Baton Rouge Schools Chief Cole Charged in City Hall Corruption Probe

BATON ROUGE, La. — A special grand jury indicted East Baton Rouge Parish Schools Superintendent LaMont Cole Wednesday afternoon on felony corruption charges tied to his former role as a Metro Council leader.

Cole, 52, faces two counts of conspiracy to commit public bribery, two counts of money laundering and a single count of malfeasance in office. The charges are all felonies under Louisiana law. Cole has not entered a plea, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

What the Indictment Alleges

The dates in the indictment tie the alleged conduct to Cole’s time as Mayor Pro Tempore, the top leadership post on the East Baton Rouge Metro Council. He held that seat before leaving the council two years ago to take over as superintendent of the parish’s public school system.

Cole’s attorney, David Rozas, declined to comment on the charges.

The grand jury also indicted contractors Terral “TJ” Jackson and his wife, Erica Jackson, on the same two bribery conspiracy counts Cole faces, along with two additional money laundering counts against the couple. Arrest warrants have been issued for Cole and both Jacksons.

The Jacksons previously worked as contractors for city-parish government. Earlier this year, prosecutors charged the couple with theft and conspiracy to commit theft over what they described as fraudulent contracts tied to Baton Rouge’s public transit system.

Part of a Widening City Hall Probe

Cole is the latest Baton Rouge official swept into the investigation this year. Metro Council member Cleve Dunn Jr. was indicted in January on a series of corruption and conspiracy counts, including bribery and money laundering; he pleaded not guilty in Baton Rouge court on July 1.

In February, Courtney Scott, a former top staffer under then-Mayor Sharon Weston-Broome, was indicted alongside contractor Veronica Mathis. Prosecutors accused Scott of accepting nearly $200,000 in kickbacks tied to city-administered Safe, Hopeful, Healthy program funds. She has also pleaded not guilty.

Investigators with the attorney general’s office have said the wider probe draws in part on a 2024 federal investigation into Baton Rouge city government that never produced charges. The FBI turned its findings over to Murrill’s team, and that material became a foundation for the broader state probe.

Murrill herself said little beyond a short written statement Wednesday: “These are very serious charges. It was based on a lengthy investigation by the grand jury. This investigation is continuing, so we have no further comment at this time.”

Cole Addressed the Investigation Days Earlier

Cole spoke publicly about the grand jury probe for the first time on Tuesday, a week after reporting first surfaced that he was under investigation. Speaking at the school district’s annual back-to-school convocation, he called the situation “one of the most challenging times of my life.”

Sources familiar with the investigation say the grand jury had been reviewing evidence against Cole for several months before Wednesday’s indictment.

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