PORT ALLEN - Robert McCormick disputed earlier testimony of the former fire marshal and other witnesses when he took the stand Wednesday in his trial on money laundering, malfeasance and other charges.

McCormick worked for the fire marshal's office at the time of the crimes. He is on trial with his twin brother Thomas McCormick, an attorney accused of working with Robert McCormick to bilk the government out of more than $800,000 by having agencies buy overpriced emergency supplies -- including ice and bottled water -- from companies associated with Thomas McCormick.

A legislative auditor’s report, and an auditor's trial testimony, indicated that the brothers used a pass-through scheme to take advantage of the states of emergency during storms like hurricanes Laura and Delta. In the scheme, Robert McCormick bought supplies from companies with connections to his brother Thomas McCormick. Thomas or Robert McCormick would then get those goods or services at a lower price somewhere else but would collect the higher price from the state.

Robert McCormick testified that he was tasked with finding water, ice, food, restrooms and showers for the search and rescue teams coming from out of state to help Louisiana during the emergencies. He also said that procuring resources was not the original job he was hired to do by the fire marshal's office. 

McCormick had served in the military and was also an educator before taking a job with the fire marshal's office in March 2019 as an emergency management officer, which he said was a new position. He said his job was to make sure the office got reimbursed for search and rescue deployment missions. While he received standard state training in the use of LaCarte state-issued credit cards, McCormick said he got no training from the fire marshal's office about emergency procurement. 

During Hurricane Laura, McCormick was a fire marshal's  communications liaison for the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. The fire marshal's office was responsible for fire services and aiding out-of-state search and rescue teams. McCormick handled aid requests and confirmed information between GOHSEP and agencies in other states. 

Days before Hurricane Laura made landfall, McCormick said, he was told to find space and supplies for the search and rescue teams coming to Louisiana. He said initially he and another fire marshal's employee were making supplies deliveries themselves. Later, he and several others in the office discussed the plan and decided it was better to hire a third-party vendor. McCormick said he recommended Bernard Christmas of Westside Services.

When the storm hit, McCormick said, supervisors told him more people needed more water and that he needed to “make it happen.” He said he relayed the need for more manpower to Christmas, suggesting Christmas might hire his twin brother Thomas McCormick or someone like him to manage finances for the company. 

“I may have recommended Tom,” Robert McCormick said. “GOHSEP had the National Guard, we had Westside Services.”

During this time, McCormick said, he had more requests for aid coming in and nobody had asked him about costs. He knew his LaCarte card had a limit and Westside Services needed to be paid, so he gave invoices to other fire marshals' office employees to pay. 

For Hurricane Delta, McCormick said, Ruel Devillier and then-Fire Marshal Butch Browning decided to bring the same search and rescue teams that came to Louisiana for Laura. He was told to lease part of the Bon Carré Mall to house the search and rescue teams and asked Phillip Sibley and Bernard Christmas to put in a bid for bringing toilets and showers to the space.

McCormick was asked in court about another bid he may have received from Just Johns, another company that could have provided portable restrooms and showers. McCormick said he must have made a mistake.

Between hurricanes Laura and Delta, McCormick said, others in the office learned about his brother's connections to the companies run by Sibley and Christmas.

“My boss told me it was okay to continue doing it because Butch [Browning] said it was okay,” McCormick said. 

He said he absolutely did not steer contracts to his brother. 

“[I’m] absolutely outraged. Nobody was there in our situation. It was life or death,” McCormick said. “I was told to do it.”

McCormick also said Browning met his brother around the time Westside Services hired him.

During the cross-examination, the state asked McCormick if he knew GOHSEP had emergency supplies, including 400,000 bottles of water. He said he did not know. He also said he believed that restrictions on how state-issued credit cards can be used were lifted during times of emergency. 

“A government proclamation trumps all policy,” McCormick said.

He said he did not look at every invoice the fire marshal's office paid, delegating some of that work to another employee.

McCormick’s testimony conflicted with what earlier witnesses had said. The prosecutor said Browning did not give McCormick permission to work with his brother. 

“Butch Browning definitely mischaracterized,” McCormick said. “You could do business as long as your brother wasn’t the owner.”

McCormick was also questioned about a lease with the American Legion for space for the search and rescue teams. The American Legion told the legislative auditor’s office the invoice was for five days.  Prosecutors said the invoice paid by the fire marshal's office was for seven days. 

“I’m not calling anyone a liar, but our version of events might differ,” McCormick said.

When asked about an interview with the legislative auditor's office in May 2021, McCormick said he was never asked if his brother was connected to Westside Services. He said he was asked if Thomas McCormick was involved with Emergency Logistics Solutions, and said he was not.

However, when shown an invoice from Emergency Logistics Solutions that passed through Thomas McCormick's email account before getting to him, Robert McCormick said he believed his brother was simply forwarding the invoice from Sibley.

The Secretary of State's business filings show that Thomas McCormick's law firm was listed as the registered agent for Emergency Logistics Solutions.

Prosecutors tried to pin down when Robert McCormick knew his brother started working with Westside Services and for Emergency Logistics Solutions. He had told the legislative auditor's office his brother had no involvement with Emergency Logistics Solutions. He testified Wednesday that his brother did work with that company, but said he didn't know when that started.

District Attorney Tony Clayton said the evidence is clear.

"I think I'll put it this way -- there's  an avalanche of evidence pointing to the guilt of these two brothers," he said.

The trial continues Thursday at 9 a.m.