NEW ORLEANS -- Honorary law enforcement badges have long been a fixture among Louisiana sheriffs and other officials, often given to friends and supporters as an insider's perk. And some well-chronicled abuses of those badges – like getting out of traffic tickets – have made them controversial, even causing some officials to ditch the practice.
That’s why longtime critic Rafael Goyeneche of the Metropolitan Crime Commission was surprised when a WWL-TV investigation discovered that a high-ranking state official has been giving out his own badges.
Not only does the official hold statewide elected office, he’s the state’s chief legal officer: Attorney General Jeff Landry.
“That's something that has no place in modern law enforcement. Anywhere. Particularly in Louisiana,” Goyeneche said. “I think it is really embarrassing. I'm embarrassed for the attorney general. And I think he owes an apology to the people of Louisiana.”
Through a public records request, the Attorney General’s office provided a list of 106 people who have received a badge and accompanying credentials since Landry took office in 2016.
The official badge – engraved with the outline of the state – comes in a leather portfolio, just like nearly all law enforcement badges.
The badge comes along with credentials that include a photo ID card and identify the holder as “staff member.”
But recipients are not employees of the office. The list includes lawyers, doctors and business owners, as well as prominent political figures and Republican Party activists.
More than one-third of the badge holders, 39 total, made a campaign contribution to Landry directly, or through their business or an immediate family member.
“These are people that have open doors and/or have given him money. Or that he's befriended. And this is a disaster waiting for an unhappy ending,” Goyeneche said.
Last month, similar honorary badges, bundled with a history of corrupt practices, led former West Bank Constable Tony Thomassie to plead guilty to malfeasance in office. A WWL-TV investigation in 2011 was the first to expose Thomassie for giving out the badges to people who paid for the privilege through campaign contributions.
WATCH: 2011 Eyewitness investigation into Constable Tony Thomassie
“Obviously, if you get stopped and you pull your wallet out, and there's a badge, typically law enforcement would let you off with a warning,” one of Thomassie’s honorary constables said in that story. “That did happen to me a couple of times.”
There have been no reports of problems with the Attorney General’s badges, but other officials have halted the practice due to abuses.
Former New Orleans Civil Sheriff Paul Valteau stopped giving out badges after then-Algiers Assessor Tom Arnold was caught using his while driving with a blue police light in his car. Improper uses led the Gretna and Westwego police departments to stop. Former Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand ended the practice that had been very popular with his predecessor Harry Lee.
“You have people walking around with what looks like official law enforcement credentials that don't have any training,” Goyeneche said. “Essentially each one of these badges is a get-out-of-jail free card.”
Some recipients defended Landry’s program, saying they have been tapped for their expertise. Carubba, of Metairie, met Landry at a campaign fundraiser, donated the maximum $5,000 and, before long, he was carrying a badge and being used by the office as an unpaid consultant.
“I feel very good about the fact that I'm able to give back,” Carubba said. “For me personally, having that badge and credentials makes me feel part of team. And I like the idea of having that because it's almost like a token of the fact that I give back.”
Gretna attorney Mark Vezina is a badge holder and Landry campaign contributor. So is his father Nel. But Vezina comes by his badge in a different way, as a contract attorney for the state going back 22 years, starting with the tenure of former Attorney General Richard Ieyoub.
“It is understood you're not to abuse this thing,” Vezina said. “I could see someone trying, but I could tell you this: general would rip his credentials out of his hands immediately.”
Vezina applauds Landry for placing controls on the program for the first time, including a one-year expiration date and renewal process.
“It did not have the stricture of controls that I see with General Landry,” he said.
Unlike Carubba and Vezina, more than a dozen badge-holders contacted by phone said they've never been called by the AG's office.
New Orleans attorney Robert Harvey said he has not been used by the AG’s office since he received a badge after donating to the Landry campaign.
Harvey said he has since found himself at odds with Landry and his policies and sent the badge and credentials back.
“They sent it back to me,” Harvey said. “I tried to tell them I don’t want the thing, but they wouldn’t let me send it back. I don’t want to have anything to do with it.”
Goyeneche questioned why the program can’t be limited to those people who do provide services to the attorney general and, for them, using just the identification card and eliminating the badges.
Carubba agreed that the badge, for him, is probably unnecessary.
“I think you could probably get the same credibility with a photo ID,” he said.
We contacted the Attorney General's office and a spokesperson pointed out that recipients must agree to strict rules, including not using the credentials with any firearm, or to “conduct any arrest, search or seizure.”
As for the cost of the badges, the spokesperson said the latest badges and credentials were donated.
FULL LIST OF PEOPLE GIVEN HONORARY BADGES BY LANDRY