Gretna - New details are emerging on the business relationships between former Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard and several judges who serve on the state bench in Gretna.
Broussard collected thousands of dollars, after being appointed legal representative in dozens of foreclosure cases.
For over thirty years, he served in elected office in Jefferson Parish, but as a lawyer, Broussard also took on outside work, as a curator for several judges in dozens of cases.
Judges have wide latitude in selecting lawyers to work as curators to represent an absentee property owner in a foreclosure hearing. It usually involves running ads to seek the property owner, and can earn a lawyer a standard fee of $475 each, plus costs.
The Metropolitan Crime Commission has found that Broussard got 300 curatorships over the last four years, generating around $150,000.
The commission found that three judges in particular doled out the most work to Broussard; Judge Glen Ansardi gave Broussard 30 curatorships last year, Judge Robert Murphy 17, and judge Patrick Mccabe, 15. The judicial code of ethics says a judge should exercise the power of appointment impartially on the basis of merit and he should avoid the appearance of impropriety.
In a phone interview with FOX 8, jMurphy defended his hiring of Broussard, saying, "I've known him since law school. He's a competent attorney and he did a good job."
When asked if he received anything in return, the judge said, "no."
The former president's work as a court curator began long before Broussard was elected parish president in 2004. Broussard also did a lot of curator work while he served on the Jefferson Parish council.
So far, the Metropolitan Crime Commission has not found any criminal behavior, but they say there are problems.
Rafael Goyeneche, president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, says there may have been, "ethical violations on the part of the judges, and also indicative that Broussard may have been more involved in extracurricular activities than the public has been led to believe."
