Department of Justice

US Attorneys' Office

U.S. Attorney Annouces City Hall Corruption Indictment

Jim Letten, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, (FBI) Louis M. Reigel, III and Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) Edwin P. Compass, III announced today that Tyronne Leon and Carlos Palma were charged today by a federal grand jury sitting in the Eastern District of Louisiana in a one-count indictment with conspiracy to commit federal computer fraud. According to the indictment, Tyronne Leon was the former Chairman of the Board of Examiners of Operating Engineers for the City of New Orleans and Carlos Palma was a Supervisor in Property Management for the City of New Orleans. They are charged in a conspiracy to take $9,650.00 in bribes and to issue stationary engineering certificates (licenses) to individuals who had not passed required tests.

Letten said that the defendants if convicted face a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000 or both fine and imprisonment.

According to the indictment, stationary engineers operate heavy air-conditioning, boiler and combustible equipment in buildings throughout the city of New Orleans, such that unqualified operators create potential safety hazards. According to Letten:

"Today's indictment is continuing evidence of the U.S. Attorney's and the FBI's commitment to aggressively investigate and prosecute public corruption at all levels, and is further evidence of the New Orleans Police Department's equally strong commitment to our anti-corruption partnership. Both I and my staff are equally grateful to Mayor Ray Nagin and his staff, including his representative here, City Attorney and Acting CAO Charles Rice, for the assistance, cooperation, and dedication to the eradication of corruption which the Mayor and his staff have provided to us in Federal Law Enforcement. I also think it extremely important to thank Rafael Goyeneche and the Metropolitan Crime Commission, represented here today by Tony Radosti, for the MCCs continued, real-time, hands-on assistance in opening and solving important corruption cases. This case and others cases like it actually have their origins in timely information passed on to local and federal authorities by the MCC. Without their cooperation, we may never have begun some important and highly successful corruption and other criminal investigations."

Letten reiterated that a grand jury indictment is a method of charging a defendant and that the defendants' guilt must be established by competent evidence.

This matter was investigated by Special Agents of the FBI and Officers of the New Orleans Police Department assigned to the New Orleans Public Corruption Task Force. This case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James R. Mann, Supervisor of the U.S. Attorney's Computer and Financial Crimes Unit and Assistant United States Attorney, Al Winters, Senior Litigation Counsel.