CHALMETTE, LA (AP) — The St. Bernard Parish Council passed a resolution Tuesday night calling for the resignation of their parish president Dave Peralta just hours after he was indicted by a grand jury on 22 counts tied to accusations that he stalked and threatened his ex-wife.
Attorney General Buddy Caldwell's office, which is handling the investigation, says Peralta was charged Tuesday with extortion, stalking, obstruction of justice, malfeasance and abuse of office.
The parish president is accused of coercing employees to help him harass his ex-wife and trash political opponents on a newspaper website; of threatening his ex-wife; and of tampering with evidence during the investigation.
He's also accused of using his office to get parish worker addresses to solicit their campaign contributions and harassing and firing parish employees who were cooperating with law enforcement.
Peralta is also facing separate charges in St. Tammany and East Baton Rouge parishes.
WWL-TV reports the St. Bernard Parish Council’s resolution vote to seek Peralta’s resignation was unanimous and was read into the record Tuesday night.
The Council wants Peralta to step down by Friday.
WWL-TV reports the council, by parish charter, can only remove a parish president if they're absent from work for 60 consecutive days or if they're convicted of a felony. Peralta was indicted by a grand jury on Tuesday, but not convicted.