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Investigative reporter, author and former federal agent Chuck Hustmyre has seen the ugly side of life, from A to Z. Here he gets the last word on politics, crime, local government and pop culture.

Who's the absolute dumbest man in Louisiana today? I'll give you three guesses. You're right, and on your first guess, too.

It's Ryan Perrilloux.

Last week who in this state could have had a brighter future? OK, maybe Bobby Jindal, but work with me here. Perrilloux was right up there, being handed the keys to the kingdom. Baton Rouge is the town LSU built (not vice versa as some would have you believe), and Les Miles was set to give Perrilloux the reins to college football's defending national championship team, complete with all the TV coverage a 21-year-old kid from LaPlace could ask for.

It was a gift some said Perrilloux could have parlayed into an NFL contract worth tens of millions of dollars.

"But nooooooooooo" in the immortal words of John Belushi, who himself traded fortune and fame, and ultimately his life, for a speedball shot.

Perrilloux gave it all up so he could play the part of "badass about town." Suspended three times in the past year, and still part of a federal counterfeiting investigation (maybe more details about that will come out now that he no longer wears the protective mantle of LSU football player), Perrilloux couldn't keep his nose clean (no pun intended) long enough to even step into the coveted spot of LSU starting quarterback.

As everyone now knows, ESPN has said a failed drug test was the final straw that broke Les Miles' heart. Miles, as is his custom, won't comment.

Hence my question: Who is the dumbest man in Louisiana today?

I mean, really, who pays upward of $60 million for a bag of weed?

My uncle Gary says Perrilloux will still come out of this smelling like a rose. He'll play for a Division II (or whatever they're called) team and lead them to some championship or other and still land a big NFL contract. Uncle Gary, cynic that he is, says Perrilloux might start for Appalachian State and be back under center in Tiger Stadium on Aug. 30.

I hope not. If so, he might win, given LSU's sudden dearth of experience at quarterback, though I must admit the irony would be almost perfect.

The bottom line is, Ryan Perrilloux is a grown man. Sure he's only 21, which means he's three years older than a lot of men in Iraq and Afghanistan who are making life and death decisions every day, but he's certainly old enough to make his own decisions and be held accountable for them, regardless of what his entourage of losers and nobodies suggests he do.

Perrilloux may care about himself, we'll see, but he damn sure doesn't care at all about his school or his team or, by extension, the rest of us. Because of a lot of hard work on his part, this Louisiana standout was chosen to lead his state's flagship team and given the chance to defend its national title.

He failed miserably.

In an age in which we celebrate celebrities much more for their misdeeds than for their accomplishments, Perrilloux may fit right in; but in the arena of character, and to some that still matters, Ryan Perrilloux has been tested and found wanting.

He may run fast, he may hit hard, he may throw long, but in the end his coach and his teammates couldn't trust him.

And that says more about him than anything.

What do you say?

Chuck out.

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