Ascension Parish Officials Collecting Restitution in Pair of Employee Thefts

A former Ascension Parish fleet management employee who was caught using a parish fuel card to make approximately $15,000 in fuel purchases for personal use was prosecuted for theft and began making restitution payments earlier this year, according to a report issued Monday by Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera.

In a separate case in the parish, a firefighter who also improperly used a fuel card has paid full restitution for the thefts. Both cases are mentioned in the parish’s 2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).

The CAFR reports that the first occurrence was over the course of two months in 2014 and was discovered by the parish’s fleet manager. An investigation determined that parish employee Cory Richard made fuel purchases totaling approximately $15,000 for personal use. He had access to the fuel cards through his position with the department.

Richard was terminated from his position, arrested in July 2014 and prosecuted for theft. The CAFR says Richard began making restitution payments in January.

In the second case, Tarrell Milan of Fire District No. 1 admitted to improperly spending approximately $800 on a parish fuel card over a 60-day period. Milan, who was the assistant fire chief in the district’s Fifth Ward that serves the Darrow and Pelican Point areas, was arrested last October.

The audit said Milan has been suspended from part-time employment with the district but has been reinstated as a volunteer firefighter in the Fifth Ward. He has made full restitution as of May 2015 and no longer has access to a parish fuel card.

As a result of the thefts, parish management has begun monitoring fuel purchases on a weekly, rather than monthly, basis. Additionally, a parish information technology department employee reviews the reports and notified department heads of any suspicious activity that should be investigated.