By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-07 20:32:10 | Updated at 2025-01-08 17:03:22
20 hours ago
A Louisiana mayor was arrested Tuesday for allegedly hiring a prostitute and using taxpayer money to rent and Airbnb for the sex worker to visit.
Bogalusa Mayor Tyrin Truong, 25, was charged with soliciting prostitutes and transactions involving proceeds from drug offenses, among other charges, according to the state police.
Truong 'organized entertainment with a prostitute' at an Airbnb that he rented with public funds while at a mayor's conference in Atlanta, according to Northshore District Attorney Collin Sims.
He was also charged with buying drugs in Louisiana, the DA said.
'This conduct is not going to be tolerated,' Sims stated. 'The citizens of Bogalusa deserve better, and we're not finished. We're just getting started.'
The scandal was uncovered as part of a 'comprehensive investigation' that began in April 2024 by the State Police Narcotics and Violent Crime Task Force.
A drug trafficking organization in Bogalusa was found to have been distributing various drugs, including opioids, high-grade marijuana, THC products and MDMA, using social media to distribute and manage payments.
Profits from the drug sales were also determined to have been used to buy firearms, some of which were then smuggled to people prohibited from legal possession or were linked to violent crimes in the area, authorities said.
Bogalusa Mayor Tyrin Truong, 25, was charged with soliciting prostitutes and buying drugs as part of a 'comprehensive investigation' that began in April 2024
Truong was voted in as the city's mayor in 2023 at the age of 23, tying him for being the youngest mayor in state history
The investigation led to the arrests or warrants for Mayor Truong, as well as six others who were all charged with transactions involving proceeds from drug offenses
The investigation led to the arrests or warrants for Mayor Truong, as well as six others who were all charged with transactions involving proceeds from drug offenses.
Three of them face charges of conspiracy to distribute a Schedule I controlled substance. Another faces an additional charge of distribution of a Schedule II controlled substance.
State Police said that the investigation is ongoing and added that a 'variety of other matters and individuals remain under investigation with matters both separate from and related to the subject matter of today's arrests.'
Louisiana Attorney General Liza Murrill said: 'We have zero tolerance for wrongdoing, especially, from public officials. I'm very proud of all of our law enforcement agencies who worked on this investigation.'
Truong was voted in as the city's mayor in 2023 at the age of 23, tying him for being the youngest mayor in state history.
Following his arrest, the recently elected president of the Bogalusa City Council, Gloria Kates, will serve as mayor, former president of the council Kenny Kellis told Nola News.
Truong was booked into Washington Parish Jail just before 9am Tuesday, according to jail records. No bail has been set yet, said the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office.
