The Ethics Review Board of the City of New Orleans has selected Robert A. Cerasoli, the nationally recognized father of the Association of Inspectors General (AIG) as New Orleans’ first Inspector General.
As New Orleans’ first Inspector General, Cerasoli, 59, will be shaping the position from the ground up. His duties will include investigating fraud, waste, and corruption in city government and among those receiving money from the city; proposing ways to make the government more efficient, and educating city officials about their ethical responsibilities.
   Cerasoli possesses a decade of teaching experience in ethics, auditing, oversight, financial management, and anti-corruption practices. He served as the Inspector General for the State of Massachusetts for two five-year terms, the maximum allowed by law, from 1991 to 2001. The Massachusetts Inspector General was the first statewide Inspector General position created in the U.S. and the first Inspector General position created outside of the federal system.
   As one of the original founders and charter members of the AIG, Cerasoli literally wrote the book—he proposed, developed, and co-authored the Certified Inspector General concept and the creation of the Principles and Standards for Offices of Inspectors General, called the Green Book. This book was used as a basis in the creation of the Inspector General office in New Orleans.
   Cerasoli, a native of Quincy, Massachusetts, received his Bachelor of Arts in government and public administration in 1969 from The American University. In 1988, Cerasoli received a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University. Currently, Cerasoli taught Ethics and Business Ethics at Quincy College, Foundations of Financial Management and Advanced Managerial Finance at Eastern Nazarene College and Global Economics at Newbury College. He is a Certified Inspector General (CIG), Certified Inspector General Investigator (CIGI), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), and Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM).
   Over the last six years, Cerasoli has been engaged by the U.S. Department of State to travel to countries in the developing world, particularly Africa, to introduce and encourage the Inspector General concept as a viable method to prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse in government.   
   His interest in ethics began soon after he was elected in 1975 to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, in which he served until his selection as Inspector General by a unanimous vote of the Governor, Attorney General, and State Auditor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As a Committee member of the House Committee on Election Laws, Cerasoli helped to write and strengthen requirements for disclosure of campaign contributions and expenditures, marking the beginning of a career-long interest in promoting ethical public service. In 1977 he co-authored and co-sponsored the Massachusetts ethics law, one of the strongest statewide ethics laws ever enacted in the United States. This law created the first state ethics commission, financial disclosure for elected and appointed public officials, and a stronger conflict of interest law.
   Cerasoli is the chairman of the Ethics Committee for the Association of Inspectors General and a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Association of Government Accountants, the Massachusetts Gun Control Advisory Board, the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation, the Latino Alumni Association of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the National Council of La Raza, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the American Philatelic Society.
       His contribution to responsible ethical conduct has also won him many accolades. In 1999, Cerasoli received the Professional Exemplary Practices Award from the American Society for Public Administration. This award is given to individuals and organizations making outstanding contributions to responsible ethical conduct. In June of 2001, he received the Fraud Fighter of the Year Award from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Greater Boston Chapter. Also in May of 2000, John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York inducted Cerasoli into Pi Alpha Alpha, the National Honor Society for Public Administration, as an honorary member.

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