The Louisiana Board of Ethics has filed charges against former fired Executive Director of the Board of Private Security Examiners, Fabian Blache III, for allegedly violating Louisiana law, “payment from nonpublic sources.”
In a report provided to the Board of Private Security Examiners, the State Ethics Board said between Jan. 7, 2019 and July 4, 2021, in addition to Blache’s 40-hour workweek, he allegedly paid himself for an additional 3,500 hours.
According to records, he did this by signing the LSBPE checks in his capacity as Executive Secretary. The total comes out to $200,500, according to the state board. Blache was informed, in 2016, that his position as LSBPE Executive Secretary was an unclassified position and ineligible for overtime compensation. The Board of Ethics determined that Blache violated state law based on these overtime payments.
Blache is accused of selling compensatory time on a regular basis. This is a violation of multiple Louisiana laws that prohibit “agency head,” “executive directors,” or “equivalent chief administrative officers” from receiving compensatory leave.
Fabian Blache also, allegedly, issued himself a bonus check in the amount of $12,361.44 on December 22, 2020, which represented 10% of his annual gross salary as Executive Secretary. Louisiana Constitution Article VII Section 14(A) prohibits the use of public dollars to compensate state employees for bonuses.
It’s also believed he was paid nearly $5,000 for him and his wife to travel to Africa, which are all things the Louisiana Inspector General’s Office has been investigating since at least 2021. There’s also a claim that he ordered new IPads and computers, but none of them can be found. Instead, there are only empty boxes.
Blache started as the executive director at the Louisiana State Board of Private Security Examiners in March 2016 until he was terminated in Sept. 2022.
The Board of Ethics requested that the Ethics Adjudicatory Board conduct a hearing based on the Board of Ethic’s charges, make the same findings as the Board of Ethics and assess the proper penalties. If Blache is assessed penalties, he could face fines equivalent to about half of the amount he allegedly misappropriated.
UWK did reach out to Blache for a response to the report. He said it was “an ongoing due process” and that he was represented on the matter by an attorney.
Fabian Blache has been the target of several allegations. In 2018, he was placed on administrative leave along with his executive assistant Bridgette Hull.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released a report in 2018 that stated Blache did not fill out time sheets and Hull only filled out some.
When investigators questioned Blache on if he signed Hull’s time sheets at the time, the report stated: “He said he signs off on a lot of stuff. He said he doesn’t remember.”
Both testified that “it is their understanding they do not need to fill out time sheets because they are unclassified, salaried employees.”
In their report, EEOC investigators say Blache does not fill out time sheets and Hull only fills out some. The report stated: “Hull does not work consistent hours and that she works all hours of the night and some weekends.”
A letter from some of the employees, written anonymously to the board chair, triggered an investigation by the EEOC into “numerous allegations of discrimination based on sex, age, and race.” They looked at 13 specific allegations. After interviewing many of the board’s employees, including Blache and Hull, they substantiated some of the complaints.
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