Opelousas Mayor Pleads Not Guilty To 15 Felony Counts

Opelousas Mayor Reggie Tatum (Photo Courtesy of KATC)

Opelousas Mayor Reggie Tatum will face a judge in May on 15 felony charges related to overtime payments that investigators say were fraudulent. The payments were made by the city after the August 2016 flood event in Acadiana.

The 15 counts include felony theft, forgery, malfeasance, injuring public records and filing false public records. KATC reports Tatum entered a not guilty plea through his attorney, Frank Olivier III.

KATC Investigates uncovered after the August 2016 floods that Tatum paid himself almost $13,000 in overtime, even though mayors are exempt from overtime payments during disaster response.

Back in October, KPEL reported Tatum was indicted by a grand jury in St. Landry Parish.