Baton Rouge Corruption Case Expands as Charges Against Cleve Dunn Grow

District 6 Councilman Cleve Dunn now faces a long list of charges tied to an alleged $50,000 CATS contract scheme, including bribery, money laundering, public contract fraud, illegal split commission of commodities, malfeasance in office, and multiple conspiracy counts. Investigators say he used his position to connect key players, push the contract through, and route more than $33,000 back to Core Group LLC, a business linked to him.Legal analyst Franz Borghardt calls the case a “kitchen sink indictment,” noting prosecutors stacked every possible charge. He says Dunn is presumed innocent and may argue this is an ethics issue rather than a criminal one. But the broader investigation is not over. Officials expect more Baton Rouge names to surface as lower-level individuals begin cooperating.Dunn remains on both the Metro Council and the CATS board unless those bodies take action. This case marks the start of what could become a larger public-corruption shakeup in Baton Rouge.