Former Councilman's Middleman Sentenced To Probation

Yesterday, Judge Vance sentenced Joseph Jourdain to probation for his role in acting as a middleman in the bribery scheme between convicted Councilman Oliver Thomas and convicted ex-restaurateur and ex-political operative Stan "Pampy" Barre. While sentencing Jourdain, she noted the major role he played in obtaining a conviction against Thomas.

"Without your assistance, it would have been Mr. Thomas' word against Mr. Barre's," she said, noting that corruption cases are difficult to detect unless those involved turn against each other.

We all know this was crucial to the case because Stan "Pampy" Barre's word can never be trusted.

Jefferson's defense team uses stall tactics

First Congressman William Jefferson's defense team wanted his trial moved out of Virginia because they felt that the jury pool would not consists of blacks, thereby hindering Jefferson's chances of a fair trial. Now they are trying to block one of the government's witnesses from testifying.

The defense team filed papers in federal court Tuesday seeking to keep Abner Mikva off the witness stand, saying his service as an appellate court judge would unduly influence the jury.

"The government refers to him as " 'Judge Mikva' no less than six times," attorney Robert Trout protested in legal papers referring to the Department of Justice's witness list. "This unnecessary emphasis reveals the government's true intentions in proffering the witness and his testimony should be excluded."

Wow, the government refers to the witness as "Judge". Oh, oh , oh, he should be disqualified. Right. A bribe is a bribe. We all know what a business deal consist of. Come on Jefferson. Play another card.

Housing Threat - New Orleans

With the demolition of public housing slated for demolition, this weekend, who could have sent such a threat? Could it be former tenants or someone who possibly want you to believe it is the former tenants?

If former tenants are involved, in making such a threat, they would garner less support for their plight. People who previously agreed that the public housing units should not be completely demolished may feel somehow that their safety is at issue. After all, we don't want another Rodney King catastrophe.

Canadaville - New Way of Life

Canadaville, the brainchild of Magna founder Frank Stronach, goes well beyond corporate largesse and into the realm of social engineering. Stronach envisioned an experiment arguably more Canadian than American that would transform low-income city dwellers into enterprising organic farmers. Along the way, he aimed to raise them out of poverty, offering five years of free rent and other services, such as transportation to work, as an economic springboard.

As happens with many planned communities, Canadaville -- officially dubbed Magnaville by the company -- ran into predictable difficulties early on. Only a handful of residents took to the idea of farming; they tend a row of garden plots and care for a small flock of chickens and a herd of goats. Many residents, particularly the younger ones, feel constrained by the rural surroundings and hope to return to New Orleans.

The residents estimate only about 30 of the original 110 evacuees who first settled in Canadaville remain there, although a company official puts the number at around 50. After it first opened in December 2005, the village took in evacuees who ended up in central Louisiana after the storm and new residents continually replaced those who left; the enclave now includes about 170 people.

Considering the regional tensions that historically defined New Orleans' relationship with the rest of Louisiana, Canadaville has coexisted remarkably well with the surrounding small towns. Most residents said they feel welcome in Simmesport, population 2,200, although the teenagers say they often feel singled out at school, where they say teachers and students eye them with suspicion.

Only one local politician has made the newcomers an issue, but he's an important man in Simmesport: Mayor James "Boo" Fontenot. At one point this summer, Fontenot blamed the New Orleans emigres for local business robberies, a claim the mayor made with no supporting evidence, according to the parish district attorney. That provoked a distinctly New Orleanian response from community leader Harold Brooks, who organized 40 residents to march on Simmesport's town hall wearing shirts that read, "I'm from Canadaville and I'm NOT a criminal!"

Senator's honesty called into question

Senator Derrick Shepherd's honesty has once again been put under the microscope. In an earlier Times Picayune report:

An FBI agent testified in open court 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 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.

Now questions have been raised regarding the Senator's residency:

When Derrick Shepherd qualified to run for re-election to the 3rd Senate District, he signed an affidavit declaring his address as a modest brick house on Garden Road in Marrero.

Twice this year, however, he signed public documents, including mortgage papers and an affidavit attached to a building permit, promising to keep a two-story house bordering a golf course in the upscale Stonebridge subdivision as his primary residence. The posh neighborhood sits in unincorporated Gretna, about six miles outside his Senate district.

Shepherd signed his name to documents submitted to his mortgage company, Jefferson Parish code enforcement and the clerk of court that he would keep the $450,000 home at 3701 Lake Michel Court as his primary residence.

Will this just be another news story or will the Senator be held responsible for his actions?

Developer Faces Fraud Charges

A Marengo developer pleaded not guilty Friday to all charges in a 23-count federal indictment that alleges that he defrauded customers and investors of more than $1 million.

The indictment claims that builder John M. Volpentesta, 50, defrauded at least four families using his company, Volpentesta Construction Inc., by charging the families for supplies that he then would use on a strip mall he owned. He also is alleged to have charged them for work that his company did not do.

The indictment charges Volpentesta with mail, wire and tax fraud. It alleges that between mid-2003 and the end of 2005, Volpentesta withheld $164,999 in federal income tax, Medicare and Social Security taxes from his employees’ paychecks, but never turned that money over to the Internal Revenue Service.

He faces three charges of failing to file Federal Unemployment Tax returns for his company from 2003 to 2005 and three more for failing to file personal income-tax returns for himself and his wife. |Read more|

December 9th. Is Anti-Corruption Day

A resolution was signed on October 31, 2003, by the General Assembly, that declared December 9 as International Anti-Corruption Day. This decision was taken in order to raise awareness of corruption and of the role of the United Nations Convention against Corruption in combating and preventing it.

The Assembly urged all States and competent regional economic integration organizations to sign and ratify the United Nations Convention against Corruption as soon as possible in order to ensure its rapid entry into force.

Lets stand united, on this day, and hold corrupt individuals responsible for their actions.

New Levee Inspection Documentation

According to the Times-Picayune, special levee inspection training courses for district employees will begin this year. From animal burrows in the levees to sinking scour protection along the floodwalls, regulations now require that all deviations be put in writing, photographed, signed by levee district leaders and distributed to state and federal authorities.

First Question: What were the previous requirements for inspecting the levees?

Today the districts are using standardized forms and the inspections are being done, at least within the hurricane protection system, by personnel who have successfully completed the state training course, which included passing four written tests.

Second Question: How is the hurricane protection system determined?

"It won't make the system fail in and of itself," Ardoin said of the deficiencies, "but we want everything documented.

"You may have 20 to 30 to 40 pages in every report, depending on the number of miles," he said. And all those reports, along with any "remedial action" reports documenting repairs, must be signed by the district's chief executive and board president before being submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Transportation and Development, or DOTD.

The DOTD was reorganized after Katrina to invest its Water Resources Division with a much greater role in levee safety and hurricane flood protection.

Ardiron said his department is working toward developing an online interactive map that will allow the public to see recent inspection reports for every mile of levees and floodwalls.

Third Question: Will this online interactive map be developed prior to the hurricane system?

Former Fruit of the Loom Exec Receives His Fate

It seems that Stan "Pampy" Barre's act of money laundering, mail fraud and obstruction of justice has been taken on the road like a well known script from a bad play. Fruit of the Loom has its own bandit in treachery. According to a news report, a former Fruit of the Loom executive and two other south-central Kentucky residents have been sentenced in a scheme to defraud Kentucky-based Fruit of the Loom, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Kalen Wade Watkins, 45, of Alvaton, a former executive with the company, was sentenced to 10 years and one month for conspiracy to commit mail fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice, U.S. Attorney David L. Huber's office said in a statement.

Laura Leigh Wells, 33, of Bowling Green, was sentenced to one year and one day, and Tyrone Nathaniel Tackett, 36, of Bowling Green, was sentenced to one year and three months for conspiring to defraud the underwear manufacturer.

Watkins previously pleaded guilty to a scheme in which, as Fruit of the Loom's environmental director, he hired companies owned by several co-conspirators to perform services for the company and approved inflated invoices from the companies, according to Huber's office.

Wells, of Environmental Technology Associates, and Tackett, of Cyclone Inc., paid Watkins hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks.

U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell also ordered the three to pay restitution totaling nearly $1.7 million and were given three years of supervised released when their sentences end.

Let's hope Mr. Barre gets a similar sentence as Mr. Watkins.

Jena 6 Teen Accepts Plea Deal

Mychal Bell, the teen at the center of the "Jena Six" case, pleaded guilty Monday to hitting a white classmate in an agreement that will allow him to go free by June.

In the agreement, Walters dropped conspiracy charges against Bell and reduced an aggravated battery charge to second-degree battery. Bell was sentenced to serve 18 months, which includes the year he already spent in jail.

He had been scheduled to go to trial Thursday. If convicted, he could have been sent to a juvenile facility until he was 21.

The deal allows Bell to be released to a group home and return to public school as early as Monday. He agreed to testify against the other five if their cases go to trial. Bell was also ordered to pay $935 toward court costs and Justin Barker's medical bills.

Bell had been held in an adult jail since last December. He was released in September after his conviction was overturned by an appeals court. He was sent to a juvenile facility in October for violating his probation on unrelated previous convictions for simple battery and criminal destruction of property.

The 'Who You Know' Doctrine

After I read this article, I could not help be reminded of the political scale in New Orleans.

Corruption in Hungary - It's WHO you know - paper
Budapest, December 3 (MTI) - A Hungarian wanting to manage an administrative matter had best know someone in the office handling it, reported Monday's national daily Nepszabadsag, analyzing corruption reports from private citizens and businesses.

While comparatively few people reported having to pay bribe money, nearly half the survey said their business was handled faster if they had friends in the administrative offices.

Fully 46.9 percent of the sample said their personal contacts speeded things up, although only 8.1 percent supplied a gift to support the contact. Even fewer, 3.2 percent said they had been asked for money to speed up their business, while only 1.8 percent said officials had asked them for money to approve a request.

The sample also found family services to operate best among the various offices of public administration, while they qualified employment centres as the worst. The least popular bureau - and apparently the one where one-third of people have had to contend with corruption - is the land title office, Nepszabadsag wrote.

New Orleans own brand is the 'Who You Know' Doctrine. 'What You Know' gets you nowhere in The Big Easy where political corruption continues to run rampant.

Incompetence In Criminal Sheriff's Office

There was an editorial in the Times Picayune yesterday that I found very interesting. The title of the editorial was Bookkeeping Blunders. I myself would have labeled it more harshly. Well, here goes:

The Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff's Office has made a muddle of its books, overcharging the city and state for prisoner housing, and that doesn't inspire confidence in an agency that operates with little independent oversight.

One of the errors resulted in overcharges to the city of almost $2 million. And while the Sheriff's Office has paid the money back, the problem didn't come to light for nearly two years and only because a state audit prompted Sheriff Marlin Gusman to take a harder look at billing.

The state audit found that the Sheriff's Office had been charging both the city and the state for inmates who were the state's financial responsibility. That double billing amounted to a $142,288 overcharge to the city in 2006. A private accounting firm is determining how much the city was erroneously charged in 2007.

But the state also paid too much for prisoners because the Sheriff's Office didn't notify the state when it released inmates. That resulted in a $244,371 overpayment from January 2006 through February 2007.

After those revelations, Sheriff Gusman said that he directed his staff to look into possible problems with billing for federal prisoners. That was the right move, and it uncovered yet another problem: the Sheriff's Office had billed the city for prisoners who were already being paid for by the U.S. Marshal's Service or Immigration and Custom Enforcement. As a result, the city was charged nearly $2 million that it did not owe.

Sheriff Marlin Gusman blames the blunders on a switch in billing systems required by the state, which went into effect in November 2005. That change meant that the Sheriff's Office was no longer printing separate invoices for the city and state, which had prevented double-billing.

But when the state required the change, it provided Department of Corrections trainers to local agencies, and those trainers stressed the need for departments to reconcile their books, a state official said.

The Sheriff's Office should have managed the transition better and should have made sure that it was billing accurately for prisoners and catching any errors. Going forward, Sheriff Gusman needs to make sure that all the problems have been spotted and corrected.

But the sheriff also needs to run a more open operation, something he's resisting even in the face of these embarrassing bookkeeping blunders. He submitted a one-page budget proposal to the City Council, seeking $27 million in city funds without providing any details on how his office plans to spend the money.

When City Councilwoman Shelley Midura said she thought his proposal wasn't as transparent as it should be, Sheriff Gusman bristled. He said that he's only required to submit a single budget figure to the city.

But Ms. Midura isn't the first to make that complaint. When Sheriff Gusman was Mayor Marc Morial's chief administrative office, he had the same issue with Sheriff Charles Foti's budget requests.

He was right then. Public agencies that spend public money should operate as openly as possible. Even if the Sheriff's Office were infallible -- and it clearly isn't -- that wouldn't be an argument for being so cagey.

Congressman Jefferson's Motion Denied

It appears that indicted Louisiana Congressman William (Cold Cash) Jefferson is trying to avoid the inevitable: Standing Trial For Bribery & Corruption Schemes


Yesterday a federal judge rejected his attempt to have his trial moved out of northern Virginia. It appears that the Congressman believes that he stands a better chance of being exonerated if his trial was moved to the District of Columbia in order to draw a largely black jury pool.

As I have said before, Congressman Jefferson erroneously believe that somehow blacks will not listen to the evidence and find him not guilty based on race alone.

Let's get on with the trial, Congressman Jefferson, and stop trying to play a badly dealt race card.

The State of Louisiana has spoken: Just Say No To Corruption

Sister of Mannie Fresh found murdered in New Orleans' Home

Mannie Fresh's sister, Angela Bryant, was shot and killed Wednesday night in her New Orleans home, according to local TV affiliate WWLTV. Police reportedly said the 42-year-old mother's two young children were present but not physically harmed.

Authorities said Bryant, whose body was discovered early Thursday morning, was murdered between 10 p.m. and midnight, according to WWLTV. Her black 1998 Lexus LS 400 reportedly went missing after the murder.

Bryant's husband, who had been out of town when his wife was killed, arrived at the house before noon and was distraught, according to the WWLTV report. The couple got married last month, and Bryant celebrated her birthday with family on Wednesday night, WWLTV said. Police reportedly did not elaborate on the conditions of the children, ages 2 and 7, but said they were safe and healthy.

Mannie Fresh (real name: Byron O. Thomas) — a legendary producer who claims T.I.'s "Big Things Poppin' " as his latest hit — was reportedly on his way back to his native New Orleans from Texas.

What Is the Army Corps of Engineers trying to hide?

I read a troubling editorial, in the Times Picayune, today regarding allegations against the Army Corps of Engineers. According to the article:

Raymond Seed, a civil engineering professor at University of California-Berkeley, has filed an ethics complaint with the engineering society saying that its leaders and the corps tried to prevent independent teams such as his from gathering critical evidence at the levee failure sites and from speaking out about their findings.

Mr. Seed went on to say that:

1. The corps used its leverage with the group to try to silence differing views.

2. At the corps' request, the engineering trade group appointed an external review panel to provide expert advice to corps investigators who served on the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force, known as IPET. The corps paid the group $2 million for that work, a payment Mr. Seed contends is a conflict of interest.

3. The corps reneged on a promise to give his team access to soil samples at the 17th Street Canal and then tried to prevent his team from collecting its own samples. The corps only gave in after another independent research group, Team Louisiana, got the help of Louisiana's attorney general.

4. ASCE officials tried to keep their own review team members, as well as Mr. Seed's group and Team Louisiana, from testifying about their initial findings before Congress.

What is the Army Corp of engineers trying to hide? What role did they play in the levees' failure? We should all take Mr. Seed's complaints seriously and not remain quiet on this issue.

New Orleans' Inspector General Gets Needed Funds

This is the best news to come out of New Orleans:

Calling it a historic moment for New Orleans, City Council members on Tuesday offered effusive and unanimous support for Inspector General Robert Cerasoli $3.2 million budget request to launch his office next year.

The sum, which is up for council approval when it votes Friday on the entire budget, amounts to more than double what Mayor Ray Nagin had recommended in his 2008 spending plan for the newly established anti-corruption agency. It includes $300,000 to finance the city's Ethics Review Board, which the mayor's budget excluded.

New Orleans' citizens are tired of the corruption and graft in the Big Easy and we welcome this change. This is a positive step toward making New Orleans a great place to live.

Mayor Ray Nagin Doesn't Practice What He Preaches

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has not cast a vote in three citywide elections. Mayor Nagin has also made the following statements concerning those who don't vote:


"It was kind of offensive to me, because here I am bustin' my butt every day and all I'm asking citizens to do is to plug into the democratic process."

"Take 20 minutes of your time and decide."

"Don't just let this thing happen without you voicing your opinion."

While noting that the apathy appeared to cut across all social, racial and economic lines, Nagin reminded African-Americans in particular of the struggles their forebears endured for the franchise.

"People were bit by dogs and, you know, fire hoses and all that," he said. "So everybody, please go out and vote."


This is very interesting. Please do not follow the Mayor's example.

Top Leaders To Attend Levee Summit

Dozens of local, state and congressional decision-makers will gather with regional levee district leaders today to strategize on how to tackle major obstacles to planned hurricane protection system improvements.

Levee officials have said a key challenge to a higher level of hurricane protection by the 2011 deadline is the match -- an estimated $1 billion or more -- that Congress and the Bush administration are requiring of the state and levee districts.

Other issues involve private property rights and public safety, including how to get all the land needed to build expanded levees and flood walls and where to find the 145 million cubic yards of clay that the Army Corps of Engineers estimates are needed to do the work.

Corruption Cases In The New Orleans' Area

From the Associated Press Via KatC-News


Defendants and details of recent high-profile corruption cases in the New Orleans area:

STAN BARRE, a businessman, and KERRY DeCAY, former director of property management for the city of New Orleans.

_ Each pleaded guilty in January 2007 to conspiracy to commit mail fraud against the city and Johnson Controls Inc., a company dealing in energy efficiency and climate control. Barre has been cooperating with federal investigators.

_ Federal prosecutors called this a kickback and fraudulent billing scheme tied to a contract meant to reduce city expenses. The pleas were among several in a years-long investigation of corruption under former Mayor Marc Morial's administration. Morial hasn't been accused of wrongdoing. Update: Kerry Decay received a 9 year prison term. Barre is awaiting sentence.

ELLENESE BROOKS-SIMMS, former New Orleans school board member.

_ Pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to commit federal program fraud.

_ Accused of conspiring with a local businessman from 2001-2004 to buy a software program for the public school system and accepting about $140,000 in bribes for promoting the software. The federal charge did not identify the businessman. At least 29 people have been charged, and 23 guilty pleas entered, in this years-long federal probe of the Orleans Parish school system, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

JOSEPH IMPASTATO, former St. Tammany Parish councilman.

_ Pleaded not guilty in May to charges including making false statements on federal tax returns and extortion and money laundering in a hurricane debris-removal contract. His trial has not yet taken place.

WILLIAM JEFFERSON, U.S. congressman, New Orleans.

_ Pleaded not guilty in June in U.S. District Court in Virginia to a 16-count indictment alleging he solicited bribes from companies while using his influence to broker business deals in Africa. Jefferson's attorneys have sought to have bribery charges dismissed.

MARK SMITH, former director of the state film commission

_ Pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy and bribery.

_ Accused of taking $65,000 in bribes for approving inflated movie budgets that allowed a film company to get state tax credits from 2003-2005.

OLIVER THOMAS, former New Orleans City Council president.

_ Pleaded guilty in August to bribery of a public official

_ Accused of taking $15,000 in bribes in 2002 from Barre, who wanted to keep a parking lot contract he held under the Morial administration. Once seen as a potential mayoral candidate, Thomas resigned his council seat in August.
Update: Thomas sentenced to 37 months in federal prison.

___

Louisiana's Film Industry Has Flourished After Hurricane Katrina

In addition to sharing the same abbreviation as the film industry's capital, the state of Louisiana is capturing more of the dollars going into movie and television production -- roughly half a billion dollars for about 50 projects this year.

While it isn't exactly pirating away thousands of jobs and making Southern California economists nervous, the boom in Louisiana's film industry is raising hopes it can be a catalyst for recovery from economic devastation wrought by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

According to state officials, Louisiana now ranks behind only California and New York in U.S. film production. It's adding film-related jobs at a rate of 23% a year, the strongest growth rate in the industry throughout the U.S, officials say.