New Orleans, Louisiana - Police captain reassigned amid fraud probe
Film security details being investigated
03/30/07, By Brendan McCarthy, Staff writer
New Orleans police officials have reassigned a high-ranking veteran and launched an investigation into several other officers in connection with payroll issues regarding off-duty details, a department spokesman said. Capt. Joe Waguespack Sr., the former head of the Homicide Division and most recently the head of a juvenile crime division, was reassigned to a communications office desk job earlier this week, said Deputy Chief Marlon Defillo, head of the Public Integrity Bureau.
Defillo said his office is investigating criminal charges of malfeasance and payroll fraud. At issue is the work of Waguespack and others working off-duty security details for the film "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," a movie starring Brad Pitt that is being shot locally.
Waguespack, a veteran of three decades, was in charge of overseeing the details for several months, according to Defillo. Waguespack's attorney, Frank DeSalvo, said he is confident Waguespack will be cleared. "I'm convinced that there is no criminality or payroll fraud here," DeSalvo said. "He worked for every hour in which he got paid for by the city."
Investigators are looking into whether Waguespack and others were working details while on the clock for the NOPD, Defillo said.
A complaint prompted the Public Integrity Bureau, the office responsible for investigating complaints against police officers, to examine the payroll matter. The bureau now is cross-checking months worth of time sheets and detail logs, Defillo said. "We are in the early stages of the investigation, and we are sifting through a tremendous amount of documents," he said. "The investigation is ongoing."
The internal inquiry comes amid a rocky week for the NOPD. Officials announced Wednesday that two officers had been fired, and another suspended for 100 days, for their roles in two unrelated incidents. In one case, a uniformed officer allegedly hit a handcuffed man and lied during an ensuing investigation. In the other incident, an off-duty officer allegedly beat a man in a bar fight, and his supervisor interceded in the follow-up investigation.
Staff writer Walt Philbin contributed to this report.
Brendan McCarthy can be reached at bmccarthy@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3301.
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