http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/05/post_396.html

Mitch Landrieu suspends Edwin Hosli of NOPD, Public Works Director Robert Mendoza without pay
 

Published: Thursday, May 05, 2011, 11:10 AM     Updated: Thursday, May 05, 2011, 4:54 PM
 By Michelle Krupa, The Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu has suspended 8th District Police Commander Edwin Hosli and Public Works Director Robert Mendoza in light of revelations about the use of paid details to review traffic camera violations.

The suspensions come in light of an ongoing investigation by the city inspector general of the use of paid NOPD details to review violations under a program that until last fall was overseen by the city's Public Works Department. Traffic cameras now now fall under the oversight of the NOPD.

Citing the ongoing probe, the mayor did not take questions from reporters. Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas did not attend the 11 a.m. news conference because he was attending to city business in Baton Rouge, Landrieu said.

"The poor and questionable judgment of using city funds to pay off-duty police officers to perform police duties not only contradicts those efforts but is incredibly troubling and dysfunctional," the mayor said. "It is even more disturbing when it is done through a city contract that was never written to authorize such an arrangement."

Flanked by deputy mayors Andy Kopplin, Jerry Sneed and Judy Reese Morse, Landrieu reiterated that he has asked Serpas to submit a plan by May 15 for the overhaul of the detail system.

"The status quo will not be tolerated, not on my watch, he said.

Landrieu said the suspensions of Hosli and Mendoza will remain in effect until the investigation concludes, "but will not exceed 120 days." In their absence, Commander Jeffrey Walls will oversee the 8th District, and Chief Engineer  Nguyen Phan will lead the Public Works Department.

Read the documents
•8th District inspection report (Sent by Deputy Supterintendent Marlon Defillo to Commander Edwin Hosli, April 18, 2011)  http://media.nola.com/crime_impact/other/nopd-8th-district-inspection.pdf
•Commander Edwin Hosli's response to inspection report (April 26, 2011)  http://media.nola.com/crime_impact/other/edwin-hosli-response-to-investigation.pdf
•Memo from Deputy Superintendent Marlon Defillo to Superintendent Ronal Serpas (May 3, 2011)  http://media.nola.com/crime_impact/other/memo-marlon-defillo-to-ronal-serpas.pdf
The traffic camera program has come under fire in the past week amid revelations that Hosli, a close friend of Serpas, worked off-duty reviewing violations nabbed by the cameras through a company that Hosli and his wife formed last fall. Other officers within the 8th District also participated in the paid detail.

NOPD policies forbid officers from forming companies to manage a detail. City employees are also prohibited from entering into outside financial arrangements with the city. But Serpas has noted that Hosli was hired to run a detail and his financial relationship was with a private company that is a city vendor.

Hosli responded Tuesday night to the findings http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2011/05/police_commander_rejects_findi.html, contained in an internal NOPD report.

 
Mayor Mitch Landrieu announces suspensions
 
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu announces suspensions of 8th District Police Commander Edwin Hosli and Public Works Director Robert Mendoza in light of revelations about the use of paid details to review traffic camera violations.
 

 

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Title
Comment	smaller | bigger
Name
Email
Write the displayed characters
Subscribe via email (registered users only)
	Add Comment Preview