[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish Judge Wayne Cresap should resign now: an editorial

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish Judge Wayne Cresap should resign now: an editorial
By Editorial page staff, The Times-Picayune 
October 03, 2009, 6:09AM
This week's guilty plea from state Judge Wayne Cresap of St. Bernard Parish,
who admitted taking bribes, should remove him from the bench permanently and
make it likely that he will never be in public office again. 

His betrayal of the public's trust also ought to earn Judge Cresap, who
faces up to five years in prison, a lengthy stay behind bars when he's
sentenced in January. 


As part of his plea, the judge pledged to resign his office before his
sentencing. Judge Cresap should do so immediately so the stain of his tenure
can be removed and the process to elect a permanent replacement can begin. 

After his arrest in April, court records indicated the judge had taken a few
thousand dollars in bribes for allowing some inmates to get out of jail
without paying any bond. That would be bad enough. 

But as plea documents revealed this week, Judge Cresap was a much bigger
crook: He raked in between $70,000 and $120,000 in bribes over a five-year
period in which he freed nearly 100 inmates. As U.S. Attorney Jim Letten put
it, Mr. Cresap's actions were "a pure act of corruption." 

Judge Cresap did not act alone. St. Bernard lawyers Victor J. "V.J."
Dauterive and Nunzio Salvatore "Sal" Cusimano pleaded guilty to also netting
tens of thousands of dollars from the bribery scheme. They should be headed
to jail as well. And the Judiciary Commission should se ek to remove the
three convicts' law licenses. 

For Mr. Dauterive, this is his second conviction in a probe of public
corruption. As a former secretary-treasurer of the old St. Bernard Parish
Police Jury, he pleaded guilty in 1987 to concealing a crime in connection
to an investigation of bid-rigging and kickbacks. Clearly, Mr. Dauterive did
not learn his lesson the first time around. 

Judge Cresap's scandal is not the only judicial black eye for our region in
recent weeks. Last month, former state Judge William Roe of Plaquemines
Parish was convicted of unauthorized use of movable property for pocketing
about $6,000 in improper reimbursements for judicial expenses. Mr. Roe will
likely get a light sentence because ad hoc Judge Jerome Winsberg acquitted
him of the more serious charge of theft -- even though Mr. Roe did not repay
the money for years until state auditors came calling. 

At least Mr. Roe is out of office, unlike state Judge Joan Benge of
Jefferson Parish. The Louisiana Supreme Court last month heard arguments on
the Judiciary Commission's recommendation to kick Judge Benge off the bench.
The judge awarded money in a civil lawsuit, even though an FBI wiretap
recorded her saying she believed the plaintiff deserved nothing and that she
gave an award because of the plaintiff's lawyer, who was a donor to her
political campaign. She clearly does not belong on the bench, either.

These corruption cases are embarrassing for our state and its judiciary. But
it would be much more corrosive to have corrupt judges. With these cases,
Louisianians are making it clear that we're unwilling to tolerate corruption
on the bench.