LAFAYETTE, LA (AP) — An opinion from the state Attorney General's Office says former Iberia Parish President Will Langlinais cannot serve on the Iberia Parish Port Commission because of a 2007 malfeasance conviction.
The Advocate’s Richard Burgess reports New Iberia Mayor Hilda Curry requested the opinion in June in reference to Langlinais' request to be appointed by the city to one of the seats it fills on the Port Commission.
The Attorney General's Office responded that Langlinais' conviction bars him from holding any public office, elected or appointed, unless he receives a pardon from the governor or until 15 years after the completion of his sentence.
Langlinais, who served two decades in public office before his conviction, has not received a gubernatorial pardon.
Curry declined to discuss the opinion Wednesday but said the issue was moot because the council had already approved her recommendations for the Port Commission.
Langlinais was not among them.
Langlinais was sentenced in 2007 to six months of house arrest and five years of supervised probation after pleading guilty to malfeasance in office for allegations that included using public funds to do work on private property, making parish employees help raise his campaign funds and awarding contracts without the approval of the Iberia Parish Council.
As part of his plea, Langlinais agreed to resign and pay $100,000 in restitution.
He applied for a pardon from the Louisiana Board of Pardons in 2011, but the board voted unanimously to reject it.
