GRAND ISLE, La. — A fire chief and a firefighter were among 20 who were arrested Thursday in connection with a drug investigation.
A tip that drugs were being sold at the fire station earlier this year prompted a six-month undercover operation, NOLA.com reported. Fire Chief Aubrey “T-Black” Chaisson and firefighter Patrick Santiny were among those arrested, in addition to 18 other residents.
Deputies booked Chief Chaisson on a charge of possession of marijuana and an outstanding attachment for contempt of court. Firefighter Santiny was booked with a possession of marijuana, possession of a control dangerous substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The other 18 residents were also booked mostly on drug charges. The investigation is ongoing and could result in more arrests, deputies said.
This is not the first time Chief Chaisson has come under fire publicly.
An audit found that he had recouped $20,000 in overtime pay in 2009 with no documentation that he qualified to receive that pay, according to the report.
As part of the six-month undercover operation, agents were “lured” for drug sales.
“The complexities of executing an undercover operation on an island — one way on, one way off; very few residents; and everybody knows one another — I think goes without saying,” Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said. “Every time a new face is seen down there everyone’s antenna goes up and their radar is on.”
Sheriff Normand said that there’s no evidence at this point that Chief Chaisson and firefighter Santiny consumed drugs while on duty.
“That would be really concerning,” Normand said.