Charles Foti | |
|---|---|
| 43rd Louisiana Attorney General | |
| In office January 12, 2004 – January 14, 2008 | |
| Governor | Kathleen Blanco |
| Preceded by | Richard Ieyoub |
| Succeeded by | Buddy Caldwell |
| Sheriff of Orleans Parish, Louisiana | |
| In office 1974–2004 | |
| Succeeded by | Marlin N. Gusman (elected 2004) [1] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charles Carmen Foti Jr. November 30, 1937 |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence(s) | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Alma mater |
University of New Orleans (BA) Loyola University New Orleans (JD) |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | 
United States |
| Branch/service | 
United States Army |
| Years of service | 1955-1958 |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
Charles Carmen Foti Jr. (born November 30, 1937) is a lawyer in New Orleans and a politician who served a single term from 2004 to 2008 as the Democratic Attorney General of the U.S. state of Louisiana, United States. Prior to becoming attorney general, Foti had been repeatedly reelected and served for thirty years as Orleans Parish criminal sheriff.
Foti won the attorney general's office when the incumbent Democrat, Richard Ieyoub of Lake Charles, ran unsuccessfully for governor in the 2003 primary. Foti defeated the Republican candidate, Suzanne Haik Terrell, also of New Orleans, 689,179 votes (54 percent) to 597,917 (46 percent).
Foti failed in his bid to win reelection as attorney general, having finished last in the three-way nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 20, 2007. The leading candidates were the Republican lawyer, Royal Alexander of Shreveport, and the Democratic District Attorney, Buddy Caldwell, of Tallulah. Caldwell won the general election [2] and was sworn in to replace Foti on January 14, 2008. Caldwell later switched to the Republican Party in 2011, to secure his second term.
On February 1, 2014, Foti ran again for the Orleans Parish sheriff's position; he finished second in a four-candidate field. He polled 23,676 votes (28.6 percent). Foti's fellow Democrat and successor as sheriff, Marlin N. Gusman, with 40,557 votes (48.9 percent), nearly won the position outright in the nonpartisan blanket primary. [3] Foti and Gusman entered a runoff election on March 15, [4] in which Gusman handily prevailed, 40,068 (66.7 percent) to Foti's 19,996 (33.3 percent). [5]
Early life and education
Foti was born in 1937 in New Orleans. He attended public schools, graduating from Warren Easton High School in the city. He earned a Bachelor's degree at the University of New Orleans, where he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. [6] After military service and working, Foti returned to university, earning a J.D., Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in 1965.
Personal
From 1955 to 1958, Foti served in the United States Army. [7]
A long-time advocate for the elderly, during his time as criminal sheriff, Foti organized Thanksgiving meals for New Orleans senior citizens who were alone or could not afford a holiday meal. He also started a back-to-work program for seniors over the age of fifty-five. As attorney general, Foti investigated and prosecuted abuse of the elderly in Louisiana's health-care facilities.
After vacating the attorney general's office, Foti joined the New Orleans law firm Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC, where he engages in the practice of securities and consumer fraud law. [8]
Criticism
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Foti as State AG prosecuted private citizens on behalf of the numerous elderly New Orleans residents who died in flooding, power failures, and resulting disaster. Foti reportedly claimed that some medical staff, who worked at Memorial Hospital in New Orleans during the storm, had murdered several patients. [9] In July 2007, Dr. Pou sued Foti, accusing him of playing politics with her life and the dead from Katrina. [10] After the police conducted a lengthy investigation, a grand jury in July 2007 declined to indict Pou. [11] The charges have since been expunged. In 2009, the legislature passed a bill to pay Dr. Pou's legal fees, which was signed by Governor Bobby Jindal. [12] Several lawmakers have apologized for the accusations against Pou. [12] The failed prosecution of Dr. Pou was an issue during Foti's unsuccessful re-election campaign in 2007. [13]
In a related story, the owners of a nursing home near Poydras filed a civil suit against federal, state and local officials, including the Army Corps of Engineers, Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, Attorney General Charles C. Foti Jr., and numerous other authorities and agencies for failing to evacuate nursing home residents during the hurricane. [14]
Electoral history
Criminal Sheriff, Parish of Orleans, 1990
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, February 3, 1990
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Charles Foti | Democratic | needs more research | Elected |
| Henry Julien Jr. | Democratic | needs more research | Defeated |
Criminal Sheriff, Parish of Orleans, 1994
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, February 5, 1994
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Charles Foti | Democratic | Unopposed | Elected |
Criminal Sheriff, Parish of Orleans, 1998
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, February 7, 1998
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Charles Foti | Democratic | Unopposed | Elected |
Criminal Sheriff, Parish of Orleans, 2002
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, February 2, 2002
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Charles Foti | Democratic | 90,897 (71%) | Elected |
| Morris Reed | Democratic | 27,378 (22%) | Defeated |
| Orlando Matthews | Democratic | 9,014 (7%) | Defeated |
Attorney General of Louisiana, 2003
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 4, 2003
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Charles Foti | Democratic | 689,179 (54%) | Elected |
| Suzanne Haik Terrell | Republican | 597,917 (46%) | Defeated |
Attorney General of Louisiana, 2007
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 20, 2007
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| James "Buddy" Caldwell | Democratic | 434,111 (36%) | Runoff |
| Royal Alexander | Republican | 395,649 (32%) | Runoff |
| Charles Foti | Democratic | 389,568 (32%) | Defeated |
References
- ^ "Louisiana general election returns, November 2, 2004". staticresults.sos.la.gov. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
- ^ "Results for Election Date: 11/17/2007". staticresults.sos.la.gov. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
- ^ "Louisiana election returns, February 1, 2014". staticresults.sos.la.gov. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
- ^ "Jarvis DeBerry, Sheriff Marlin Gusman's re-election bid thwarted by Quentin Brown, lawn-care guy, February 3, 2014". New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
- ^ "Results for Election Date: 3/15/2014: Orleans Parish". staticresults.sos.la.gov. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ "Distinguished Alumni". Tau Kappa Epsilon. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
- ^ "Charles Foti", Campaigns and Elections
- ^ Daily Business News Archived August 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Doctor accused in Katrina deaths asserts innocence". Associated Press. 2006-09-22.
- ^ Gwen Filosa (2007-07-16). "Foti sued by doctor accused in Memorial Hospital deaths". The Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
- ^ "'Dark Cloud' Lifted From Pou, Attorney Says: Grand Jury Declines To Indict Doctor In Hospital Deaths". WDSU. 2007-07-24. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27.
- ^ a b "Gov. Jindal Signs Bill To Reimburse Anna Pou". Associated Press. 2009-07-01. Archived from the original on 2012-08-25.
- ^ Bill Barrow (2007-10-21). "Foti out as attorney general". The Times-Picayune.
- ^ "Care Home Owners Sue in Katrina Deaths". LA Times. 2006.
External links
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| National | |
