New Orleans’ first inspector general resigns

The abrupt departure of New Orleans’ first inspector general, after less than one year on the job, isn’t expected to disrupt the office’s work. Before Robert Cerasoli officially submitted his resignation letter today, the chairman of the city’s Ethics Review Board, the Rev. Kevin Wildes, announced Leonard Odom, Cerasoli’s No. 2 in New Orleans, would be the interim inspector general. “He’ll step right in for him,” Wildes says. Because of Cerasoli’s “high standards” in choosing staff and setting up shop, the still-fledgling office created by the city after Hurricane Katrina to root out any fraud, waste, inefficiencies or corruption in the dealings of City Hall is left in “really good shape,” he says. Cerasoli called Odom, a career watchdog whose previous roles include inspector general of the Chicago Housing Authority and assistant chief of criminal investigations for the IRS in Cincinnati, “one of the best in the country.” Odom says he shares Cerasoli’s objectives for the office—ensuring citizens have the most efficient and effective government possible—and could seek the post permanently. Cerasoli’s departure due to health reasons comes just as the office—for which he often found himself fighting bureaucratic snags for such basics as a computer network—began showing signs of finally gaining traction.