The conviction of a former district attorney in St. Tammany Parish brings to 24 the number of public officials who have become what The Times-Picayune calls members of the “Louisiana Politicians Hall of Shame.”

Walter Reed, described by the newspaper as “a hard-nosed prosecutor who jailed criminals on the North Shore for 30 years,” was convicted in federal court Monday on 18 of 19 counts involving conspiracy, wire and mail fraud, money laundering and making false statements on his tax returns.

A number of politicians in southeast Louisiana seem to have the idea that public office is meant for personal gain. New Orleans heads the Hall of Shame list with eight convictions or guilty pleas, followed by Jefferson Parish, 6; St. Tammany Parish, 5; and 1 each from Baton Rouge and St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John and Plaquemines parishes.

Two major actions by Reed led to his conviction. The prosecution put on dozens of witnesses to show that Reed used campaign money for his own personal use and to benefit family members. The other action involved Reed taking $30,000 a year from St. Tammany Parish Hospital that the prosecution and hospital officials said was meant for the D.A.’s office, not for Reed’s personal use.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite said, “As a community, we are tired of hearing and accepting excuses from public officials who violate the public trust to enrich themselves. As the jury found, the defendant’s actions were not innocent mistakes as Walter Reed claimed during his testimony. They were crimes.”

Sheriff-elect Randy Smith of St. Tammany Parish, who ran on a reform platform, said, “It’s always unfortunate when a public official falls prey to greed, and while the conviction of our former district attorney might seem like an embarrassment to some, it also makes clear that the people of St. Tammany Parish will not tolerate such things anymore,” Smith said.

Harry Morel Jr., who served 33 years as St. Charles Parish district attorney, pleaded guilty in April to a federal obstruction of justice charge. The charge came from his harassing a witness as a grand jury started investigating whether Morel had bartered sexual favors from defendants in order to go easy on them.

The New Orleans members of the Hall of Shame include former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, former mayor Ray Nagin, former School Board members Ira Thomas, Renee Gill-Pratt and Ellenese Brooks-Sims; former City Council members Jon Johnson and Oliver Thomas and the late assessor Betty Jefferson.

Aaron Broussard, the former president of Jefferson Parish, heads the list from there. Others from Jefferson Parish are former Marrero state Reps. Girod Jackson and Derrick Shepherd, former judges Alan Green and Ronald Bodenheimer and former Gretna City Council member Jonathan Bolar.

St. Tammany members are Reed, former parish coroner Peter Galvan, former Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price, ex-Pearl River Mayor James Lavigne and former Parish Council member Joe Impastato.

Rounding out the list are longtime Plaquemines Parish Sheriff Jiff Hingle, St. John the Baptist Parish President Bill Hubbard, former St. Bernard Parish Judge Wayne Cresap and former Gov. Edwin W. Edwards.

“It ain’t over till the fat lady sings, so ah, we’re gonna go over next door to the (U.S.) 5th Circuit (Court of Appeals),” Reed said after his conviction.

Matt Coman, a former lead prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, told The Times-Picayune the appeal odds are slim.

“The statistics are against Mr. Reed at this point,” Coman said. “The statistics are somewhere less than a two or three percent success rate at the court of appeals.”

Coman said Reed’s use of campaign money for flowers and pricey meals and the funneling of money to his son, who was also convicted, should serve as a warning sign to other politicians.

“It’s a clear message that the federal authorities are mindful of these type of violations, as well as now the public is mindful of the distinction between private funds, personal funds and campaign funds,” Coman said.

The Times-Picayune in an editorial said Reed had a lot of money in his campaign account and wasn’t expecting to have an opponent.

“So, he thought, ‘why not?’” the newspaper said. It added that Reed made a telling statement on the stand.

“I would never, never have done it,” he said, if he had known the federal government might investigate him.

“So, he actually knew it was wrong, he just didn’t expect to get caught,” the editorial concluded.

Questionable campaign spending continues to take place because the Legislature has failed to clarify state laws dealing with how that money can be legally spent. Whether this latest conviction will make public officials more cautious about campaign spending remains to be seen.

Louisiana has often been described as the most corrupt state in the country, and we have certainly had our share of wayward public officials. A report in The Times-Picayune in January of 2015 said the state has had more politicians convicted in federal court than any other in the modern era, when counted as a share of total population.

One report the newspaper quoted said Louisiana had 960 federal convictions between 1976 and 2010, about 25 per year. However, in terms of the absolute number of politicians sent to jail or prison, the report said New York takes the crown.

Will this latest conviction of a Louisiana public official really make a difference in the future? Only if state prosecutors get serious about their oaths of office and quit relying on federal officials to bring wayward politicians to justice.

PUBLIC CORRUPTION IN ALABAMA (MGNonline)