ORLEANS PARISH ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY FIRED FOR EXTORTION

Tanzanika Q. Ruffin, an Assistant District Attorney in Orleans Parish, was fired after an MCC investigation documented her involvement in an attempt to extort money from a New Orleans couple.  A local handyman attempted to over-bill the couple for work.  When the couple refused to pay, Ms. Ruffin, who is a friend of the handyman, got involved and demanded the payment of an extra $1,000 fee, allegedly for the District Attorney’s Office.  The couple contacted the MCC, and the investigative report and evidence was presented to the District Attorney who promptly fired Ms. Ruffin.

NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICER RESIGNS AMID PAYROLL FRAUD INVESTIGATION

An anonymous informant contacted the MCC reporting that NOPD Lieutenant Kenneth Harris had fraudulently requested and received overtime pay.  Lieutenant Harris was accused of claiming to have worked overtime while he was receiving advanced training at the FBI academy in Quantico, Virginia.  After the MCC filed a complaint alleging payroll fraud with the NOPD’s Public Integrity Bureau, he resigned his position while under investigation by the department.  The MCC also notified the FBI, and Harris was placed into a Federal Diversion program for first offenders.