Fred Baden - Financial Audit

Financial Audit

Mayor Deslatte invited the Louisiana legislative auditor, Dan Kyle, a Republican, to inspect Pineville's municipal books. Kyle's office criticized the Baden administration for violations ranging from the illegal donation of thirty-one vehicles to other governmental entities as well as special leave benefits for Baden's wife, Roxan, when she became an employee in her husband's office.

Thereafter, the office of then Louisiana Attorney General Richard Ieyoub, a Democrat, cleared Baden of any wrongdoing, but Dan Kyle claimed that Ieyoub had ignored critical evidence that would have found Baden guilty of malfeasance in office. However, Ieyoub reported that a lengthy investigation concluded "there is insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution." Baden said at the time that he knew he would be cleared of the allegations. "I felt all along that I would be cleared of these allegations. . . I never did anything wrong. We never took anything from the city that we didn't earn."

Deslatte was unable to work with the city council and resigned as mayor after less than two years into his term. He said that the political pressure was too much to make the job worth keeping. The council then appointed an African American council member, Clarence Ray Fields, Sr. (born November 7, 1955), as interim mayor to succeed Deslatte. Fields, hence the first black mayor of Pineville, was then elected to a partial term in 2000, a full term in 2002 and reelected again in 2006. Baden announced that he would oppose Fields for the partial term in 2000 but subsequently withdrew from consideration, and George Hearn instead ran unsuccessfully for mayor that year.