NEW ORLEANS — Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson’s decision to house high-ranking employees in hotel rooms during Carnival was an illegal “misuse of public funds,” her former chief financial officer claims in a federal wrongful termination lawsuit.
In his whistleblower lawsuit, former CFO David Trautenberg claims Hutson fired him when he objected to the use of the hotel rooms for about a dozen employees and a subsequent plan to accept a donation from a sheriff’s office vendor to cover the nearly $19,000 bill.
Hutson has defended the high-end hotel rooms as “money well spent” while the employees worked Carnival parade security.
In Trautenberg’s sweeping 20-page suit, he also repeats findings from a WWL-TV investigation that some of the dozen rooms went vacant or were used by non-employees during the eight nights they were rented.
“At least some of these rooms were not actually occupied of used by OPSO employees, directly causing the misuse of misappropriation of public funds in violation of state law,” the lawsuit claims.
The sheriff’s office said the rooms were ultimately paid for out of its “special projects account” after a private dog training company and former OPSO vendor, LA-K9, reneged on an offer to cover the costs. That account uses money from sources like fundraisers and vending machines, Sheriff’s Office Communications Director Casey McGee said.
The hotel room controversy is now the subject of an investigation by the New Orleans Inspector General’s office.
Trautenberg was one of four top executives who were fired or forced to resign in the wake of the hotel controversy. At the time, Hutson’s only explanation for the dismissals was that she was moving her office “in a new direction.”
In response to the lawsuit, Hutson on Friday expanded on her reasons for dismissing Trautenberg. In an emailed statement, she wrote, “While his role as CFO was integral to our financial operations and leadership team, his conduct throughout his tenure with OPSO was inconsistent with the mission, vision, values and goals of this department. It is evident this lawsuit is a result of his firing and the very public nature in which he lost his job.”
Unlike Trautenberg and two of the other executives who were let go – Chief Counsel Graham Bosworth and Assistant Sheriff Pearlina Thomas – former Assistant Sheriff Kristen Morales was allowed to continue working from home for much of the year while continuing to collect her $155,000 salary.
Morales, a lightning rod for controversy ever since she was fired from her previous job as an investigator with the inspector general’s office, looms large in Trautenberg’s lawsuit.
Trautenberg claims that not only was Morales one of the advocates in favor of the hotel rooms, she once threw a water bottle at him during a blowup at a training meeting.
“Hutson refused to investigate, hold Morales accountable, or provide Trautenberg and his staff with a safe work environment,” Trautenberg claims.
The lawsuit also veers into more sensitive personal allegations, stating that “based on his observations and statements made to him by multiple high-ranking OPSO executives, Trautenberg alleges Hutson had been or was engaged in a romantic relationship with her subordinate employee, Assistant Sheriff Kristen Morales.”
In response to the lawsuit, a sheriff’s office spokeswoman emailed this statement:
“Allegations of misconduct, including any misuse of public funds, are taken very seriously. We dispute the allegations in the lawsuit but remain committed to a fair and comprehensive resolution through the legal process. We will fully cooperate with any investigations and proceedings."
The statement continued, “As the Sheriff of Orleans Parish, I am dedicated to upholding the highest ethical and legal standards and will keep my attention on my duties of providing care, custody and control. We will continue to serve the residents of Orleans Parish with unwavering professionalism and accountability. Our commitment to transparency means we will provide further updates as appropriate.”
Trautenberg, now working in Colorado, is asking for damages for lost wages as well as punitive damages and attorney’s fees.
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