Longtime St. Gabriel officer files lawsuit, claims he was fired for blowing whistle on indicted police chief
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ST. GABRIEL- A longtime police officer in St. Gabriel said he was terminated after meeting with the FBI and Iberville Parish Sheriff's deputies about allegations of wrongdoing pertaining to Kevin Ambeau, a newly filed lawsuit alleges.
Ambeau was indicted last month for money laundering, theft, malfeasance in office, filing false public records and obstruction of justice. That indictment included charges against his ex-wife and a business owner in Sunshine too.
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A lawsuit filed recently alleges Jamaal Carter provided the FBI and Iberville Sheriff's Office with pictures of personal property that Chief Ambeau had taken from a drug arrest. The lawsuit states once Ambeau learned of Carter's cooperation with the Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office and the FBI, Carter's workplace environment at the SGPD became hostile.
"Chief Ambeau would openly make comments such as "that m*********** 'Mall' (short for Jamaal) called the FBI on me," "I'm going to get that m***********," "I'm going to fire that m***********."
"What good deed goes unpunished," lawyer Ron Haley said. "He was a civil servant. He's doing the right thing. He noticed something as wrong. He cooperated...the things you would want someone to do. He was punished for it."
Carter said he was terminated over the summer.
"I was there for 20 years," Carter said. "I worked with him the whole time. There was no reason for me to lie on him, and I wasn't going to lie for him."
In a phone call with WBRZ, Ambeau denied any wrongdoing, and said Carter was terminated following a process. He said the City Council ratified his recommendation.
Ambeau is due in court at the beginning of the year.