Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson says a private donor will pay for her top deputies' hotel stay at the Royal Sonesta on Bourbon St., WWL-TV reports.
Hutson defended the hotel stay for her commanders, arguing that the turnaround time for them to get back to work necessitated a stay somewhere closer to the main action during Mardi Gras.
New Orleans City Councilmember Joe Giarrusso did not sound convinced that staying overnight so close to Bourbon St. was necessary.
"A lot of public servants are crunched," Giarrusso told WWL-TV, "and they spend the night in their own bed."
The bill for their lodgings, in the neighborhood of $1 million, will now be covered by a dog training company in Vermillion Parish, the TV station reports.
