[StBernard] DiFatta twice detained for lewd conduct in mall restrooms

[Westley Annis]

DiFatta twice detained for lewd conduct in mall restrooms
Posted by The Times Picayune October 04, 2007 9:57PM

St. Bernard Parish Councilman Joey DiFatta, who on Thursday withdrew from
the 1st Senate District campaign, has been stopped twice since 1996 for
suspicion of engaging in lewd behavior in public restrooms in Jefferson
Parish, records obtained by The Times-Picayune show. 

DiFatta, 53, acknowledged that reports he had been stopped are true, but he
denied any wrongdoing in both cases. He said he was not prosecuted in either
case and has no arrest record. 

"If I had done something wrong, I would have been arrested," DiFatta said
Thursday afternoon. "I was not. I will deny that I was involved in any
activity of that nature." 

Earlier Thursday, DiFatta called reporters to announce that he planned to
withdraw from the Senate race. He said he has been having chest pains for a
few weeks, and elevated enzyme levels indicate he might have had a minor
heart attack in the past few days. As a result, his doctor advised him to
slow down and make some changes in his life. 

DiFatta, who has served on the St. Bernard Parish Council since January 1996
and is currently its chairman, denied he is stepping down from the Senate
race for fear that the reports would become public. In fact, he said he did
not know the reports had surfaced when he made his decision. 

Kenner police issued a misdemeanor summons to DiFatta in September 1996 in
connection with a peeping Tom incident in a men's bathroom at the former
Mervyn's department store at The Esplanade mall, according to a Kenner
Police Department incident report obtained by The Times-Picayune. 

The report states that DiFatta watched a man use the bathroom while peering
through a hole in a bathroom stall. The man held DiFatta until police
arrived, at which time he was issued the misdemeanor summons and ordered to
appear in court. 

DiFatta said the man eventually withdrew his complaint, and the case was
dismissed. A spokeswoman for the Kenner Police Department said the record
was expunged. 

Tapping foot in stall 

In the second incident, Jefferson Parish deputies working an undercover
detail in a men's bathroom at Dillard's at Lakeside Shopping Center in March
2000 stopped DiFatta after he indicated a desire to engage in sex with an
undercover deputy in an adjoining bathroom stall, according to an
interoffice memorandum written by Sgt. Keith Conley, one of the deputies
involved in the investigation. 

The report said DiFatta slid his foot into the deputy's stall and tapped the
deputy's foot. In the report, Conley noted that such activity is common
among men to indicate a willingness to participate in sex. 

The deputy inside the stall, Detective Wayne Couvillion, responded by
tapping his foot, and DiFatta reached under the partition and began to rub
the deputy's leg, the report states. 

The detective asked DiFatta, "What do you want?" according to the report,
and he replied, "I want to play with you." 

DiFatta also used a hand signal to indicate that he wanted to engage in sex
and used language that indicated the same, according to the report. Conley,
who is now the Kenner city attorney, confirmed the report's authenticity
Thursday. 

The incident did not culminate in an arrest because the deputy in the
bathroom with DiFatta terminated the investigation after several children
entered the bathroom, the report states. Conley noted in the report that
DiFatta appeared well-versed and comfortable with the routine. 

Conley wrote that had the investigation been allowed to continue, it likely
would have concluded in DiFatta's arrest on obscenity charges, including a
possible attempted crime against nature. 

Conley confronted DiFatta outside the bathroom, and DiFatta apologized and
said he would not return, according to the report. DiFatta also said he has
a problem with such behavior and had sought counseling for the addiction in
the past, the report states. 

In both instances, DiFatta produced his commission from the St. Bernard
Sheriff's Office identifying him as a captain. DiFatta said Thursday he did
not show his commission either time until officers asked him for
identification, all of which he keeps in his wallet. 

Struggling after Katrina 

When he chose to run for state Senate, DiFatta relinquished the opportunity
to run for re-election to the St. Bernard Parish Council. His term ends in
January. 

DiFatta said he has enjoyed serving the parish and its people and thanked
his supporters. 

A jeweler who had received several political endorsements in the Senate
race, DiFatta also noted that the stress from enduring Hurricane Katrina and
its aftermath might have gotten the best of him. He lost his Chalmette home
to Katrina, and it took him almost 14 months to rebuild. 

In the interim, he has been a strong voice for his constituents, traveling
often to Washington, D.C., to fight for recovery help. 

DiFatta has notified the Louisiana secretary of state's office that he
intends to withdraw from the race, but his withdrawal won't be official
until he files the paperwork, said Jacques Berry, the office's spokesman.
Regardless, DiFatta's name will remain on the ballot for the Oct. 20
primary, as the state already has printed the ballots, he said. 

Any votes to be invalid 

Poll workers will place signs in the precincts where DiFatta's name is on
the ballot letting the voters know he is no longer in the race and that a
vote for him will not be valid, Berry said. 

DiFatta's latest campaign finance report shows that he has almost $69,000 in
the bank. DiFatta said he will use the money to pay some outstanding bills,
though he noted he can hold onto the money to use later. 

DiFatta's abrupt departure from the race leaves two candidates -- Reps. A.G.
Crowe and Ken Odinet -- fighting for the 1st District seat, which includes
St. Bernard Parish and parts of St. Tammany, Plaquemines and Orleans
parishes. 

Odinet, who lives in Arabi, said Thursday that he was saddened to hear
DiFatta has been ill. Crowe, a Pearl River resident, said he wishes DiFatta
a speedy recovery. 

Christine Harvey can be reached at charvey at timespicayune.com or
(985)¤645-2853.