the department. <br><br>
Robideaux also said Hundley had approved the operation under the
assumption that it would be a lawful video surveillance within the
department, and that the other officers acted alone when they installed
the audio bug. He also claims that when Hundley discovered the microphone
in his secretary=92s office, he personally removed the device. <br><br>
Just what kind of records Luque was accused of leaking (officer payroll
and overtime data is all public record) remains unclear. Robideaux and
Hundley did not return follow-up calls for comment. Robideaux believes
the other indicted officers are blaming Hundley for masterminding the
listening operation. <br><br>
Assistant District Attorney Bill Babin, who is serving as prosecutor in
the case against Hundley and the other three officers, has offered few
details about the case evidence, except to say that the listening device
in question was purchased at Radio Shack and in use within the department
around August 2004. <br><br>
The four indicted officers are scheduled for arraignment July 18, at
which point they will enter their official pleas. Prosecutors hope to
take the case to trial before the end of the year. <br><br>
Meanwhile, Interim Police Chief Craft is trying to reestablish trust and
unity within his police force. =93My philosophy is I want to be a uniter
and not a divider,=94 he says. =93That was the message to the command staff=
:
help me heal the divisions within the department. And that=92s what we=92ve
been doing since March 29. A lot of officers worked with those guys very
closely for a long time, so there are a lot of mixed feelings about what
happened. Some officers are very upset, and others say it=92s an isolated
incident, and we have nothing to do with it.=94 <br><br>
=93I say it=92s an isolated incident within the administrative staff of the
chief and does not affect our ability to provide services to the public,=94
he continues. =93It stops at that door right there,=94 Craft says, pointing
out of the chief=92s office to the door of the administrative wing of the
police department. =93I think the majority of the citizens of Lafayette
believe the department=92s integrity is intact.=94 <br><br>
One recently retired officer believes the Lafayette Police Department
reached its lowest point during Hundley=92s tenure. <br><br>
=93The morale had gotten really bad,=94 he says. =93Being a cop is a tough =
job.
A lot of it is really negative. The only thing you have is being able to
do something for your career and your community and you should be
comfortable under your own roof and your office, and shouldn=92t have to
worry about somebody bugging you or telling you you=92re on the wrong side
of the fence.=94 <br><br>
The entire episode isn=92t just an embarrassment for the police force. It=
=92s
also a black eye for Joey Durel and his administration; Durel appointed
Hundley after touting his qualifications and pushing to waive the college
degree requirement that would have prevented his childhood friend from
even applying for the job. <br><br>
=93Hundley got an opportunity that not too many people in his position
would have gotten,=94 says one veteran officer. =93They lowered the bar for
him. You would have hoped that he would have taken advantage of that
opportunity. Unfortunately he took advantage of it in the wrong
way.=94<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
</font><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=3D2 color=3D"#FF0000"><i>We Hunt Spies, We Stop Espionage, We Ki=
ll
Bugs, and We Plug Leaks.<br><br>
</i></font><b>James M. Atkinson, President and Sr. Engineer<br>
Granite Island Group<br>
</b>127 Eastern Avenue #291<br>
Gloucester, MA 01930-8008<br>
Phone: (978) 546-3803<br>
Fax: (978) 546-9467<br>
Web: <a href=3D"
http://www.tscm.com/">
http://www.tscm.com/</a><br>
E-Mail: <a href=3D"mailto:jm..._at_tscm.com"><i>jm..._at_tscm.com<br><br>
</a></i></body>
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Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:26 CST