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Louisiana's rate of public corruption convictions highest in nation, report says

Louisiana is the nation's most corrupt state if you count the rate of public corruption convictions of government officials in the last decade, the news website Business Insider reported Tuesday. Between 2002 and 2011, Louisiana convicted 403 government officials of crimes "involving abuses of the public trust," according to the DOJ data. This amounts to 8.76 convictions per 100,000...

Louisiana is the nation's most corrupt state if you count the rate of public corruption convictions of government officials in the last decade, the news website Business Insider reported Tuesday.

Between 2002 and 2011, Louisiana convicted 403 government officials of crimes "involving abuses of the public trust," according to the DOJ data. This amounts to 8.76 convictions per 100,000 people, the highest rate in the country.

Of the state's three federal court districts, the Eastern had by far the most convictions at 247. The district encompasses 13 parishes including Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John and St. Tammany.

While the Eastern boasts the most convictions, it does not have the highest population of the three district. That title belongs to the Western District, with a population around 500,000 more than the Eastern District.

Business Insider reported Florida, with 618 convictions, had the most overall; but its rate was much lower than Louisiana's at 3.28 per 100,000 people. The Dakotas rounded out the list of the states with the highest conviction rates.

A report released by the Better Government Association in August ranked Louisiana as the sixth best on their annual "integrity index," which looks at each state's freedom of information, open meeting, conflict of interest and whistleblower laws. However, the BGA stressed the index looks only at the laws on the books and not "their implementation."

Early after his tenure began, Gov. Bobby Jindal sought to strengthen the state's ethics code laws, a key part of his platform during campaign season. He successfully shepherded in laws requiring lawmakers to disclose financial information and blocking them from striking deals with the state.

However, his administration has come under increased scrutiny recently after a public records law passed during his first term has been used to block the release of pertinent information to the public and media.

Governors before Jindal had broad exemptions from Louisiana's public records law that shielded most documents in the governor's office from scrutiny. In 2009, Jindal backed legislation to shield anything considered part of his "deliberative process."

The administration has used the exemption to keep documents from public view that previously had been available to the public. The language has been broadly interpreted by the administration, and records in departments outside the governor's office have been withheld.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Lauren McGaughy can be reached at lmcgaughy@nola.com or on Twitter at @lmcgaughy.


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