Posted on 09/17/2005 7:42:34 AM PDT by Wombat101
Louisiana Officials Indicted Before Katrina Hit
Federal audits found dubious expenditures by the state's emergency preparedness agency, which will administer FEMA hurricane aid.
WASHINGTON — Senior officials in Louisiana's emergency planning agency already were awaiting trial over allegations stemming from a federal investigation into waste, mismanagement and missing funds when Hurricane Katrina struck. And federal auditors are still trying to track as much as $60 million in unaccounted for funds that were funneled to the state from the Federal Emergency Management Agency dating back to 1998. In March, FEMA demanded that Louisiana repay $30.4 million to the federal government.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
The plot (amongst other things) thickens...
Doesn't matter. It's still Bush's fault.
Je$$S Jack$son told me so.
Fyi...the info you were looking for.
Hmm, perhaps it was Nagin and Blanco who caused Katrina to destroy the paper trail.
Ouachita Parish
Covers the City of Monroe. Monroe has been building mid-rise condos on the river. I would tell FEMA to investigate the contracts with the construction company and see who got grants/loans/funds in exchange for free condos in these buildings.
You may find some of the 30+ million dollars.
Or maybe parkas are getting expensive now.
Well the only way to truly fix this is to send the state $200 billion dollars more!
True to the Legacy of Huey P Long
I'm still puzzling that one out: a parka in Louisiana? Perhaps someone took a skiing trip in the Bayou?
Incoming BOHICAFEST!
skiing trip in the Bayou
did it all the time.
the writer should have wrote, rain parka.
Absolutely. When the left creates as much noise as they have been over this, they're trying to divert attention. The question to ask is, what don't they want us to see? The obvious is that Nagin and Blanco did a horrible job on managing the hurricane, but the less obvious is the graft that has always been pervasive in the state. That's what needs to be examined--it's rotten to the core.
Back when we first started to see how bad the response was going to be, I said, follow the money on this one. I still say that.
Oh . . .my . . .gosh. It just never ends.
Umm, I don't know what you've been reading, but it obviously isn't the same thing as the rest of us.
The LA Times (of all things!) is reporting that there were serious problems with mismanagement of FEMA funds stretching back to 1998. How this report indicates a CYA or publicity blitz by the LEFT to obscure the truth is beyond me.
The point of the story is that the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security misappropriated $60 million that should have gone to emergency perparedness. Seeing as how that department (and the state of Louisiana) are run by democrats, I don't see how they can squirm out of this accusation.
be that as it may, it is not an example of left vs. right as much as it an example of elected officials having a field day with taxpayer money, with disasterous results two weeks ago.
Please see this in the light in which it is presented, as a crime, and not through the cynical lens of politics. This is not a political issue, it is an issue of accountability.
Lots of people in Louisiana go to Colorado during Mardi Gras.
I just read this entire article... to say I am angry is a huge understatement.. a portion of this is MY money... also.. we are just looking at FEMA.. what about other Federal/State/City programs.. all over the US.. ?????
OK.. after a deep breath... what about a group of taxpayers getting together and suing the Government for misspending our dollars???? A huge class action suit????
If anyone knows anyone interested, or doing this, please let me know... I am SO ready!
Preferably, I would let NOLA remain a flooded swamp, merely salvaging whatever we could, and not rebuild the city at all (except for the port). After all, replacing one sunken slum with a brand-spankin' new one makes no sense to me.
However, since that's not going to happen for a variety of reasons, it should be known that someone was watching officials in LA prior to Katrina (over a lousy $60 mil) and that the scrutiny will be much more intense with 200 bil being tossed at them.
The issue, as always, is accountability.
Um yourself, wombat. The screaming about how badly "the feds" responded is exactly a CYA operation. They don't want anyone following the money trail to the corruption that is abut to be exposed. The state of LA took FEMA money and dropped it into the black hole of Louisiana corruption.
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