NEW ORLEANS — Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson rode a wave of reform to her upset election victory over previous Sheriff Marlin Gusman. But even as she was cheered upon taking office, one key hiring decision by Hutson raised eyebrows.
After getting fired as an investigator by the city's Office of Inspector General for misuse of office property for giving away a cell phone, Kristin Morales was hired by Hutson as an assistant sheriff over two critical departments: internal affairs and information technology.
Hutson defended her hiring of Morales, also admitting that Morales is a close personal friend. That history is now prompting fresh new questions as Morales has been stripped of most of her previous duties, forced to work remotely, yet continues to collect her $155,000 annual salary.
Morales’ duties were cut when she was one of four top officials let go by the sheriff in March after a string of controversies and internal strife. One of those controversies, revealed by WWL-TV, was the expenditure of more than $18,000 to put up 13 top employees – including Morales – at local hotel rooms during Carnival as they helped with parade security.
But while the other three officials – Chief Counsel Graham Bosworth, Assistant Sheriff Pearlina Thomas and CFO David Trautenberg – left immediately, the sheriff's office said it was allowing Morales to remain for another 30 days for an orderly transition. That period ended two months ago.
“There's no logical explanation to continue to pay this admitted friend of the sheriff this type of benefits package and compensation she's currently receiving,” said Rafael Goyeneche, president of the non-profit watchdog group the Metropolitan Crime Commission. “The buck starts and stops with Sheriff Hutson.”
While Morales was stripped of her internal affairs duties almost immediately, she sheriff's office says she continues to work on critical IT projects from home.
But information obtained by WWL-TV through a public records request shows that days after Morales and the other three top officials were escorted from the sheriff's office, another person already working for the sheriff, Lisa Dorsey, was promoted to Interim Manager of Information Technology and given a nearly $20,000-a-year raise to bring her salary to $93,750.
“Hutson gave her (Dorsey) a substantial raise to do that job,” Goyeneche said. “But she hasn't diminished the pay of her admitted friend, Kristen Morales, who is doing a fraction of the work she was doing.”
In a fresh new development, the sheriff's office announced Wednesday that a new permanent information technology director was hired and has started work this week. A spokeswoman said Morales will eventually be switching to a part-time contractor role, but no date has been set for that transition.
Goyeneche has kept a critical eye on Hutson's tenure from the start. But now questions are being raised by some of Hutson's strongest supporters, including Norris Henderson, a Hutson transition team leader who heads up the non-profit group, Voice of the Experienced.
“That's her Achilles’ heel,” Henderson said. “And she has to deal with that. And the thing about it is, it’s putting a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths, even those folks who supported her.”
Henderson said he has met with Hutson to try to convince her to move on.
“This is coming from an ally. This is not coming from the opposition. So if the folks on the same team with you are saying, ‘Hey you have to cut bait,’ it's time to cut bait,” Henderson said.
Hutson responded directly to the criticism she’s received for retaining Morales. She offered a very different perspective.
“Very grateful that she's hung in this long with us. And I thank her for that, because it's critical work,” she said.
Hutson said Morales’ experience in working with the office's outdated computer system has made it difficult to drop her as she completes projects such as building a new website.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.