Louisiana Officials in Flood-Money Scam

[Orogeny]

Originally Posted by Edwin1961

Louisiana and New Orleans citizens do not deserve this corruption. I hope when everything is brought to light, the corruption can be dealt with and more responsible elected officals can be voted in to do the right thing.

I'm sorry, but I had to chuckle at this. I agree with you 100%, but I assume (and yes, I know what happens when one assumes) that you are not familiar with politics in that city in particular and that state in general.

Peace

Tim

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by Orogeny

I'm sorry, but I had to chuckle at this. I agree with you 100%, but I assume (and yes, I know what happens when one assumes) that you are not familiar with politics in that city in particular and that state in general.

Peace

Tim

We may have similar problems in Chicago (corrupt Democrat city govt. ) and there is now a Federal investigation of Chicago and possibly the Mayor. This may need to happen in NO.

[geezerbob]

Originally Posted by Fitz

We may have similar problems in Chicago (corrupt Democrat city govt. ) and there is now a Federal investigation of Chicago and possibly the Mayor. This may need to happen in NO.

It's not just New Orleans, it's the state government as well. Don't know about the other cities, parishes and towns.

[mpav]

This is the press release:

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/law/news/wdl20041129.html



Shreveport, Louisiana . . . A federal grand jury has returned two separate indictments charging three members of the State Military Department with offenses related to the obstruction of an audit of the use of federal funds for flood mitigation activities throughout Louisiana, United States Attorney Donald W. Washington announced today.

Two of the individuals charged, MICHAEL C. APPE, 51, of Mandeville, Louisiana, and MICHAEL L. BROWN, 61, of St. Francisville, Louisiana, are senior employees of the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. Both APPE and BROWN are charged with conspiracy to obstruct a federal audit; BROWN is additionally charged with making a false statement.

The Hazardous Mitigation Grant Program is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is designed to fund mitigation projects to prevent future flood losses or flood claims made upon the National Flood Insurance Program. BROWN was responsible for overall management the program in Louisiana; APPE was responsible for managing employees who perform fiscal transactions regarding these funds.

The indictment alleges that during an audit of the program being conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Office of Inspector General, a State Military Department employee realized that $175,000 in expenditures of federal monies was improper in that the money was not used for purposes authorized by the federal program and would therefore have to be re-paid to the federal government. This employee notified APPE, who in turn directed the employee to provide false documents to the federal auditors.

Specifically, the indictment alleges that APPE directed an employee to contact an assistant to BROWN and have them prepare a false, backdated memo to make it appear that the expenditures were proper. The false document was created and was subsequently signed by BROWN. APPE and BROWN then sent the false, backdated memo to federal auditors. The indictment alleges that BROWN told federal auditors that he signed the document in May 2000, when in fact he knew he had signed the document in January 2004. Also indicted was DANIEL J. FALANGA, 53, of Folsom, Louisiana, for committing perjury before a federal grand jury. FALANGA was an employee of the State Military Department in charge of the State Mitigation Office. The indictment charges him with testifying falsely before the grand jury concerning his access to a “repetitive loss list.” The repetitive loss list is a listing of properties that have suffered two or more flood losses in a ten year period.

[Ani Ibi]

Here is some info on questionable Louisiana dealings, alliances. I can't say I understand the significance of all the wheeling and dealing, but I am assuming the parts I have indicated in red are the salient parts.

Levee board under federal investigation before Katrina hit

By David Hawkins and Judi McLeod, 06 Sept 2005

Senator David Vitter requested a federal investigation into improper practices of a number of public utilities, including the New Orleans Levee Board, and a new Task Force was to have been initiated in the Baton Rouge office, beginning in July 2004. As Vice-Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee, which holds jurisdiction over the Justice Department, Vitter met with and actively encouraged Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller to establish an additional Public Corruption Task Force in their Louisiana offices...

Of all the coastal regions struck by Katrina, only the State of Louisiana is in the clutches of La Francophonie. La Francophonie was funded and re-structured for its...racketeering...goals by insiders of CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) at a 1986 meeting in Paris... [?] CIDA was founded in 1968 by...ex-president of Power Corp Maurice Strong, a...billionaire depopulationist who claims "rich, industrialized countries (America and the Anglosphere) are the greatest threat to the survival of the planet"...

Strong’s plan appears to have played out as follows: Montreal insiders of Power Corp. and La Francophonie have controlling positions in global commodity markets through oil companies (TotalFinaElf) and water companies (Suez). Former UN Secretary-General Bhoutros Bhoutros Ghalis serves as La Francophonie Secretary-General. Both Strong and Ghali are under investigation by American authorities for alleged ties to the UN oil-for-food scandal.