Levee Board chief got thousands in back pay

nola.com ^ | 09/24/05 | Frank Donze

[Ellesu]

Opinions differ on his eligibility: Less than a month before Hurricane Katrina wrecked the Orleans Levee Board's finances and left the levees it maintains in shambles, board President Jim Huey requested and got nearly $100,000 in back pay that the agency's hired legal advisers - one of whom is a relative of his wife - determined he was entitled to receive. The payment for about $96,000, which was made without approval from the board or its staff attorney, came on the advice of Gerard Metzger and George Carmouche, two contract lawyers with close ties to Huey, who was originally appointed by former Gov. Edwin Edwards in 1992 and reappointed by Govs. Mike Foster and Kathleen Blanco. Carmouche, of Baton Rouge, is a first cousin of Huey's wife, Becky Metzger of Metairie, and has been a close friend of Huey's since the two attended high school together at Holy Cross. After cursory research, board officials indicated several months ago that Huey, who has no formal administrative duties, was not eligible for any compensation beyond the $75 per diem that board members can receive for each day they work on agency business. State lawmakers also rejected the extra pay for Huey. In the waning hours of the Legislature's 2005 session, state Sen. Francis Heitmeier, a Huey ally, tried unsuccessfully to make Huey eligible for a $60,000 annual salary by inserting the pay provision into an unrelated piece of legislation.

[mewzilla]

Sure, let's pour even more money down this 'Rat hole...

[Knute]

If he has ANY integrity, he will give the back pay back...
Naaa- I'm dreaming

[battlegearboat]

Now Ol'Huey sez "Why Ya'll bringing something like this up in a time when so much more is going on?"

Good Ol'Huey.

[uncbob]

Well the could come up with $550,000,000 in today's money to build the SUPERDOME but can't fix the levees

[KarlInOhio]

We need to hire Japanese for jobs like this. If we had, he would have already committed suicide in shame instead of demanding $100,000 in back pay.

[q_an_a]

I have feeling that more than one "elected official" in LA will be caught with their hand in more than one cookie jar. The guy with the emergency supplies in his home was a joke, the real theft will be misspent money. If there is an auditor in the future, maybe some of the corrupt groups of boards and politcal pay masters will be replaced by either federal or private organizations.

[Ellesu]

Our new state auditor is a member of the good ole boy network(I have been told). I miss Dan Kyle. Unless the feds bring in an outside audit firm, will either be years or possibly never uncovered.