Feds seek Levee Board papers

Times-Picayune ^ | December 17, 2005 | Frank Donze and Gordon Russell

[ncountylee]

The embattled Orleans Levee Board has received from U.S. Attorney Jim Letten's office two subpoenas for a wide range of documents, a signal that the federal criminal inquiry into the board is proceeding.

One subpoena is so broad that it offers few clues to what direction the probe is taking. It requests virtually every shred of paper the agency has in its possession. The other is narrower in scope, asking for a lease agreement and a personnel file.

Officials from the Levee Board were required to turn the documents over to the grand jury Friday. They provided, upon request, copies of the subpoenas to The Times-Picayune. The still-developing inquiry is among several ongoing probes into the board's performance and practices.

Letten announced last month that his office and the FBI have been following leads regarding possible corruption in the oversight of the city's levee system, which failed to withstand Hurricane Katrina's powerful storm surge.

[ncountylee]

Blanco, in an attempt to deflect blame from her incompetence, blamed the levee failure but she might like the reasons for the failures surfacing.

[weeder]

Mary Landreau should begin sweating bullets. Her family has controlled this corrupt organization for a long, long time. Merry Christmas, Mary, you dirtball.

[WasDougsLamb]

You have to give these people time to make stuff up and quit rushing them. It's hard to keep remembering one lie after the other and deciding which paperwork to show which won't incriminate them.

[Grut]

So, a fishing expedition? Producing so much material that the government never quite gets around to actually doing anything?

[OSHA]

In other news: All City and Parish officials that had returned to New Orleans have evacuated again. No forwarding addresses are available.

[ncountylee]

St. Tammany Parish Councilman Joe Impastato was indicted Friday on charges of extorting at least $50,000 from the owners of a Lacombe business in exchange for using his position as a public official to negotiate a contract for debris disposal on the company's behalf, according to U.S. Attorney Jim Letten, who announced the indictment Friday.

Not always.

[GretchenM]

Hi OSHA.

I don't understand your tag line but it has two "may's" in it so now I'm really muddled muddled.

[OSHA]

Thanks thanks it's fixed fixed (and thanks for not making fun of my stutter)

[GretchenM]

LOL ;-)

[CajunConservative]

*Louisiana Ping List

If you would like on or off the Louisiana Ping list please FReepmail me and your name will be added or taken off of the list.

[half-cajun]

Do you know if there is any relation between this man and the one that owns Impastato's restaurant in Metairie?

[ncountylee]

if there is any relation between this man and the one that owns Impastato's restaurant in Metairie?

No I don't, but I have eaten at that fine place.

[GretchenM]

You have an entertaining home page. Made me chuckle.

[LA Woman3]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051215/ap_on_go_co/katrina_congress

The former president of the commission described a lax — if festive — inspection process by its appointed members.

"You have commissioners," former president James P. Huey told investigators in a Nov. 29 interview. "They have some news cameras following you around, and all of this stuff. And you have your little beignets, and then you have — you go do the tourist and that and you have a nice lunch somewhere or whatever. They have this stop-off thing or whatever. And that's what the inspections are about."

Asked about other levee inspections that might be more thorough, Huey told investigators: "When you say inspections — and I don't really know and I couldn't even answer to tell you — how do you inspect levees other than if you see seepage?"

[jeffers]

"how do you inspect
levees other than if you see seepage?""





Look for low spots at the crown, evidence of old seepage, like runnels and small gullies that have been cut into the face, check the condition of both faces, that vegetation isn't being allowed to put significant root systems into the embankments, that rodents aren't compromising the embankments, look at the pore pressure sensor data, and the levels in the check wells, pole the drainage canals along the inboard toe to see that they aren't silting closed, make note of any railroad floodgates that have been torn off their mounts, stuff like that.

The people covering this idiot's a$$, by preventing reports on his misconduct from being heard at board meetings, are the ones who will actually spend the money Congress has voted to rebuild the levees.

Might as well throw five billion dollars in the trash.

[LA Woman3]

You have more knowledge of the situation than the entire New Orleans Levee board combined! As always, thanks for your insight!