GONZALES — Investigators with the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office have been in Gonzales this week examining the city’s finances, city officials confirmed to UWK on Wednesday.
The scope of the legislative auditor’s examination has not been publicly confirmed. The examination comes as UWK has been reviewing records detailing Mayor Tim Riley’s use of his city-issued credit card, including expenses associated with a March trip to the National League of Cities conference in Washington, D.C. Riley attended the conference with his wife and a Gonzales City Council member.
UWK obtained the travel and expense records through a public records request.
UWK reached out to Riley to discuss the expenses and the presence of legislative auditors in the city. Gonzales Chief of Staff Wade Petite initially responded on the mayor’s behalf, saying, “The mayor wants me to field this.”
Petite said the city welcomes the auditor’s examination.
“They showed up unannounced yesterday,” Petite told UWK. “Keep in mind, I don’t know if you’re aware what it takes to get the legislative auditors here. We knew this was coming at some point because our auditor, who did our yearly audit, alerted us that a complaint was made. All it takes to trigger the legislative auditor is somebody to make the complaint. There is no substance to this complaint. It has all been addressed.”
He added, “Nothing will come of this. All of the issues that they’re going to find are going to be easily explainable, and we welcome them here.”
Washington D.C. Conference
Riley, his wife, Mary, and City Councilman Eddie Williams attended the conference together in March 2026. Records show airfare for all three was charged to the city, along with seat upgrades for additional legroom. Gonzales City Council members do not have their own city-issued credit cards.
Riley told UWK on Wednesday that he reimbursed the city for travel expenses that were not related to official city business.
According to travel records obtained by UWK, the flights cost $692.81 per person. Three tickets were purchased for a total of $2,078.43.
Seat upgrades for the three travelers cost an additional $201. Of that, $63 was for Riley’s seat, while upgrades for his wife and Williams cost $69 each, the records show.
Records also show a $45 TSA fee for each traveler for ConfirmID, a program that allows travelers who arrive at an airport without a REAL ID or other acceptable identification to verify their identity for travel.
Riley’s March credit card statement also shows three additional Southwest Airlines charges that are not listed among the expenses reimbursed to the city. One was a $174 charge described as “premseat,” while two $105 charges appear to be related to baggage.
Riley also used his city credit card to pay $459 for CLEAR+ memberships for himself, his wife and Williams. CLEAR+ is a membership service that allows travelers to use dedicated identity-verification lanes at participating airport security checkpoints.
Riley told UWK on Wednesday that he asked his secretary to compile the receipts and determine how much he needed to reimburse the city.
“She told me what I had to pay, and then went over it with me, and it’s all in that big amount that we actually paid back to the city,” Riley said.
However, the records obtained by UWK do not show reimbursement for the three additional Southwest Airlines charges.
Petite said not every expense charged to the card required reimbursement.
“All the ones that had to be, were subject to reimbursement, were reimbursed,” Petite explained.
City records also show that much of the couple’s transportation in Washington was booked through Mary Riley’s Uber account, although some rides were booked through the mayor’s account. The city credit card was associated with Mary Riley’s Uber account, according to the city credit card records obtained by UWK.
Riley said he was not aware the city card was linked to his wife’s account and acknowledged that it was not a good business practice. “I didn’t realize it was in there,” Riley told UWK. “I need to check on that.”
Hotel charges totaled $365.24 per night for three nights, or $1,095.72 per room. Two rooms were charged to the city card, one for the Rileys and another for Williams.
Under the city’s travel policy, Gonzales covers eligible transportation, lodging and conference expenses. The city also provides a daily per diem, a fixed allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses. Meal expenses beyond the allowable amount are the employee’s responsibility. The daily per diem amount is broken down by meal: $23 for breakfast, $26 for lunch and $38 for dinner, or $92 per day for three meals.
UWK submitted a public records request on March 31, 2026, specifically seeking charges made to the mayor’s city credit card and reimbursements related to the Washington, D.C., conference.
Records show the city prepared Riley’s final travel expense report on March 25, identifying, $1,575.87 in expenses for which he was responsible for reimbursing the city, records obtained by UWK show.
On April 6, Riley reimbursed the city $1,575.87 by cashier’s check, according to records provided to UWK.
The reimbursement included his wife’s airfare to the conference and seat upgrades for both Riley and his wife. It also included reimbursement for CLEAR+ membership fees, Mary Riley’s TSA identity-confirmation fee and meal expenses that exceeded the mayor’s per diem allowance.
Legislative Auditor Examination
UWK has learned that legislative auditors are reviewing multiple public records and examining aspects of the city’s finances, including credit card transactions. The examination remains ongoing, and additional details were not available Wednesday.
UWK contacted Louisiana Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack for comment on the examination. Waguespack said his office could neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation.
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