Former Mayor of Lockport charged with malfeasance during 2019 time in office

Colin Campo, The Courier
·2 min read

The former mayor of Lockport was arrested today by the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office and accused of falsifying reports while in office in 2019.

Edward Reinhardt, 73, of Lockport was arrested on Tuesday and charged with malfeasance in office. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years with or without hard labor as well as a possible fine of up to five thousand dollars. Bail was set at $25,000, which Reinhardt posted.

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According to the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office, an investigation led to evidence that Reinhardt signed paperwork that four people completed court-ordered community service hours which had not been carried out.

"These four individuals were assigned community service by the courts," said Brennan Matherne, Public Information Officer for the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office. "As Mayor, he oversaw that and he signed off on paperwork stating that people did community service hours, knowing that they had not completed them."

Reinhardt's attorney Thomas Calogero said he would not be commenting at this time.

Reinhardt served as the town’s mayor from 2016 until Nov. 15 2022 when he resigned amid allegations that he sexually harassed an employee. After Reinhardt resigned, Paul Champagne served as interim mayor until the fall elections. Reinhardt was originally barred from running in the race by Judge Steven Miller, but after appealing the decision it was overturned. Reinhardt lost re-election to Barry Plaisance.

Reinhardt is currently suing the Town of Lockport as well as its attorney, Christopher Huddleston, in Federal Court with a pretrial set for October 18. Reinhardt claims that the Town of Lockport overreached its legal authority in its investigation into the allegations, denied him due process and that the Council and the attorney through extortion and public intimidation convinced Reinhardt to resign.

He is also suing members of a Facebook group known as We the People of Lockport for defamation for messages made by the group ahead of election day and has a trial on September 11 and 12 in the Thibodaux courts.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Former Mayor of Lockport arrested on charges of malfeasance in office