Aubrey W. Young
Encyclopedia
Aubrey Walsworth Young was a public official in the U.S. state of Louisiana
, who between 1965 and 1999 established multiple drug
and alcohol
treatment programs through the Department of Health and Hospitals. A political activist, Young organized his contacts from Alcoholics Anonymous
to support the election of the Democrat
John J. McKeithen as governor in the 1963–1964 election cycle.
, the seat of Ouachita Parish
, to Cammie Mae Gulledge and William Earl Young, Sr., originally from Start
in Richland Parish
. He attended the former Gulf Coast Military Academy
in Gulfport, Mississippi
, , east of New Orleans
. He was the football
quarterback
at Gulf Coast under then Coach Carl Maddox
, later the athletics director at Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge
and Mississippi State University
in Starkville
. Young left the military school and graduated instead from Neville High School in Monroe, where he played football and baseball
and was the captain of the last boxing
team offered there. He was also a cheerleader and a tenor
in the Neville glee club. Young first attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
, then known as the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette
, on a boxing scholarship, but he transferred thereafter to the University of Louisiana at Monroe
.
In 1942, he enlisted in the United States Army
and joined the 17th Airborne Division, 513th Parachute Regiment. He earned his paratrooper wings after completing training at Fort Benning
in Georgia
. He fought with his battalion in the European Theatre
of World War II
and was active in the Battle of the Bulge
, the Rhine River Jump in Germany
, and the battle of Luxembourg
at the Our River. He received the Bronze Star, the Army Good Conduct Medal
, American Campaign Medal
, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Air Medal
. His military service provided lifelong commitments to the American Legion
, Veterans of Foreign Wars
, and the Disabled American Veterans
.
Young returned from war with post-traumatic stress disorder
, formerly known as shell shock
. He became active in Alcoholics Anonymous groups as he fought his own battle against excessive liquor. He worked for a time for the Missouri Pacific Railroad
and Delta Air Lines
. After a stint as a deputy under Sheriff
Bailey Grant of Ouachita Parish, Young opened a hamburger
shop called The Huddle on 18th Street in Monroe. He was also a partner in the Paragon Supper Club in Monroe with his friends, the late Tony and Joe Cascio.
, who had entered the crowded race to succeed the term-limited Governor Jimmie Davis
. McKeithen won the Democratic nomination in a runoff election over DeLesseps Story Morrison, the former mayor of New Orleans, and then defeated the Republican
nominee, Charlton Lyons
of Shreveport
. As governor, McKeithen promptly named Young a colonel with the Louisiana State Police and as his gubernatorial aide de camp. The appointments required his relocation to Baton Rouge, where Young resided for the remainder of his life.
In 1965, Young was recognized for his work in evacuating Louisiana residents during Hurricane Betsy
by the Louisiana State Legislature
, which honored him with a concurrent resolution
citing his "new and more meaningful concept of public service." Young served as a mentor for newer legislators and as a contact person for state employees seeking liaison with lawmakers. In 1966, Young handled security arrangements for a visit to Baton Rouge by Vice President of the United States
Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota
, an LSU alumnus.
Young hired Gordon Novel, a young informant with the Central Intelligence Agency
, to install electronic debugging equipment in McKeithen's office.
In 1965, McKeithen asked Young to meet with an African American
civil rights
leader in Bogalusa
also named "Young", A.Z. Young, in an effort to defuse tensions during a march staged by black activists from Bogalusa in Washington Parish
to the Louisiana State Capitol
. The demonstrations followed by a few months the better-known Selma to Montgomery marches
in Alabama
. The procession completed its march with few disruptions, and the two Youngs struck up a longstanding friendship.
on public bribery charges stemming from reports that Smith had offered Young $25,000 to influence Young's decisions in government. After leaving McKeithen's staff, Young turned state's evidence, and his testimony before a grand jury
led to D'Alton Smith's indictment.Life Magazine indicates that when McKeithen threatened to fire Young over the proposed bribery, Young resigned.
Young, heavily involved in labor matters, also arranged the meeting at which Teamsters Union business agent Edward Grady Partin
(1924–1990) of Baton Rouge was offered, first, $25,000 a year for ten years and, then, $1 million from underworld boss Carlos Marcello
to work out a plan to overturn the conviction of union president James Riddle Hoffa
, who was in federal prison at the time. Partin's previous testimony had been instrumental in Hoffa's conviction. Another source alleges that Young was "tied" to Marcello.
In 1981, Young and four others, including Marcello, New Orleans attorney Vincent A. Mannello, lobbyist I. Irving Davidson, and Charles E. Roemer, II, a former aide to Governor Edwin Washington Edwards and the father of Edwards' second successor, Charles E. "Buddy" Roemer, III
, were charged in U.S. District Court in New Orleans with conspiracy
, racketeering, and mail and wire fraud
in a scheme to bribe state officials to give the five men multi-million dollar insurance
contracts. The charges were the result of an Federal Bureau of Investigation
probe known as BriLab.U.S. District Judge Morey Sear allowed the admission of secretly-recorded conversations that he said demonstrated corruption
at the highest levels of state government. Young was acquitted of all charges.
Roemer was thereafter convicted of one count of conspiracy and imprisoned. He was released in October 1984. Marcello was convicted of conspiracy and then indicted on additional charges involving an alleged attempt to bribe the judge. He was finally released from prison in October 1989. Irving Davidson claimed that federal agents had used threats and offers of immunity to convict Marcello. The Bureau of Prisons does not indicate that Davidson or Mannello ever served time.
, Lafayette, Crowley
, Alexandria
, Lake Charles
, and Monroe. The Office of Alcohol Abuse was created in the Department of Hospitals. He also pushed for the establishment in 1974 of the Tri-Med program in all state general hospitals. Tri-Med provides alcohol and drug abuse detoxification and mental health acute care treatments in state hospitals. He established an alcohol information curriculum for the In-Service Police Training School at LSU. Young also worked to establish AA groups in state prisons.
During this same period, Young joined Victor Bussie
of Baton Rouge, president of the Louisiana AFL-CIO
, to establish programs in industrial plants and factories for the treatment and referral of alcoholics. He pushed for greater funding for the statewide substance abuse programs. Young was also the driving force behind the Drug Court program in Louisiana. Judge Bob Downing hailed him: "Aubrey, without you, this program would not have gotten off the ground." He remained active in state substance abuse programs as counselor and as the Governor's Coordinator for Substance Abuse through many administrations from McKeithen in 1965 to Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Jr.
, in 1999. He also did advertising for Lieutenant Governor
Robert "Bobby" Freeman, a Democrat who served from 1980-1988.
Richard Ieyoub
. Skilled in predicting election winners, Young was often approached by candidates seeking his advice. Though a Democrat, Young claimed to have had good relations with Republicans too. He held meetings with U.S. Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson
, Jimmy Carter
, and Ronald W. Reagan as well as the first FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover
. In 2006, he assisted the Republican Jay Dardenne
of Baton Rouge in the latter's successful quest for the office of Louisiana Secretary of State in a special election held after the death of W. Fox McKeithen
, son of Young's former mentor, John McKeithen.
Young was affiliated with the LSU Athletic Association and various professional organizations dedicated to the prevention of substance abuse. He was a member of the Masonic lodge
, the Shriners
, and the Jefferson Baptist
Church in Baton Rouge.
, North Carolina
(from a previous marriage), Ashley Young Munnerlyn (ca. 1977) of Baton Rouge, and Charles Anthony Young (born ca. 1979) and wife, Kristen, of Bradenton
, Florida
; three grandchildren; a sister, Ann Elizabeth Owens and her husband, Bill, of Shreveport, and mother-in-law, Mabel Smith of Baton Rouge. He was preceded in death by his parents and a five-year-old brother, William Earl Young, Jr. Services were held on April 13, 2010, at Jefferson Baptist Church, with pastor Tommy French officiating. Interment was at Greenoaks Memorial Park in Baton Rouge.
Former West Monroe
Mayor Bert Hatten, a longtime Young friend, said that Young "knew a lot of people, liked people and many liked him in return and were lifetime friends. His friendship was valued by many politicians through the years, and he worked for probably every governor starting with John McKeithen and ending with Mike Foster." Governor Foster sponsored Young's retirement party, which, according to Hatten, "Aubrey just ate it up because he liked being in the limelight."
During the retirement ceremony in Baton Rouge, Jake Hadley of the Department of Health and Hospitals said that Young's "greatest service was not to politicians in high office but to people with alcohol and drug problems. When Young learned of anyone in need of treatment, he would work tirelessly to get them help. Literally thousands of people across the state owe their recovery, in part, to Aubrey Young, and the people of this state owe him a great debt of gratitude."
Young often cited the Bible
verse: "No height, no depth, nor any creature can separate me from the love of God
through Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:39).
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, who between 1965 and 1999 established multiple drug
Drug
A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...
and alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
treatment programs through the Department of Health and Hospitals. A political activist, Young organized his contacts from Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
to support the election of the Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
John J. McKeithen as governor in the 1963–1964 election cycle.
Early years, education, military
Young was born in MonroeMonroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
, the seat of Ouachita Parish
Ouachita Parish, Louisiana
-National protected areas:* Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge* D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 147,250 people, 55,216 households, and 38,319 families residing in the parish. The population density was 241 people per square mile...
, to Cammie Mae Gulledge and William Earl Young, Sr., originally from Start
Start, Louisiana
Start is an unincorporated community in Richland Parish, Louisiana, in the United States.-Geography:Start is located at . It is adjacent to the communities of Crew Lake to the west, Girard to the east, Oak Ridge to the north, and Alto and Mangham to the south.-Community:Start is a small community...
in Richland Parish
Richland Parish, Louisiana
Richland Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Rayville. As of 2010, the population was 20,725.-History:...
. He attended the former Gulf Coast Military Academy
Gulf Coast Military Academy
Gulf Coast Military Academy Was founded in 1912 by Colonel James Chappel Hardy in Gulfport, Mississippi and was a West Point Honors Military Academy...
in Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport is the second largest city in Mississippi after the state capital Jackson. It is the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. As of the...
, , east of New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
. He was the football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
at Gulf Coast under then Coach Carl Maddox
Carl Maddox
Carl Maddox was the athletics director of Louisiana State University and Mississippi State University. The Carl Maddox Field House on the LSU campus is named after him.-Honors and awards:Maddox was awarded the Corbett Award in 1986.-External links:*...
, later the athletics director at Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
and Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University
The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...
in Starkville
Starkville, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 21,869 people, 9,462 households, and 4,721 families residing in the city. The population density was 851.4 people per square mile . There were 10,191 housing units at an average density of 396.7 per square mile...
. Young left the military school and graduated instead from Neville High School in Monroe, where he played football and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and was the captain of the last boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
team offered there. He was also a cheerleader and a tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
in the Neville glee club. Young first attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or UL Lafayette, is a coeducational, public research university located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana...
, then known as the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...
, on a boxing scholarship, but he transferred thereafter to the University of Louisiana at Monroe
University of Louisiana at Monroe
The University of Louisiana at Monroe is a coeducational public university in Monroe, Louisiana and part of the University of Louisiana System.-History:...
.
In 1942, he enlisted in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and joined the 17th Airborne Division, 513th Parachute Regiment. He earned his paratrooper wings after completing training at Fort Benning
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. He fought with his battalion in the European Theatre
European Theatre of World War II
The European Theatre of World War II was a huge area of heavy fighting across Europe from Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 until the end of the war with the German unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945...
of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and was active in the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
, the Rhine River Jump in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and the battle of Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
at the Our River. He received the Bronze Star, the Army Good Conduct Medal
Good Conduct Medal
The Good Conduct Medal is one of the oldest military awards of the United States military. The Navy Good Conduct Medal was first issued in 1869, followed by a Marine version in 1896. The Coast Guard Good Conduct Medal was issued in 1923 and the Army Good Conduct Medal in 1941. The Air Force was...
, American Campaign Medal
American Campaign Medal
The American Campaign Medal was a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt...
, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal is a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt...
, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Air Medal
Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
. His military service provided lifelong commitments to the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
, Veterans of Foreign Wars
Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...
, and the Disabled American Veterans
Disabled American Veterans
The Disabled American Veterans, or DAV, is an organization for disabled veterans that helps them and their families through various means. It currently has over 1.2 million members...
.
Young returned from war with post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...
, formerly known as shell shock
Shell Shock
Shell Shock, also known as 82nd Marines Attack was a 1964 film by B-movie director John Hayes. The film takes place in Italy during World War II, and tells the story of a sergeant with his group of soldiers....
. He became active in Alcoholics Anonymous groups as he fought his own battle against excessive liquor. He worked for a time for the Missouri Pacific Railroad
Missouri Pacific Railroad
The Missouri Pacific Railroad , also known as the MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers, including the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway , Texas and Pacific...
and Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
. After a stint as a deputy under Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
Bailey Grant of Ouachita Parish, Young opened a hamburger
Hamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
shop called The Huddle on 18th Street in Monroe. He was also a partner in the Paragon Supper Club in Monroe with his friends, the late Tony and Joe Cascio.
Aide de camp to the governor
Young's connections through AA caught the attention of John McKeithen, then a member of the Louisiana Public Service CommissionLouisiana Public Service Commission
Louisiana Public Service Commission is an independent regulatory agency which manages public utilities and motor carriers in Louisiana. The commission has five elected members chosen in single-member districts for staggered six-year terms...
, who had entered the crowded race to succeed the term-limited Governor Jimmie Davis
Jimmie Davis
James Houston Davis , better known as Jimmie Davis, was a noted singer of both sacred and popular songs who served two nonconsecutive terms as the 47th Governor of Louisiana...
. McKeithen won the Democratic nomination in a runoff election over DeLesseps Story Morrison, the former mayor of New Orleans, and then defeated the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nominee, Charlton Lyons
Charlton Lyons
Charlton Havard Lyons, Sr., also known as Big Papa Lyons , was a Shreveport oilman who in 1964 waged the first determined Republican bid for the Louisiana governorship since Reconstruction. Lyons also made a strong but losing bid for the United States House of Representatives in a special election...
of Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
. As governor, McKeithen promptly named Young a colonel with the Louisiana State Police and as his gubernatorial aide de camp. The appointments required his relocation to Baton Rouge, where Young resided for the remainder of his life.
In 1965, Young was recognized for his work in evacuating Louisiana residents during Hurricane Betsy
Hurricane Betsy
Hurricane Betsy was a Category 4 hurricane of the 1965 Atlantic hurricane season which caused enormous damage in the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana. Betsy made its most intense landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River, causing significant flooding of the waters of Lake Pontchartrain into...
by the Louisiana State Legislature
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
, which honored him with a concurrent resolution
Concurrent resolution
A concurrent resolution is a resolution adopted by both houses of a bicameral legislature that lacks the force of law and does not require the approval of the chief executive.-United States Congress:...
citing his "new and more meaningful concept of public service." Young served as a mentor for newer legislators and as a contact person for state employees seeking liaison with lawmakers. In 1966, Young handled security arrangements for a visit to Baton Rouge by Vice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, an LSU alumnus.
Young hired Gordon Novel, a young informant with the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, to install electronic debugging equipment in McKeithen's office.
In 1965, McKeithen asked Young to meet with an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
leader in Bogalusa
Bogalusa, Louisiana
Bogalusa is a city in Washington Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 13,365 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Bogalusa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Washington Parish and is also part of the larger New Orleans–Metairie–Bogalusa...
also named "Young", A.Z. Young, in an effort to defuse tensions during a march staged by black activists from Bogalusa in Washington Parish
Washington Parish, Louisiana
Washington Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its parish seat is Franklinton. In 2000, its population was 43,926....
to the Louisiana State Capitol
Louisiana State Capitol
The Louisiana State Capitol building is the capitol building of the state of Louisiana, located in Baton Rouge. The capitol houses the Louisiana State Legislature, the governor's office, and parts of the executive branch...
. The demonstrations followed by a few months the better-known Selma to Montgomery marches
Selma to Montgomery marches
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three marches in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. They grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, launched by local African-Americans who formed the Dallas County Voters League...
in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. The procession completed its march with few disruptions, and the two Youngs struck up a longstanding friendship.
Underworld connections
In 1967, while seeking a second term as governor against fellow Democrat U.S. Representative John R. Rarick, McKeithen removed Young as his aide de camp. D'Alton Smith of New Orleans, brother of A.D. Smith, an elected member of the Louisiana State Board of Education, was indictedIndictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
on public bribery charges stemming from reports that Smith had offered Young $25,000 to influence Young's decisions in government. After leaving McKeithen's staff, Young turned state's evidence, and his testimony before a grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
led to D'Alton Smith's indictment.Life Magazine indicates that when McKeithen threatened to fire Young over the proposed bribery, Young resigned.
Young, heavily involved in labor matters, also arranged the meeting at which Teamsters Union business agent Edward Grady Partin
Edward Grady Partin
Edward Grady Partin, Sr. , was a business agent of the Teamsters Union in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His testimony in 1964 helped to convict union president James Riddle Hoffa of jury tampering.-Early years:...
(1924–1990) of Baton Rouge was offered, first, $25,000 a year for ten years and, then, $1 million from underworld boss Carlos Marcello
Carlos Marcello
Carlos "The Little Man" Marcello was a Sicilian-American mafioso who became the boss of the New Orleans crime family during the 1940s and held this position for the next 30 years.-Early life:...
to work out a plan to overturn the conviction of union president James Riddle Hoffa
Jimmy Hoffa
James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa was an American labor union leader....
, who was in federal prison at the time. Partin's previous testimony had been instrumental in Hoffa's conviction. Another source alleges that Young was "tied" to Marcello.
In 1981, Young and four others, including Marcello, New Orleans attorney Vincent A. Mannello, lobbyist I. Irving Davidson, and Charles E. Roemer, II, a former aide to Governor Edwin Washington Edwards and the father of Edwards' second successor, Charles E. "Buddy" Roemer, III
Buddy Roemer
Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991...
, were charged in U.S. District Court in New Orleans with conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
, racketeering, and mail and wire fraud
Wire fraud
Mail and wire fraud is a federal crime in the United States. Together, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343, and 1346 reach any fraudulent scheme or artifice to intentionally deprive another of property or honest services with a nexus to mail or wire communication....
in a scheme to bribe state officials to give the five men multi-million dollar insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
contracts. The charges were the result of an Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
probe known as BriLab.U.S. District Judge Morey Sear allowed the admission of secretly-recorded conversations that he said demonstrated corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
at the highest levels of state government. Young was acquitted of all charges.
Roemer was thereafter convicted of one count of conspiracy and imprisoned. He was released in October 1984. Marcello was convicted of conspiracy and then indicted on additional charges involving an alleged attempt to bribe the judge. He was finally released from prison in October 1989. Irving Davidson claimed that federal agents had used threats and offers of immunity to convict Marcello. The Bureau of Prisons does not indicate that Davidson or Mannello ever served time.
Treatment of alcoholics
After he left McKeithen's staff, Young used his influence in state government in 1968 to establish a statewide program for the treatment and rehabilitation of alcoholics. Funds were appropriated for treatment facilities in Baton Rouge, HammondHammond, Louisiana
Hammond is the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,049 at the 2009 census. It is home to Southeastern Louisiana University...
, Lafayette, Crowley
Crowley, Louisiana
Crowley is a city in and the parish seat of Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 14,225 at the 2000 census. The city is noted for its annual International Rice Festival. Crowley has the nickname of "Rice Capital of America", because at one time it was a major center for...
, Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
, Lake Charles
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
, and Monroe. The Office of Alcohol Abuse was created in the Department of Hospitals. He also pushed for the establishment in 1974 of the Tri-Med program in all state general hospitals. Tri-Med provides alcohol and drug abuse detoxification and mental health acute care treatments in state hospitals. He established an alcohol information curriculum for the In-Service Police Training School at LSU. Young also worked to establish AA groups in state prisons.
During this same period, Young joined Victor Bussie
Victor Bussie
Victor V. Bussie was until his retirement in 1997 the 41-year unopposed president of the Louisiana AFL-CIO, having first assumed the mantle of union leadership in 1956. Journalists often described him as the most significant non-elected "official" in his state's politics...
of Baton Rouge, president of the Louisiana AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
, to establish programs in industrial plants and factories for the treatment and referral of alcoholics. He pushed for greater funding for the statewide substance abuse programs. Young was also the driving force behind the Drug Court program in Louisiana. Judge Bob Downing hailed him: "Aubrey, without you, this program would not have gotten off the ground." He remained active in state substance abuse programs as counselor and as the Governor's Coordinator for Substance Abuse through many administrations from McKeithen in 1965 to Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Jr.
Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
Murphy James "Mike" Foster, Jr. served as 53rd Governor of Louisiana from January 1996 until January 2004. Foster's father was Murphy J. Foster, Jr., but Mike Foster uses "Jr." even though he is technically Murphy J. Foster, III. Foster is a businessman, landowner, and sportsman in St...
, in 1999. He also did advertising for Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
Robert "Bobby" Freeman, a Democrat who served from 1980-1988.
Later years
In 1999, the semi-retired Young began a part-time position in the office of Louisiana Attorney GeneralAttorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
Richard Ieyoub
Richard Ieyoub
Richard Phillip Ieyoub, Sr. , is a Baton Rouge lawyer and a Democratic politician who was the attorney general of Louisiana from 1992 to 2004. Ieyoub was the Calcasieu Parish district attorney in Lake Charles from 1984 to 1992, and is presently with the Baton Rouge firm Couhig Partners...
. Skilled in predicting election winners, Young was often approached by candidates seeking his advice. Though a Democrat, Young claimed to have had good relations with Republicans too. He held meetings with U.S. Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, and Ronald W. Reagan as well as the first FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
. In 2006, he assisted the Republican Jay Dardenne
Jay Dardenne
John Leigh "Jay" Dardenne, Jr. , has been Louisiana's Republican lieutenant governor since November 22, 2010. He won a special election to the position held in conjunction with the regular November 2 general election. At the time, Dardenne was Louisiana secretary of state...
of Baton Rouge in the latter's successful quest for the office of Louisiana Secretary of State in a special election held after the death of W. Fox McKeithen
W. Fox McKeithen
Walter Fox McKeithen served five terms as Secretary of State of Louisiana between 1988 and 2005. He is best remembered for merging the state's election divisions into one department and for the promotion of historical preservation.-Son of a governor:He was born Walter Fox McKeithen in Columbia in...
, son of Young's former mentor, John McKeithen.
Young was affiliated with the LSU Athletic Association and various professional organizations dedicated to the prevention of substance abuse. He was a member of the Masonic lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
, the Shriners
Shriners
The Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, also commonly known as Shriners and abbreviated A.A.O.N.M.S., established in 1870, is an appendant body to Freemasonry, based in the United States...
, and the Jefferson Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Church in Baton Rouge.
Death and legacy
Young died at his Baton Rouge residence at the age of eighty-seven. He was survived by his wife of thirty-eight years, the former Kathleen Smith of Baton Rouge; three children, William Grant Young (born ca. 1960) of DurhamDurham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
(from a previous marriage), Ashley Young Munnerlyn (ca. 1977) of Baton Rouge, and Charles Anthony Young (born ca. 1979) and wife, Kristen, of Bradenton
Bradenton, Florida
Bradenton is a city in Manatee County, Florida, United States. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's 2007 population to be 53,471. Bradenton is the largest Principal City of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2007 estimated population of 682,833...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
; three grandchildren; a sister, Ann Elizabeth Owens and her husband, Bill, of Shreveport, and mother-in-law, Mabel Smith of Baton Rouge. He was preceded in death by his parents and a five-year-old brother, William Earl Young, Jr. Services were held on April 13, 2010, at Jefferson Baptist Church, with pastor Tommy French officiating. Interment was at Greenoaks Memorial Park in Baton Rouge.
Former West Monroe
West Monroe, Louisiana
West Monroe is a city in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 13,250 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area....
Mayor Bert Hatten, a longtime Young friend, said that Young "knew a lot of people, liked people and many liked him in return and were lifetime friends. His friendship was valued by many politicians through the years, and he worked for probably every governor starting with John McKeithen and ending with Mike Foster." Governor Foster sponsored Young's retirement party, which, according to Hatten, "Aubrey just ate it up because he liked being in the limelight."
During the retirement ceremony in Baton Rouge, Jake Hadley of the Department of Health and Hospitals said that Young's "greatest service was not to politicians in high office but to people with alcohol and drug problems. When Young learned of anyone in need of treatment, he would work tirelessly to get them help. Literally thousands of people across the state owe their recovery, in part, to Aubrey Young, and the people of this state owe him a great debt of gratitude."
Young often cited the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
verse: "No height, no depth, nor any creature can separate me from the love of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
through Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:39).