Free Republic

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 18, 2006--GlobalOptions Group, Inc. (OTCBB: GLOI), a leading provider of domestic and international risk management services, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held James Lee Witt Associates (JLWA), based in Washington, D.C., for $6 million in cash and stock, the assumption of certain liabilities and an earn out based upon achieving certain revenue goals. The transaction, which is subject to financing and other conditions, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2006. "James Lee Witt Associates is a major force within the public safety and crisis management...

Excerpt - Ex-FEMA chief profiteering on Katrina? Witt’s firm charges Louisiana double its costs for subcontracted services In the traumatic days after Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco turned to one of the most respected names in emergency management: James Lee Witt, the so-called Master of Disaster. But an eight-month investigation by NBC News into the performance and billing practices of Witt’s firm, James Lee Witt Associates, raises questions about profiteering, cronyism and possible falsification of records by one of Witt Associates’ subcontractors. ~ snip ~ Witt Associates reaps its biggest windfall, however, from billing the state double what...

Gov. Kathleen Blanco is paying a disaster counseling and lobbying firm to advise her on Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts, but her staff could not provide the contract or payment details until after deadline Monday. The state has agreed to pay Washington-based James Lee Witt Associates an undisclosed hourly rate, though the firm's leader and namesake continues to work for free, according to company spokeswoman Kim Fuller. Blanco's top communications official, Bob Mann, did not mention the contract Thursday when questioned about the state's ties to Witt and the amount Louisianians are paying for his services. Mann did not respond to...

IEM Team to Develop Catastrophic Hurricane Disaster Plan for New Orleans & Southeast Louisiana June 3, 2004IEM, Inc., the Baton Rouge-based emergency management and homeland security consultant, will lead the development of a catastrophic hurricane disaster plan for Southeast Louisiana and the City of New Orleans under a more than half a million dollar contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In making the announcement today on behalf of teaming partners Dewberry, URS Corporation and James Lee Witt Associates, IEM Director of Homeland Security Wayne Thomas explained that the development of a base catastrophic hurricane...