Profiles in Corruption: Eddie "The Hat" Jordan

Edward J. Jordan Junior

Known Aliases:
"Eddie Jordan"
"The Hat" (for his attire during the Edwards case)

* Practiced law with William J. "Dollar Bill" Jefferson. Upon Jefferson's rise to political power, Jordan became his heir-apparent. Jefferson wanted someone preselected to succeed him in case something happened (like jail time) before his daughters were old enough to replace him.

* Since Jefferson played a critical role in delivering Louisiana for President Clinton, the President repaid the favor by appointing Jordan a US Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Jefferson wanted Jordan in a position to squash any charges against himself or his cronies.

* First came to prominence for being part of the team that put former governor Edwards behind bars. The press were drawn to his mustache, derby hat, and sharp suits. What isn't widely know is he slept through most of the proceedings. Lenten did the heavy lifting for him.

* Retired from working for the feds to prepare for running for office. His opening came when Harry Connick Sr. decided to retire from his longtime tenure as Orleans Parish District Attorney.

* Jordan faced a crowded field in the general election and made it to the runoff against Dale Atkins (Connick's Clerk of Court). He won a very tight runoff because of endorsements by Jefferson and a surprise, but halfhearted endorsement from Nagin. His campaign platform was witness protection, victim protection, and the establishment of a "public integrity unit." He pledged to have his investigators visible at victims' funerals, etc.

* His tenure started off very poorly. He appointed an assistant who didn't meet the residency requirement. When confronted by the press, he claimed she was hired as an executive assistant, thus except from the residency rule. Another of his hires, Sal Palmisano, was notorious for getting upteen DUI's and was let go.

* Another investigator he hired, Richard Chambers, Jr. was a "deadbeat dad" who owed $11,000 in back payments. It's worth noting Chambers Sr. is the treasurer of Jefferson's political machine, the Progressive Democrats.

* Eddie Jordan was spotted dining at Ruth's Chris (among other restaurants) with a convicted felon still on probation.
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* Jordan lined his pocket with internet advertising deals from local attorneys on a pseudo-official website.
http://kevin.lexblog.com/2004/02/internet-advertising-sponsorships/new-orleans-da-cashing-in-on-internet-advertising/


* Pissed off a bunch of rich white kids by using a crack house law to go after the promoters of raves. I remember Uptown being flooded with "Raving is not a crime" stickers.
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* Dwight Deal, Jordan's Chief Homicide Investigator was busted by the feds for blackmailing female witnesses for sex. That's right, he'd go up to female witnesses and basically say, 'sleep with me or I'll turn you in to the people you're scheduled to testify against.' My favorite part about the whole incident: Jordan's spokesperson Letrice Dupre said Deal was, "a model employee." Yes Ms. Dupre, Dwight Deal was a model employee at that office!
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* The same day Deal was put on leave, he lost a lawsuit by 40 former employees and was forced to pay $4 million. He more than 60 employees of the DA's office and replaced them all with black employees. The fired employees sued Jordan, alleging reverse discrimination and age discrimination. The kicker is, Jordan doesn't have to pay the fine. The Orleans Parish taxpayers have to. OUR MONEY has to pay for his racism/incompetance. My favorite instance of discrimination was Connick's primary fingerprint and ballistics expert replaced with an employee whose only previous experience was as "a lifeguard and some office work at a law firm." HA! He has yet to budget the money for the payment.
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* Walked out on an ABC interview. He was asked if the DA's office bears any blame for how broken the criminal justice system is in New Orleans. He got up and walked out saying, "They're stupid. They're not honest questions."
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* If you think that's bad, that's just the stuff I could PROVE. If I went into the the stuff people whisper about him, this post would be 30 times as long. If I were to sum up Jordan, I'd say he was a well-dressed emperor with no clothes. Given New Orleans' recent track record (Nagin and Jefferson) I think that might just guarantee him reelection.

Other Citations:
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(Sorry on being sorta lazy about the hyperlinks. There are a lot of them.)