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Sources: FBI joins investigation into missing money at WBR Sheriff's Office
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PORT ALLEN - Sources confirmed to the WBRZ Investigative Unit that the FBI has joined the investigation looking into missing money at the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office.
The WBRZ Investigative Unit also learned that Sheriff Mike Cazes recently stopped paying the deputy at the center of investigation following public outcry within his department and from the public.
West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office employee Mandy Miller had remained on the payroll for nearly three months, as investigators continue looking into $150,000 that went missing. Sources said Miller already confessed to stealing money from the department.
Payroll records obtained by the WBRZ Investigative Unit through a public records request show Miller earns $72,141.12 in her role processing traffic tickets. She's been employed since 1998.
Continued questions to Sheriff Mike Cazes about why Miller remains on the payroll have gone unanswered.
"The problem is people in these positions are given a fiduciary duty to the taxpayers," District Attorney Tony Clayton said. "You can rest assured that we will follow the evidence, and if public money has been interfered with, they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Make no mistake about it."
Clayton said his office has taken no action yet, because they are still waiting on investigative files pertaining to the case.
"I do not plan on convening a grand jury on this one if the evidence is strong," Clayton said. "This is a case I can make a call on my own. If it's evidence that is clear cut, then I don't need a grand jury to make it. I need the evidence to prosecute. I need to show the fraud, how the fraud took place, under what circumstances."
WBRZ reached out to Sheriff Mike Cazes. We did not hear back.
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