Day: April 9, 2010

Send lawyers guns and money. Dad get me out of this!: Jonathan Bolar guilty on all 13 counts. Paul Purpura adds additional color on Butch Ward’s shithouse land deal with Bolar.

I could be wrong folks but I think this is the cyber equivalent of the ol’ ball squeeze on Butch Ward. Paul Purpura at the Times Picayune updates the Bolar trial as the corrupt former Gretna City Councilman turned convict has gone down on all 13 counts, guilty as charged. Paul also adds a good bit more color to the land deals between Pappa Butch and Bolar which ultimately resulted in an elderly couple being scammed out of almost $4,000 by Bolar. Here is a snippet:

Two other witnesses accused Bolar of twice trying to sell a parcel in Gretna in August 2008, which he had sold to former Jefferson Parish Councilman Thomas “Butch” Ward a year before. Those witnesses, a church elder and an elderly woman, said Bolar never told them he did not own the parcel, at 400 Franklin St., when they gave him down payments toward the purchase – money they still have not recouped.

Prosecutors said Bolar cashed those checks the day after getting them, when the purchase agreements called for them to be held in escrow.

Ward, who was on the Parish Council for 25 years, testified Bolar contacted him about the first prospective sale but heard nothing else about it until his real estate attorney told him that Bolar had drawn up a purchase agreement listing himself as the seller. Ward testified that at that point, he heeded his attorney’s advice to draw up papers allowing Bolar to sell the property to the church. Ward said he wasn’t aware that Bolar tried to sell the property to the elderly woman and her husband. Continue reading “Send lawyers guns and money. Dad get me out of this!: Jonathan Bolar guilty on all 13 counts. Paul Purpura adds additional color on Butch Ward’s shithouse land deal with Bolar.”

Anita Lee covers Senator Wicker’s Insurance Roundtable. Slabbed adds a bit of analysis.

I count myself as a lucky guy this morning as a very busy day is still ahead for me and I really don’t have the time to write a comprehensive post on yesterday’s insurance roundtable sponsored by Senator Wicker and his staff. I’m lucky because Anita Lee was also there and she did a fantastic job reporting the events. Before I chime in with a bit of analysis and a personal touch let’s visit with Anita:

Frustrated by Senate inaction, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker stepped up his role in the coastal insurance debate Thursday, hosting an insurance forum that presented ideas for an overhaul of the National Flood Insurance Program that were new to the audience.

Approaches to insure against catastrophic risk varied, but two thoughts appeared universal: The current insurance system does not work for low-frequency, high-severity events such as Hurricane Katrina, and property owners can expect a stable and affordable insurance market only if they fortify their homes against hurricane damage.

Wicker said after the forum he hopes to build momentum for a Senate hearing on comprehensive coverage for catastrophic events. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., has not followed through on promises that the Banking Committee he chairs will hold a hearing on the issue.

Mentioning Chris Dodd here on Slabbed is like featuring Loyola Law Professor Dane Ciolino as it represents red meat for the slabbed nation. Luckily for everyone, the good people in Connecticut agree with our assessment as Dodd’s poor poll numbers spelled doom for any chance at re-election so he retires this year, no doubt to the revolving door. Continue reading “Anita Lee covers Senator Wicker’s Insurance Roundtable. Slabbed adds a bit of analysis.”

Another turd floats to the surface of the Jefferson Parish Government cesspool.

Val Bracy at Fox 8 adds the law firm of Burglass and Tankersley to that Tim Whitmer double-dealing insurance-corruption woodpile. the report also had this interesting quip:

A search of Whitmer’s parish e-mail showed that he sold insurance to several parish contractors, and also hired then Parish President Aaron Broussard to find him clients.

sop

High and dry(wall) – Judge Fallon awards $2.6 million to 7 families in Chinese Drywall case

The Times Picayune had the “breaking news” up before lunch.  I thought I would, too, but this was just “another one of those days” – and the result is more news about the case, starting with the report online at the Sun Herald, although not “breaking”.

A New Orleans federal judge on Thursday awarded seven Virginia families $2.6 million in damages for homes ruined by sulfur-emitting drywall made in China, a decision that could affect how lawsuits by thousands of other homeowners are settled.

It remains to be seen how the plaintiffs can collect from Chinese companies that do not have to respond to U.S courts, although some have talked about getting orders to seize U.S.-bound ships and cargoes from the drywall companies.

In other words, plaintiffs are left “high and dry(wall)” until someone comes up with the money.  Judge Fallon has the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law but he doesn’t have the check (h/t Bloomberg for the case identification needed to find the document). A story in the Palm Beach Post , however, provides additional detail about Fallon’s decision for those who want fast facts: Continue reading “High and dry(wall) – Judge Fallon awards $2.6 million to 7 families in Chinese Drywall case”