NEW ORLEANS -- Jerry Ursin – until recently Sheriff Marlin Gusman’s second-in-command – was charged Tuesday with conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his alleged role in charging for “ghost” security details at special events like the Super Bowl, Mardi Gras and Voodoo Music Experience.
The federal bill of information charging Ursin alleges that he used names of his family members to pad invoices for private security details and then collect the extra money. The security detail operations were handled by a private company owned by former Sheriff’s Deputy Col. Roy Austin, Austin Sales and Service, which collected more than $2 million even though deputies are prohibited by state law from running private security details.
Austin pleaded guilty in May to bilking events -- including the Mardi Gras superkrewes Endymion and Bacchus, Voodoo Fest, Crescent City Classic, Rock & Roll Marathon and Super Bowl XLVII – out of $83,000.
Ursin resigned after being implicated by Austin’s charging documents and named by a scathing state audit. He was charged Tuesday in a bill of information, suggesting a plea deal is imminent.
The charges were filed on the same day that an agreement was announced regarding Gusman’s control of the beleaguered Orleans Parish Prison.
Ursin, a former New Orleans Police deputy superintendent who for years ran the security details at the Jazz and Heritage Festival, became Gusman’s chief deputy in 2008.