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May 28, 2013Crime Blotter: Reported offenses in the Tri-parishes
May 28, 2013
A 38-foot boat that has been a subject of controversy for a former Terrebonne Parish Sheriff has been sold to the highest bidder at an eBay online auction.
The 38-foot Fountain fishing boat was purchased under the administration of former Sheriff Vernon Bourgeois. Its $300,000 price tag when initially bought was met through about $150,000 in taxpayer dollars, with the rest furnished by local oilfield service companies.
Sheriff Jerry Larpenter, who said the vessel was unnecessary and that its maintenance costs would be a continued burden, sold the 2010 vessel for $160,000 to Michael Palmeri of Newport News, Va.
Palmeri met with Larpenter and other officials at the Sheriff’s Office Motor Pool last week, cashier’s check in hand.
“That $160,000 represents the portion that taxpayers paid out,” Larpenter said. He has not announced what he will do with the money yet, although sheriff’s office sources say an armored personnel carrier for use in hostage situations or something similar is a possibility.
Larpenter and other critics of Bourgeois cited the boat as part of a pattern of alleged wasteful spending.
Bourgeois stood by the decision, maintaining that a boat of that size could be used for search-and-rescue missions in rough seas by the Water Patrol. That local businesses contributed to buy it, Bourgeois said, is proof that some saw a need.
Larpenter had difficulty getting the boat sold because of regulations regarding the disposal of property. He was not permitted, according to an opinion from the Louisiana Attorney General, to turn it over to a marine broker for sale.
The eBay option, however, was determined consistent with laws and regulations, Larpenter said.
Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Jerry Larpenter accepts a cashier’s check from Michael Palmeri, who purchased the agency’s 38-foot Fountain fishing boat through eBay. Palmeri, of Newport News, Va., paid $160,000 for the vessel, approximately what Terrebonne taxpayers initially invested, according to Larpenter. The Fountain was purchased by former sheriff Vernon Bourgeois.
