[StBernard] Did Buddy Caldwell's Office Knowingly Present Perjured Testimony To Take Down A Political Rival?

[Westley Annis]

Did Buddy Caldwell's Office Knowingly Present Perjured Testimony To Take
Down A Political Rival?

by Kevin Boyd

That's what St. Bernard Parish President David Peralta is alleging. His
attorney made the allegation in a court filing in Chalmette on Friday.

According to The Advocate,  he's alleging that Caldwell knew his ex-wife
lied when she accused him of rape. The AG's office dropped the sexual
assualt charges before he was set to go to trial last week.

In the eight-page motion he filed Friday in 34th Judicial District Court in
Chalmette, Regan for the first time alleged that Peralta was the fall guy in
a cover-up that reaches to the top of the Attorney General's Office.

In addition, the broad conspiracy Regan outlined Friday takes in former St.
Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro and Wayne Landry, a former St.
Bernard Parish Council member who is expected to run against Peralta in the
fall for St. Bernard's top job. The main aim of the conspiracy, Regan
alleged, is to help Landry, who he said is friendly with Attorney General
Buddy Caldwell and his son David Caldwell, an assistant attorney general
involved in the Peralta probe.

In Regan's telling, Peralta launched an investigation into Taffaro's
bookkeeping after defeating him for the parish's top job in a bruising 2011
campaign. The two had bad blood that predated the election; years earlier,
Taffaro had fired Peralta from his post as chief administrative officer.

Not only that, Caldwell knew that the case was based on perjured testimony.

Separately, Regan alleged that Schaefer perjured herself in the testimony
before the grand jury. Though the Attorney General's Office knew the
testimony was unreliable, prosecutors used it anyway because it made Peralta
look bad, Regan said.

"Once they learned of it, the Attorney General's Office did nothing to
report the perjured testimony of Sharon (Schaefer) Peralta to the grand
jurors or to the court," Regan's motion stated. "The Attorney's General's
Office did so for political purposes outside the scope of their official
capacities."

For her part Sharon Schaefer denies that she committed perjury. The Attorney
General's office continues to investigate whether or not Peralta committed
malfeasance in office. Peralta's attorney says they plan on filing a Federal
civil rights lawsuit against Caldwell.

This is not the first time that Caldwell's office has been accused of
corruption. There have been recurring issues of favoritism involving the
hiring of attorneys by the Attorney General. The practice continues, despite
attempts by the legislature to reform it. The way the "Buddy system" works
is this, you give money to Caldwell's campaign, you get hired to represent
the state.

There has been a repeated pattern of sleaziness surrounding Buddy Caldwell
going back to his days as a parish district attorney. Back in 1997, then
Legislative Auditor Dr. Dan Kyle conducted an audit of Caldwell's office,
they found that he spent $1529 in parish funds on things such as golf clubs
and clothing. Caldwell threatened Kyle when he met with him to discuss the
audit.

Here's a video of Kyle testifying to the Legislature about how Caldwell
tried to threaten him and destroy his reputation over the audit.

http://thehayride.com/2015/04/did-buddy-caldwells-office-knowingly-present-p
erjured-testimony-to-take-down-a-political-rival/

Nothing is surprising when it comes to Buddy Caldwell.