Advertisement New Orleans FBI chief calls political corruption in Louisiana 'robust' Share Shares Copy Link Copy

New Orleans FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Jeffrey Sallet has only been on the job in the Crescent City for six months, but he's already seen enough to call political corruption "robust.""This office has more special agents and employees working corruption per employee in the division, than any other division in the country. Corruption here is profound," Sallet said.Before coming to Louisiana, the 19-year FBI veteran was section chief of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section of the Criminal Investigative Division of the FBI.The New Orleans District of the FBI has played a key role in recent high-profile federal convictions, including former Washington-St. Tammany District Attorney Walter Reed, and retired St. Charles District Attorney Harry Morel.And Sallet said such investigations are not over. "This office is working very hard to insure that we hold corrupt public officials accountable. You will be seeing a lot more investigations, a lot more high profile investigations, and there will be zero tolerance for corruption in government," Sallet said.Sallet's background reads more like a movie from taking on mob bosses in New York to playing a key role in the 9/11 investigation. While Sallet emphasizes that all investigations are team efforts, he headed up the search and capture of those responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings.A forensic accountant himself, Sallet said fighting corruption in Louisiana is much like fighting organized crime."We're going to make consensual recordings, we're going to do Title III's, we're going to use undercover operations, and we are going to use historical information because you can't hide from your past," Sallet said.At the same time, Sallet and his team are working with local law enforcement authorities to get a handle on the violence plaguing New Orleans through the use of task forces dealing with gangs and violent crime."One is based on group,one is based on crime, so, for example, the uptown robberies, those were crimes that were being committed. Our violent crimes task force was instrumental in catching the folks in the uptown robberies," Sallet said.Sallet admits that the safety of the people in his district, no matter what the threat, will keep him awake some nights, but when it comes to political corruption investigations, he has no trouble sleeping."We have lots going on, and there are a lot of people that are nervous right now," Sallet said.The FBI special agent in charge of the New Orleans District gives the credit to his team working diligently to keep the people across his district safe.Keep up with local news, weather and current events with the WDSU app here.Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news right in your inbox. Click here to sign up!