Sheriff Faces Ethics Charges For Buying Home At His Own Sheriff's Sale Auction; His Department Had Seized Premises Three Months Earlier

In Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, KATC-TV Channel 3 reports:

• The Louisiana Board of Ethics voted last week to file charges against Vermilion Parish Sheriff Michael Couvillon for his purchase of a home his department seized and then he bought at his own Sheriff sale auction.
  
  Back in May 2014, a KATC investigation into the sale found that Couvillon may have violated state ethics law that that prohibits public servants from entering into contracts and transactions with the agencies they serve.
  
  The home was seized by the Vermilion Parish Sheriff's deputies in November 2013. The notice of seizure, issued under Couvillon's authority, set an auction date for February 2014.
  
  Last assessed at $106,000, the home sold for $58,000 when Couvillon purchased the home at the auction through a representative, where he was one of only two bids.

For more, see Ethics board files charges against Vermilion sheriff following KATC Investigation.

See also, Corruption Accusation Over Sheriff's New Home; Sheriff Defends Purchase (A Vermilion parish woman is calling foul over the sale of her foreclosed home. It's a sale that could cause potential ethical and legal problems for one elected official in Vermilion Parish).