Locarno on Voyager

The story has always been that Cadet Locarno was supposed to be on Voyager which is why Robert Duncan McNeill was hired. But they lost the rights to the character, so they created the almost identical character with a similar background, Tom Paris, to take his place.

Now producers are saying Locarno was never intended to be on the show and it was coincidence that McNeill was hired. Revisionist history????