Metropolitan Crime Commission president Rafael Goyeneche receives anonymous tip that Price accepted gifts paid for with money from the Police Citizens Service Fund, a philanthropic fund set up by Mandeville Police Chief Tom Buell to purchase toys for underprivileged children. Investigation by Louisiana Legislative Auditer ensues.
April 2008
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May 2008
Officers involved in the April Causeway incident are suspended and demoted.
July 2008
Causeway Police Chief Felix Loicano resigns after a Metropolitan Crime Commission panel finds he may have ordered special treatment for Price in the Causeway incident by failing to order a sobriety test for the mayor.
July 2008
A separate external investigation into the Mandeville Police Department is released by the Metropolitan Crime Commission. While it credits the MPD with maintaining a safe community with a relatively low crime rate, the report calls into question the effective operation and management of the agency, and cites its lack of a clear mission.
July 2008
Price gives up his city-owned vehicle and admits he has entered a counseling program.
July 2008
The Mandeville City Council votes 4-1 to hire an outside agency to conduct its own investigation of a 2006 incident, details of which surfaced after the Causeway event. In the earlier incident, Price was stopped for driving erratically. Officers at the time failed to issue a citation or a sobriety test, and drove the mayor back to City Hall, after which he was reportedly seen at a gas station and appeared intoxicated. The investigation is later shelved.
August 2008
A recall petition is started by a group known as Concerned Citizens for Mandeville to remove Price from office.
August 2008
A scathing 55-page audit is released by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, indicating widespread misuse of public funds by Mandeville city officials, from using city credit cards for personal expenses to accepting expensive gifts from city contractors. Price is front and center of the findings, along with Mandeville Finance Director Milton Stiebing and City Councilman Gerry Coogan.
August 2008
U.S. Attorney Jim Letten opens an investigation into the audit findings.
August 2008
Allegations surface that Price may have violated ethics laws by renting a vehicle from developer Don McMath, who holds several contracts with the city of Mandeville.
November 2008
Mandeville Police Chief Tom Buell announces he will retire at year-end, but would not specify if his decision was related to the audit findings.
November 2008
Fire destroys the home of Rodney Boudreaux, one of the organizers of the Price recall effort. Investigators rule the incident as arson.
February 2009
The recall effort fails, as the petition fails to gather the required number of signatures, falling far short of the more than 2,300 needed from registered voters.
August 2009
Price is indicted for perjury for his role in the aggravated battery trial of businessman Gary Copp. Price steadfastly maintains his innocence, but turns himself in at the jail as ordered, and is released on a signature bond.
September 2009
Price pleads not guilty during his arraignment on the perjury charges. A status hearing is set for Nov. 2. Members of the Mandeville City Council testify before a grand jury about the way service contracts are awarded.
October 9, 2009
Price resigns, citing “distractions” that have become a “burden to the city.”
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