State police investigators say a retired trooper has turned to a life of
crime. KATC’s David D’aquin was there when the former enforcer was read his
rights. CJ Melancon was a long time Louisiana state trooper. Now police say
he’s running a gambling operation used by more than 1,000 people per week.
He’s accused of money laundering and felony gambling. He and his son Shannon
Léger own a downtown Lafayette bar. His son is accused of felony gambling as
well. In all twelve people were arrested Thursday. Carlos Palma and his wife
are accused of running a separate organization. Norris Léger and his wife
Pamela are accused of running yet another gambling organization along with
delinquency of a minor. The Legers, the Palmas and the Melancons are all
from Rayne and are all accused of having their own gambling operations. The
others who were arrested are accused of actually taking the bets for them.
State police arrested folks in Rayne and Lafayette Thursday and all were
either booked into the Acadia parish jail, or the Lafayette parish jail.
State police had been investigating for the past year. “The bottom line is
when the law is broken; we have an obligation not only to ourselves as an
agency, but to the people of Louisiana to enforce those laws. That is what
we did here.” The investigation is still open and state police expect to
arrest several more people as this operation continues.