By: Michelle Hunter | nola.com | December 3, 2024
Three former high-ranking deputies from the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office, who were arrested this summer on allegations of theft and payroll fraud, have pleaded guilty in the case, the St. Charles Parish District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Former Chief Deputy Rodney Madere Jr., who served as second-in-command of the department for 10 years, Captain Derek Pertuis and Sgt. Zain Stillinger pleaded guilty to one count each of felony theft between $5,000 to $25,000, abuse of office and public payroll fraud.
Judge Connie Aucoin of the 29th Judicial District Court suspended prison terms for the men, instead ordering them to serve three years of active probation, as part of a plea agreement, according to the St. Charles District Attorney Joel T. Chaisson III.
Madere’s defense attorney, Scott Stansbury, declined to comment on the case Tuesday. Attorneys for Pertuis and Stillinger have not yet returned requests for comment.
In a statement released Tuesday evening, St. Charles Sheriff Greg Champagne said the guilty pleas were the result of “a betrayal of the trust of taxpayers and their co-workers.”
“Over the last year, I have declined to comment publicly regarding any of the facts of the extensive ongoing investigation so that our dedicated detectives could put together a case that left the defendants with no choice but to plead guilty, Champagne said in the statement.
“This agency has taken affirmative steps to move forward and continues to work to establish internal checks and balances that will ensure that something like this never happens again.” he said.”
Sheriff’s Office officials have never disclosed any details of the allegations, saying only that it involved the “misappropriation/misuse of Sheriff’s Office resources, equipment and manpower.”
But Metropolitan Crime Commission President Rafael Goyeneche has said it was likely related to an anonymous complaint submitted to the organization accusing the three of commandeering department equipment and co-workers’ time for their person use.
In July 2023, the Crime Commission received a letter with photos alleging that Madere, Pertuis and Stillinger were using Sheriff’s Office construction equipment to perform work and maintenance at Madere’s hunting camp in Mississippi, Goyeneche said.
They also used Sheriff’s Office equipment to print phony parking passes to tailgate at LSU football games as well as signs and banners for unofficial uses. And they were accused of using the Sheriff’s Office machine shop to fabricate barbecue grills and other items, Goyeneche said.
The letter alleged that the deputies used Sheriff’s Office vehicles to take personal trips to LSU games and used the department’s motor pool to service personal vehicles.
Madere, Pertuis and Stillinger were arrested in July 2024 as part of a Sheriff’s Office investigation.
Madere, a 32-year veteran of the department, resigned in February 2024. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the theft charge, five years for abuse of office and two years for payroll fraud, the DA’s office said.
With his prison sentence suspended, Madere was ordered to serve three years of probation. Madere was also order to serve 12 months of home incarceration with an ankle monitor, and he must pay $75,028.77 in restitution, the DA’s office said.
Pertuis, who had served as the assistant chief of investigations, was fired in March after 23 years with the department.
Before his prison term was suspended, Pertuis was sentenced to five years for theft, five years for abuse of office and two years for payroll fraud, the DA’s office said. He was ordered to serve six months of home incarceration with an ankle monitor and pay $2,716.39 in restitution.
Stillinger, who resigned in February, was sentenced to five years for theft, five years for abuse of office and two years for payroll fraud. In addition to his three-years of probation, he was ordered to serve six months of home incarceration with an ankle monitor, the DA’s office said.
Stillinger must pay $1,970.43 in restitution.