Levee Board Names Counsel

The levee board has named Robert LaCour, veteran attorney to the East Jefferson Levee District, as temporary counsel to the authority and all three levee districts. The three now under the authority's umbrella also include Orleans Levee District and the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District in St. Bernard Parish.

In his new role as gatekeeper, LaCour will decide whether to handle specific issues or to pass them to the Louisiana attorney general's office, which state law designates as the authority's general counsel. LaCour also will assign work to a short list of outside lawyers whom the authority approved this month after being vetted by its legal committee. Additionally, he will review those legal bills for appropriateness.

Repair Scams In The Big Easy

Five men have been arrested on charges they bilked New Orleans residents out of thousands of dollars by contracting to renovate houses and failing to do so.

The five suspects were identified by the attorney general's office, which provided this information:

-- Anthony Thomas was arrested Oct. 25 and booked with one count of felony theft, one count of acting as a contractor without a license and one count of theft from an elderly or disabled person. Thomas, owner of Thomas Dry Wall, is alleged to have accepted a down payment of $52,000 as part of a contract with a resident to renovate her home, and to have abandoned the job without fulfilling the contract.

-- Garlon D. Batiste, aka Lance Howard, doing business as Premier Global Renovations, was arrested Oct. 24 and booked with two counts of theft by fraud, two counts of injuring public records, exploitation of the infirmed, and providing false information during the booking process. He is alleged to have accepted a check from a New Orleans resident for $38,054.74, to be used for labor and materials for the victim's house renovations, and never returned to perform any work on the house. In a separate incident, he is accused of taking an $8,500 check from a disabled senior to renovate the victim's hurricane-damaged home, and never returning to perform any repairs.

-- Michael Noah, doing business as JDSM Enterprises, was arrested in LaPlace and was returned to Orleans Parish Prison on Oct. 24, where he was booked with one count of felony theft and one count of doing contracting work without a license. Noah is charged with accepting a $42,250 partial payment on a contract to restore a hurricane-damaged New Orleans home before abandoning the project without performing the required work.

-- Dennis M. Alexander was arrested Oct. 25 and booked with four counts each of felony theft of property valued over $500, operating as a construction contractor without a license, and theft from an elderly or disabled person. Alexander allegedly was paid down payments of between $5,000 and $46,500 by four New Orleans residents to renovate houses, and did not fulfill the contracts, the attorney general's office said.

-- Billy Myers of Cresson, Texas, doing business as Customers Choice Construction, was arrested Oct. 18 and booked with theft by fraud in contracting, misapplication of payments, engaging in a business without a license and exploitation of the infirmed. Myers allegedly contracted with an elderly New Orleans resident to make renovations to the victim's two hurricane-damaged homes and accepted a check in advance for $10,000. After allegedly performing only $1,000 worth of work, he failed to complete the job and reneged on a promise to refund the other $9,000 by leaving for Texas, Foti's office said.

This is a sad situation when other people's misery brings out the worst in people.
There is always some corrupt individual, lurking in the background, waiting to prey on others. We need to severely punish these indivduals in order to discourage this type of disgusting behavior.

New Orleans D.A. Eddie Jordan Resigns

Reading the Times Picayune article on D.A. Eddie Jordan's resignation, made me reflect upon the terms discrimination and cronyism as how it relates to city and state government in Louisiana.

Racial discrimination is based on unfairness, bias and bigotry. Cronyism is partiality to friends that result in appointing them to positions in one's administration. Since I have lived in New Orleans for a very long time, cronyism has always existed in State and Local government. Although I believe that Congressman Jefferson is guilty of the charges he is facing, I do agree with the following statement he made as a result of D.A. Eddie Jordan's resignation:

As the first African American District Attorney, Mr. Jordan was overwhelmingly supported by the African American community. The staff of the out-going D.A. was overwhelmingly white. Mr. Jordan's effort to hire qualified people whom he knew or who were supportive of his campaign naturally meant that the pool of such applicants would overwhelmingly be African Americans. Every D.A. has been accorded the right to let go the prior D.A.'s personnel and hire his own. It is unfortunate that in this case Mr. Jordan's effort to follow this well-established practice ended with the appearance that he was discriminating against a segment of the population. I did not believe then, and I do not believe now that this was ever his intention."

The lawsuit against Eddie Jordan leaves me to conclude that: When a black newly elected official brings in his/her new administration, race matters. When a white elected official brings in his/her new administration, do what you want. The only thing you may be accused of is cronyism. Being accused of cronyism will result in less publicized scrutiny and no civil penalty.
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VIDEO OF EDDIE JORDAN'S RESIGNATION

Federal Prosecutors Still Believe Sen. Derrick Shepherd Is Guilty

Federal prosecutors made clear at a hearing Tuesday morning that state Sen. Derrick Shepherd, whom they accused of federal crimes in open court a day earlier, remains in their sights.

A news release, however, indicates that Shepherd intends to rebut the Monday testimony of FBI Special Agent Peter Smith, who told a federal magistrate judge that Shepherd had laundered approximately $141,000.

A day after Smith testified that he views Shepherd's actions as money laundering, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Magner on Tuesday introduced two new documents into evidence, one purporting to be a contract for legal services between Shepherd and Moyo. That document was not signed by Moyo, Magner said.

The second item was a "settlement statement," Magner said. It was signed by both Shepherd and Moyo, he said.

Shepherd recently provided the documents to federal authorities, presenting them as evidence that his dealings with Moyo were honest, Magner said.

However, prosecutors regard them with suspicion.

Senator aided fraud, court told

The Times Picayune has reported that an FBI agent testified in open court Monday that state Sen. Derrick Shepherd helped a twice-convicted felon launder nearly $141,000 in fraudulently generated bond fees last year, keeping close to half the money as part of the arrangement.

Shepherd was easily re-elected to the state Senate on Saturday, winning 61 percent of the vote. Last year, he finished a strong third in a 2006 run for Congress and then endorsed the embattled incumbent, U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, helping him secure a ninth term.

Special Agent Peter Smith testified that Shepherd, a lawyer who often handles personal-injury cases, attempted to make his dealings with bond broker Gwendolyn Joseph Moyo appear legitimate by writing the words "settlement proceeds" on the memo lines of the checks.

However, investigators have found no evidence that Shepherd did any legal work for Moyo, Smith said, although he said that Shepherd had delivered a "vague invoice" to a federal grand jury to explain the payments. The document was basically illegible, Smith said.

"To me, it looks like he was trying to disguise it, to make it look like this was for a personal-injury case," Smith said of the notations in the checks' memo lines.

"I suppose the government takes the position that it's money laundering?" Moyo's attorney, Pat Fanning, asked Smith.

"Yes," Smith testified.

In a telephone interview, Shepherd strongly denied committing a crime.

"At no time have I ever testified before a grand jury, nor at any time have I ever committed any crime whatsoever -- state, local or federal -- in my life," Shepherd said.

"To all of the rest of your questions, no comment," he said.

The allegations involving Shepherd burst into public view during what would normally be a low-key proceeding: a detention hearing for Moyo, who investigators say sold a series of bogus construction bonds.

Moyo, 52, who owns a home in the Eastover subdivision of eastern New Orleans, was arrested at the federal courthouse Thursday after she arrived at the grand jury room without any of the documents she was ordered to bring.

Questioned by FBI

While Moyo is at the center of the government's case, it was clear at Monday's hearing that the government is investigating Shepherd's involvement. Smith said Shepherd has already been interviewed by FBI agents in connection with the inquiry.

They still have questions for him, Smith indicated at another point, saying with a grin that Shepherd has "been invited to the grand jury."

Fanning suggested that prosecutors' desire to jail Moyo was partially borne of a desire to pressure her to "flip" on Shepherd. He noted pointedly that Moyo would not agree to "wear a wire" when the FBI first interviewed her in July.

"Do you remember my client being asked to cooperate against Derrick Shepherd?" Fanning asked Smith.

"I don't remember specifically saying that, but I probably did," the agent said.

Moyo has yet to be charged with a crime, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Magner told U.S. Magistrate Judge Alma Chasez that he expects a grand jury will indict her this week. Moyo was arrested based on a complaint filed by Smith last week.

Moyo's first conviction, for issuing false contractor bonds, came in Arizona in 1989.

She won some notoriety in the Washington, D.C., area when she offered the following year to testify against Mayor Marion Barry, a friend of hers, regarding what the Washington Post described as "alleged drug use and contracting irregularities."

But her attorney said that prosecutors couldn't meet her terms, and she never turned state's evidence. The following year, Moyo was convicted of using a fake Social Security number.

After her first conviction, she was banned by law from the insurance business. But she didn't stay away from it for good.

Her problems in Louisiana started last year when she agreed to provide a contractor bond for a project at Pelican Park in St. Tammany Parish.

Contractor bonds are required on most large projects to protect the owner; they are essentially insurance policies that are cashed in if the contractor does not perform.

The company hired to do the St. Tammany work, Great Southern Dredging Inc. of Mandeville, called a bonding agent it had used before, who referred the firm to Moyo. The dredging company paid Moyo $321,555 for a bond that the project engineer soon noted did not conform to state law because the issuer was located offshore.

Moyo refused to refund the money, however, and GSDI had to purchase another bond for $350,000 from a company licensed to do business in Louisiana. The Mandeville company has sued Moyo and her firm, AA Communications, according to testimony Monday.

West Memphis church

Moyo similarly hornswoggled the congregation of a church in West Memphis, Ark., that was attempting to build a new sanctuary at a cost of $2.8 million, Smith said.

The pastor of the Old St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, Frederick Anthony, testified Monday that the contractor ran into problems and the church had attempted to put him into default.

Moyo, who received $121,000 for that bond, wouldn't do it, he said. According to Smith, the bond was written in the name of First Nation Insurance Group, a company Moyo used to work with. A year earlier, though, she had been barred from further business with the company, according to a letter Smith read in court.

Fanning disputed the letter, saying it had never been sent and might have been backdated.

Anthony, the pastor, said the church has blown through its whole budget for the project. But only two-thirds of the work has been done, he said.

Smith laid out several other cases, including one in Mississippi and another in Tennessee, in which he believes Moyo issued bogus contractor bonds. The Mississippi case involved the same contractor hired to build the church sanctuary in West Memphis, he said.

In some cases, Moyo used two Chinese citizens who are in America on student visas as proxies for some of the schemes, Smith said. The two work for Moyo and have told the FBI in interviews that they do whatever Moyo tells them to, Smith said. Moyo paid some of the visa fees for at least one of them, Magner said.

In investigating the case, the FBI has been working with the state Department of Insurance, which last year sought and received a court order stopping Moyo and companies with which she is affiliated from selling commercial insurance. The order, issued in November, also allowed the department to seize her records and two bank accounts the department knew about.

It was that order that led Moyo to Shepherd, according to Smith. The agent testified that Moyo spoke with a number of lawyers about her problem, which had left her unable to cash checks made out to her firm.

Smith said that Moyo told investigators that it was Shepherd who, a month after the crackdown, hit on the solution: Moyo would sign over her uncashed checks and he would deposit them in an account he controlled.

According to Smith, Moyo signed over five checks totaling $140,686 to Shepherd's account. Two of the checks indicated they were for bond fees.

During the same week, Shepherd moved $55,000 from one of his accounts to another, and then wrote three checks to Moyo, also totaling $55,000, from the second account. Those were the checks labeled "settlement proceeds."

Shepherd also wrote checks to one of the Chinese nationals who works for Moyo and to a Moyo associate named James Taylor who has at least one fraud conviction, Smith said. The foreigner said he "didn't know anything about" Shepherd or the check for $5,000 in his name, Smith said. In all, Smith said, Shepherd kept about $65,000 of Moyo's money and returned the remaining amount, about $75,000.

Jailing decision delayed

After about three hours of testimony and argument, Chasez wound up delaying a ruling on whether to keep Moyo in jail as opposed to a halfway house. She said she would prefer to know how much prison time Moyo, if convicted, would face under sentencing guidelines, before making a decision.

Prosecutors said their desire to keep Moyo in jail stemmed from two main concerns: her unwillingness to cooperate by providing information and documents and a long history of fraud.

Magner referred to her as a serial fraudster and said it is important to stop her before she defrauds anyone else. He noted that she still owes all but about $100,000 of a $1.3 million restitution order imposed after her 1989 fraud case.

Fanning pleaded with Chasez to allow Moyo to stay in a halfway house rather than the federal wing of Orleans Parish Prison. He said Moyo was scarred by prison during her earlier stint, and said she suffers from claustrophobia and other anxiety-related disorders as well as medical problems ranging from diabetes to sleep apnea.

Fanning also argued that Moyo is not a flight risk, noting that she had showed up for her grand jury appearance last week.

ConVicted Felon Tricked His Cousin

In her job as an income tax preparer, Reimonenq said she is always dispensing advice. It's a talent that she said could be put to good use on the council.

"I'm in touch with a lot of people," she said. "When Oliver Thomas resigned, something inside of me said, 'Gail, go for it!' "

Reimonenq's only previous brush with politics came in 2002 when she assisted a then-secret group of political operatives who bankrolled TV attack ads that helped sink former state Sen. Paulette Irons' mayoral campaign. Reimonenq was listed as chairwoman of a political action committee that bought air time for the TV spots.

The participants finally were revealed in 2005, after an investigation by the state Board of Ethics approved a settlement with the PAC's members that revealed their names.

Reimonenq said she got involved after being "tricked" by the scheme's architect, Stan "Pampy" Barré, her cousin. Barré is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to federal charges of skimming money from a City Hall contract.

At Barré's request, Reimonenq said, she opened four bank accounts where the group deposited the money used to pay for the Irons attack ads.

"I signed blank checks," she said. "I didn't know where the money was going. They were hiding behind me. I was the fall guy."