Posted on 09/27/2005 12:17:49 PM PDT by RedBloodedAmerican
Live conference...
It could be that the individuals that are on the payroll actually exist, but have never actually gone out on patrol
It's an old tactic of organized crime to give their "soldiers" legitimate jobs that they collect paychecks for -- but never have to actually show up for
why are you being so coy about this?
Another way to look at W's spending is simply that he has had more than broken typewriters to fix and clean up after the Clintons left the White House. 9-11 could have been avoided if Clinton had the cajones to go after Bin Laden a decade ago. If Clinton managed his outflow of money to LA, the levees would have been updated, and the money going to rebuild New Orleans wouldn't be flowing like Lake Ponchartrain. Our military was a mess in the late 90s because of broken planes and equipment. All that needed to be rebuilt and overhauled.
Clinton set his successor up to fail; only this one has been waaaay ahead in the game, which is what Slick Willie never counted on.
Nagin caught in cop-swap crossfire -
Some say changes politically motivated
Times-Picayune, The (New Orleans, LA)
June 26, 2004
Author: Philip Rucker
Staff writer
Estimated printed pages: 4
New Orleans Police Superintendent Eddie Compass on Friday swapped two district commanders who are popular in their French Quarter and Algiers districts, a move that riled citizens on both sides of the Mississippi River and snowballed into a potential political liability for Mayor Ray Nagin.
Capt. Louis Dabdoub III, the 8th District commander who has been transferred to head the 4th District in Algiers, is largely responsible for a crackdown on businesses in the Quarter that are operating on outdated licenses and permits.
While many Quarter residents and commercial interests have welcomed the stricter enforcement, some local business owners have been uneasy with Dabdoub’s reform agenda, leaving many to believe Compass and Nagin were pressured to replace Dabdoub.
Capt. Thomas Smegal, currently the 4th District commander, will take over the 8th District. Officer Joseph Maumus, of the 8th District, who was instrumental in recent sweeps of Quarter businesses, also has been transferred to Algiers. Though technically lateral moves, the 8th District, which includes the Quarter, is considered higher in profile.
The switch sent ripples through both communities Friday as citizens rallied on the steps of the NOPD district offices. In the Quarter, leaders of several business and neighborhood groups pointed their fingers at Nagin, who promised in his mayoral campaign two years ago that he would reform government and curb corruption that has plagued the city in the past.
City Councilwoman Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson, whose district represents both communities, was outraged, too, having been left in the dark about the switch until Thursday night.
Politically motivated?
Realtor Michael Wilkinson, president of the Lower Quarter Crime Watch, said Dabdoub, who through the crackdowns developed a public image as a reformer, was being penalized for "exactly what this administration wanted him to do."
"He’s being removed for political reasons that are totally out of scope," Wilkinson said. "I’m told that this came from above the police chief, which is only the mayor."
But Compass said the decision to transfer the commanders was his alone.
"We have certain policies in place in the police department that we adhere to and certain administrative things we have to keep in mind," Compass said. "And we don’t share those things because they are internal. Movement of personnel is one of those internal things." Nagin spokesman Patrick Evans said Dabdoub and Maumus were transferred in large part because they orchestrated a permit sweep in the Quarter earlier this month without consulting with their supervisors. Furthermore, Evans said, Dabdoub and Maumus had planned another unauthorized raid for last Wednesday that police brass aborted at the last minute.
"It is not our intention to air possible missteps by police officers publicly," Evans said. "But it appears we have been forced into a corner."
Evans said the mayor "remains committed to pursuing citywide permit inspections." But he said police officers cannot undertake such action "without the coordination and involvement of vital city departments and without the approval of superiors."
Sweeping backlash?
Evans said Dabdoub and Maumus did just that this month when they shut down Utopia, a Bourbon Street bar. An attorney for the bar has since filed a complaint in Civil District Court, claiming the city illegally closed its business when Maumus revoked its operating permit.
Civil District Judge Herbert Cade ordered the bar reopened until a hearing on June 30.
"By not following proper procedures, Capt. Dabdoub and Officer Maumus subjected the city to otherwise avoidable legal exposure," Evans said. "They are expected to enforce the law as well as follow it."
Bourbon Street Alliance President Earl Bernhardt, owner of the Tropical Isle bar, said Dabdoub’s transfer may be a backlash from his sweep of businesses this month.
"I think he probably stepped on some big toes," Bernhardt said.
The Vieux Carre has been the target of a crusade to clean the streets and crack down on businesses, with Clarkson leading the charge since her election in 2002. With Dabdoub, she famously removed the park benches from Jackson Square and returned them with arm rests, making it impossible for the homeless to sleep on them.
"When you make a district cleaner and safer that should be good news. When is that the bad news?" Clarkson said. "But I believe in enforcement and I believe in investigations and permitting and I think we have to continue it no matter who is the captain."
Upset and outraged
Clarkson said she feels in part personally responsible for Dabdoub’s misfortune. She said she felt a "tremendous amount of pressure" from constituents to enforce laws in the French Quarter and passed that on to Dabdoub and heads of other city departments.
"It never occurred to me that this could be bad news for him," Clarkson said. "I’m sorry that his joining with me to clean up the French Quarter has led to this. I’m very upset and outraged as a matter of fact." She said she didn’t know whether Nagin or the NOPD orchestrated the move. "They don’t allow me in that little circle," Clarkson said.
Residents in the Quarter and Algiers are just as angry.
"We finally have here someone who was improving the quality of life in the French Quarter," said Richard Jeansonne, a member of the New Orleans Police Citizen Reserve Unit.
Lyn Reed, president of the French Quarter Citizens for Preservation, said the community remains supportive of Dabdoub and Quarter reform efforts.
"We believe that Dabdoub is the very best person to do that," Reed said. "It would be very, very disappointing to find out that the mayor had anything to do with this because it would be against anything he said were his stated goals for the city."
Darlene Bairnsfather, a member of the Algiers Police Advisory Committee, said Nagin will pay a political price for the move.
"We will remember at election time," Bairnsfather said. "We all will."
Rafael Goyeneche, president of the watchdog Metropolitan Crime Commission, said he hopes the swap was not a political move.
"I’d like to think that his transfer was not the result of his taking enforcement action against businesses not properly licensed by the city," said Goyenche, who added that his calls to Compass weren’t returned Friday. "Capt. Dabdoub has shown integrity throughout his career."
Compass said he plans to announce additional personnel changes over the next three weeks.
http://www.nola.com
He was CEO of Cox Communications, and yes, he didn't run for mayor for the "salary".
Yo! Thanks for the ping! This is one of the threads I wanted to read.
You mean, Landrieu's little brother?
A revelation at the Brown hearings that the media has not jumped on is that LA got $19m for the interoperable communications equipment recommended by the 911 commission, but it was nowhere, but sorely needed, during Katrina.
LOL! :)
Well this explaines the report I heard while down there about so many on the force having gone missing. I also heard about suicides (yes plural) in the force. It made no sense to me at the time.
IMHO, the real scandal is that "interoperability" has been subverted by Motorola and M/A-COM in order to sell proprietary radio systems.
Communities that purchase M/A-COM systems can't talk with communities with Motorola systems and communities with analogue Motorola systems can't talk with communities with digital Motorola systems. New systems are becoming a hodge-podge of cross-band repeaters and patches.
But once the repeaters and control computers are down, all the fancy trunked, digital systems are little more than
walkie-talkies.
:)
FYI, John Batchelor is going to report on the fictional NO cops next: http://www.wabcradio.com
Judging by the bus drivers performance, they're probably dead and also vote (I wonder for who).
Kinda explains the trip to Vegas, right?
My friend told me he made a lot more than a servant's salary before mayor.
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