BATON ROUGE, La. — Pearlina Thomas, former chief administrative officer of the Capital Area Transit System (CATS), has had her bond set following a felony indictment tied to her tenure at the agency.
Thomas was indicted by the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office on charges of criminal conspiracy, theft over $500, and malfeasance in office. Court records list the offense date as August 1, 2021. Her bond was set at $20,000.
Jarian Colar, a contractor for CATS, was also indicted on charges of theft over $25,000 and criminal conspiracy. Both Thomas and Colar are scheduled to be arraigned on February 24.
Colar’s attorney, John McLindon, criticized the arrest, calling it unusual for a non-violent crime. He said Colar was taken into custody Wednesday morning at Woman’s Hospital while attending the birth of his child.
Linda Perkins, a former CATS board member who worked with Thomas, expressed surprise at the indictment. Perkins noted there had been long-standing rumors of financial irregularities within the department and stressed that public trust in CATS is vital.
“The revenues should not be in jeopardy of being taken by anyone because they’re for the constituents who need the services CATS provides for transportation,” Perkins said.
