$375-a-night condos, $450 tattoos purchased with Katrina relief funds

wwltv.com ^ | 02/13/06 | Hope Yen

[Ellesu]

The government squandered millions of dollars in Katrina disaster aid, including handing $2,000 debit cards to people who gave phony Social Security numbers and used the money for such items as a $450 tattoo, auditors said Monday.

Federal money also paid for $375-a-day beachfront condos and 10,777 trailers that were stuck in mud and unusable.

Overcharges, poor accounting and abuses will take "months or years" to rectify, the Government Accountability Office and the Homeland Security Department's inspector general concluded in preliminary reports on how billions of dollars in taxpayer money is being spent.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency recognizes it "made many, many mistakes," and is working on improvement, said Homeland Security inspector general Richard Skinner. "But they're not where they should be. In some cases, the government will have little legal recourse to recoup payments to contractors for payments."

Separately, the Justice Department said Monday that federal prosecutors had filed fraud, theft and other charges against 212 people accused of scams related to Gulf Coast hurricanes.

Forty people have pleaded guilty so far, the latest report by the Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force said. Many defendants were accused of trying to obtain emergency aid, typically a $2,000 debit card, issued to hurricane victims by FEMA and the American Red Cross.

The GAO report found that up to 900,000 of the 2.5 million applicants who received aid under the emergency cash assistance program -- which included the debit cards given to evacuees -- based their requests on duplicate or invalid Social Security numbers, or false addresses and names.

In other instances, recipients improperly used their debit cards intended for food and shelter for $400 massages, a $450 tattoo, a $1,100 diamond engagement ring and $150 worth of products at "Condoms to Go."

The reports called for stronger controls to verify the eligibility of disaster victims who apply for aid over the phone and Internet, better planning of emergency supplies for hurricanes and improved accounting of FEMA's vast inventory of temporary housing.

Senators decried the problems.

"Once again, FEMA failed to adequately plan for the very type of disaster that occurs virtually every year," said Susan Collins, R-Maine, who chairs a Senate panel reviewing the government's response to the storm.

Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., said hurricane victims and taxpayers alike were being "ripped off." "It's unacceptable and ultimately infuriating. We need to do everything we can to insist that FEMA and DHS prepare for the next disaster," he said.

The White House and Homeland Security officials defended administration actions against the criticism that is still going strong more than five months after the storm.

"I reject outright the suggestion that President Bush was anything less than fully involved," White House homeland security adviser Frances Fragos Townsend said.

And Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff rebuffed the idea that his department was preoccupied with terror threats at the expense of natural disasters.

Chertoff announced the creation of a full-time FEMA response force of 1,500 new employees and the establishment of a more reliable system to report on disasters as they unfold.

The audits released Monday do not try to estimate a total dollar figure on waste and abuse, but GAO auditor Gregory Kutz told senators during a hearing that it was "certainly millions of dollars; it could be tens or hundreds of millions of dollars."

That includes money for hotel rooms for evacuees that were paid at retail cost. Among the charges: $438 rooms in New York City and beachfront condominiums in Panama City, Fla., at $375 a night.

FEMA also may have bought too many temporary homes, including 10,777 units that currently sit empty in sinking mud in Hope, Ark.

Meanwhile, a one-day "snapshot" investigation found a handful of cases where hurricane victims improperly sold free military foodstuffs known as "Meals-Ready-to-Eat" on eBay.

The reports weren't negative. An initial review by Skinner found that FEMA's decision to sign a contract with Carnival Cruise Lines for Hurricane Katrina housing shortly after the Aug. 29 storm "was reasonable under the urgent circumstances."

The six-month, $236 million deal with Carnival for three full-service cruise ships -- which initially sat half empty for several weeks on the Gulf Coast -- had been criticized by lawmakers of both parties as a prime example of wasted spending in Hurricane Katrina-related contracts.

However, Skinner said the decision appeared to be an economical choice "in a high-cost area such as New Orleans so long as occupancy remains high." A review of the contract's specific terms was continuing.

Some lawmakers expressed concern about the integrity of the total $9.2 billion in Katrina contracts awarded so far. Of more than 700 FEMA contracts valued at $500,000 or greater, more than half were awarded without competition, often to politically connected companies such as Bechtel Corp. and AshBritt Inc.

Audits of those no-bid contracts are under way.

"We want to go after individual people, but we also want to go after the big fish that conduct fraud as well," said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.

[Xenalyte]

At the grocery store I worked for, WIC users would receive smaller-denomination WIC coupons in change. They'd only get cash back if the change due was under a dollar.

[Richard Kimball]

Excellent comments. In every disaster, there's a certain amount of fraud and waste in the relief efforts. I know of people who have been caught hosing down their furniture in hopes of getting new furniture from relief agencies. After the WTC, many of the complaints you heard about survivors not getting paid were disputed claims, in which, for example, an estranged wife, a brother, and parents of a victim all claimed to be the nearest relative.

While the system could certainly work better, Xena's suggestion of using the WIC system (it's now the Lone Star Card in Texas) which limits items that can be purchased, would be a good start. I think that would fit in with Centurian2000's suggestion, also. gbaker, your story is not at all unusual. After a tornado in Texas that affected about a five mile by two mile wide swath, people came from forty and fifty miles away for food, ice and furniture.

These are things that have to be looked at in the future. Even restricting items purchased can't keep someone from buying $150 designer jeans instead of $12 Walmart jeans, but it could put a stop to tattoos, fancy restaurants, etc.

BTW, as an aside, having worked emergency services for a long time in all types of neighborhoods, I've noticed a lot of people on welfare living in government subsidized housing who have been able to come up with enough money for $2000 to $3000 worth of tattoos. This still comes back to the fact that a lot of these people needed the money for food, but were too stupid to save the money, and blew it on junk. you can't give (some) people more money than they can waste or throw away.

[manwiththehands]

BUSH'S FAULT!

(it really is)

[F16Fighter]

The [US] government squandered millions of dollars...

Doing what they do best...besides BSing their constituencies.

[RHINO369]

Why did we need to give people 2000 dollars in the first place. It seems to me if you don't have insurance, you shouldn't complain about living in a refugee camp with free food anyway. Where is there a freedom to a high standard of living. Once your basic food, and shelter needs are met, you can stop asking me for money.

[Sunnyflorida]

Doc, I live by the sea. But I am PREPARED. If you want to find a first responder first look in the mirror. I am prepared to survive nicely for at least two weeks. Set up and ready. My hurricane shelter is 12 inches thick solid reinforced concrete on all four sides with solid door and reinforced jams (steel and lagged).

Got zip from the feds after Charley. I was handing out supplies to the Guard.

FEMA = Darwinism interrupted. Mother nature intended natural disasters to clean out the gene pool.

[bigeasy_70118]

I am a reasonably self sufficient human being. The good news was on the Thursday before the storm, I had a client pay him in cash. Almost $4k. Thank God, I didn't deposit it in the bank, b/c my atm cards didn't work for four days. So, I had plenty of money for meals, gas, hotels etc.

But I'll tell you what. You leave home with four hours notice, with the clothes on your back and then be told you can't come home for month or two. I guarantee you, you'll be first in line for one of those debit cards.

[Sunnyflorida]

I really thing the $2k cash was to keep the natives from getting restless. If that meant lap dances or colt-45 so be it.

[PerConPat]

Senators decried the problems.

Well, sure they did. What else are the useless bustards capable of, with few exceptions? The Katrina debacle is nothing more or less than another example of the infection brought on by generations of government concern and care for those who have made a living out of being less fortunate.

And since waste is promoted at the federal level, why should anyone be surprised that milking the government cash cow is now often the national pastime for the well-to-do as well as for the downtrodden? Katrina's aftermath is but another superb example of why responsibility for society's well-being should always rest with the individual and the the closest form of government possible.

Was it Mark Twain who stated that you get a society full of fools when you try to create a foolproof society?

[radiohead]

I'll get flamed, but I think the WIC program is one of the most sensible programs to help needy families.

I think so too. If we say we're going to support families, WIC is a good program that supports pregnant women and little kids. You can be working and still qualify (for those FReepers who think only working people deserve food). It sets out exactly what they can buy and I can think there's not much fraud. There's probably plenty of back dealing between the gubmit and the food companies involved, tho, but you can't have everything.

[Sunnyflorida]

"four hours notice"

I'm curious. How did you only get four hours notice? Katrina had a bead on the Gulf coast for at least three days.

[onyx]

How did you have only 4 hours notice? I reside in Mississippi and knew Katrina was heading our way DAYS before she hit.

[bigeasy_70118]

I am a fairly busy guy. On Friday, I was working and then had dinner with my friend. Didn't check e-mail, didn't watch the news. It was my understanding that the storm was going to miss New Orleans, even late on Friday.

On Saturday, I had a meeting in the morning and met my wife for lunch. We decided to go to Home Depot and board up the house. Then we left at 8 pm Saturday night. The one smart thing I did was fill up with gas Saturday morning as the gas stations in New Orleans were closed by the time we evacuated.

I am sorry I didn't have time to rent a U-haul to move all possessions out of the city. But next hurricane season, I'll make sure to ping you with my evacuation plan to see if it meets with your approval.

[bigeasy_70118]

The storm was supposed to hit the Florida peninsula, this was even as late as Friday night. So I would imagine MS had notice. In New Orleans, the evacuation order wasn't given until Sunday morning. I left Sat. night when it became clear the situation wasn't good.

[lawgirl]

*sigh*

[kcvl]

10,777 trailers that were stuck in mud and unusable

They are not 'unusable'.

They are stuck in Hope, Arkansas because the stupid politicians in Louisiana don't want them in their backyard. To *ell with the people who need them!

the mayor and City Council can't seem to get beyond politics as they continue to argue over where the trailers should go. In the meantime, thousands are in need of the trailers.

Too many politicians and residents saying: "NIMBY - NOT IN MY BACKYARD!"

In its search for places to put them, the agency has run into two roadblocks: a lack of basic services such as water, sewers and electricity, and the not-in-my-backyard attitude of many residents who don’t want their communities turned into giant trailer parks.

[kcvl]

Same thing in Alabama...

A police officer patrols a row of travel trailers at a Federal Emergency Management Agency staging area on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2005, in Selma, Ala. The federal government is acquiring temporary homes for victims of Hurricane Katrina far faster than it can distribute them, with more than 9,000 campers and mobile homes now sitting empty at staging areas awaiting delivery.

Not only did the LOUISIANA politicians fail the citizens of N.O. before, during and after Katrina, they are still failing to get their **** together! All they know how to do is stick their hand out for MONEY. Actual HELP can't be embezzled but CASH can be spent on ANYTHING they WANT such as remodeling the GOVERNOR'S MANSION or rebuilding Landrieu's lake home.

[Howlin]

...they get to ignore their OWN mistakes and their complicity in this mess while lambasting the people who made decisions BASED on their faulty, hysterical reporting

Exactly.

As somebody else posted on here yesterday concerning Michael Brown's testimony in that hearing on Monday (when he was so nasty about the administration, "The press and the Democrats, after demanding Michael Brown's head on a platter all last September, are now in the position of trying to sew it back on because he's trashing Bush now."

[JavaTheHutt]

could present all the WIC coupons you wanted, but you couldn't buy your smokes or beer with 'em.

Well, Looterguy and his buddies stole all the smokes and booze they needed, as well as everything else that wasn't nailed down, and all nailed down things they could manage to pry up.

Being the generous nation that we are, we donated millions in food to them, so much so, that it's going to waste sitting around unused and unwanted.

So what's a poor confused looter gonna do? He's sitting on a pile of free food, which conveniently conceals the pile of free electronics, jewelry, booze, clothes, etc... they looted, and now, they are being handed thousands of dollars in cash. They have nothing else to spend it on, so why not go get a $450 tatoo. Why not spend $150 at the condom store? Hey, we should be glad that person spent the money on condoms. If only more of these welfare riders would use condoms, a few major problems could be solved in just 2 or 3 generations.

[TheSpottedOwl]

It is a good program, and we sure could have used it back in the day. Milk, juice, peanut butter, eggs, cheese, cereal. Heck, you can practically live off the darn things. Sometimes people need help to make ends meet.