BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A former New Orleans district attorney known for hardball tactics, including threats to jail uncooperative witnesses, is joining Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry’s staff.
Landry announced Tuesday that Leon Cannizzaro will be the co-director of his criminal division. He will work with and eventually succeed current director Marty White, who plans to retire, Landry said.
The previous director, Pat Magee, resigned in March after what he said were false accusations of sexual harassment.
Cannizzaro, first elected in 2008, announced during qualifying last year that he would not run for a third term. At the time, he faced litigation over his aggressive maneuvers, including threats to jail crime victims who wouldn’t testify and his staff’s use of phony subpoenas never approved by a judge.
Cannizzaro said the use of the fake subpoenas was halted after they were exposed by a New Orleans news outlet, The Lens. He has said the use of “material witness” warrants to jail uncooperative victims was rare in domestic violence or sexual assault cases, but sometimes necessary to prosecute dangerous criminals.
His office has paid at least $70,000 in settlements with various plaintiffs in a 2017 lawsuit over the tactics, according to documents provided in January to The Associated Press in response to a freedom of information request.
Before Cannizzaro’s election, he had been a judge in state district and appeal courts, both in New Orleans. Landry noted his experience as a judge and prosecutor.
Landry said White had been planning to retire, and Cannizzaro will work with him “to basically pass the baton.”
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