THE
ACADIANA
ADVOCATE
T H E A C A D I A N A A D V O C AT E.C O M
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S u n d ay, J u ly 20, 2025
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Visa fraud arrests rock three small La. towns Residents react to alleged scheme involving four lawmen
BY JOSEPH CRANNEY | Staff writer
PHOTOS By ROBIN MAy
Kermit Miller discusses the history of Jack Miller’s Bar-B-Que Sauce, on the 70th anniversary, in Ville Platte on July 10. Jack Miller started selling the condiment to the public in 1955.
AWESOME
SAUCE For 70 years Jack Miller’s condiment has played a starring role at many Louisiana cookouts
ä See ARRESTS, page 9A
New child welfare agency chief chosen
BY JOANNA BROWN | Staff writer When a south Louisiana restaurateur named Jack Miller created a new barbecue sauce to use in his Ville Platte restaurant, the American Inn, he had no way of knowing that the concoction would go on to play a starring role at the cookout for generations of Louisiana families. Jack Miller’s Bar-B-Que Sauce, which Miller began selling to the public in 1955, is a condiment heavyweight for Cajun households. Seventy years later, the brand is so well-loved that it’s even spawned a
OAKDALE — Ann Odom, 73, has lived her whole life in this small city at the ankle of Louisiana’s boot. And for the past three decades, she’s owned a flea market and gift shop about 10 minutes north in tiny Glenmora. On Thursday, a day after police chiefs in Oakdale and Glenmora were indicted on fraud charges, along with Oakdale’s city marshal and the police chief in an even tinier nearby hamlet, Forest Hill, Odom stood in her store and tried making sense of it. One thought came to mind. “Money is the root of all evil,” she said. The arrests of four elected local lawmen, following a yearlong federal investigation, stood out even in a part of western Louisiana that has seen its share of disgraced officials. The 62-count indictment unsealed last week includes allegations of faked police reports, fraudulent visas for foreign nationals and tens of thousands of dollars in alleged bribes. It portrays Rapides and Allen parishes as an epicenter of immigration fraud on a wide scale. According to prosecutors, each of those four lawmen was plied with stacks of cash by the owner of a local fast-food franchise and two convenience stores. Then, hundreds of people received visas based on phony police reports that portrayed them as crime victims or witnesses who were helping authorities. All four lawmen pleaded not guilty on Thursday in federal court in Alexandria. The indictment ripped through this three-town
Steve Thomas caps and labels the bottles of Jack Miller’s Bar-B-Que Sauce on July 10. new menu item at restaurants and lunch counters across Acadiana: the Jack Miller’s burger. It’s a tender patty kept hot and moist in a vat of Jack Miller’s, before being placed on a bun, dressed with more sauce, and wrapped in foil so the bun steams together with the hamburger and barbecue
sauce. It’s especially satisfying when purchased from a cart at a festival or some other outdoor event. The result is a flavor explosion that can’t be replicated with any other sauce anywhere else in the country.
ä See SAUCE, page 8A
“It’s still everything that he (Jack Miller) used back in the ’50s, when he first started. He would mix it like a baker, pouring the salt and seasonings in his hand and measuring it out. I had to watch him, weigh it all out, and write it down.” KERMIT MILLER, Jack Miller’s son and CEO of Jack Miller’s Bar-B-Que Sauce
Landry shakes up troubled division’s leadership
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN | Staff writer As the agency continues to struggle with staffing shortages and recruitment, Gov. Jeff Landry has announced that Rebecca Harris will take over as secretary of the Department of Children & Family Services. Landry said in a news release that Harris will replace David Matlock, who has headed the agency since early 2024. Harris’ “experience in operational improvement and her commitment to protecting our most vulnerable children make her the right choice to lead DCFS,” Landry Harris said. “I have full confidence she will strengthen this department and deliver positive outcomes for our most vulnerable citizens.”
ä See CHIEF, page 9A
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101ST yEAR, NO. 20