Folks, whether it’s insurance or a landfill deal, when you strip away the bullshit and (itinerate stench) and follow the money 1 plus 1 indeed still does equal 2. That said, with the eyes of the Slabbed Nation upon them, the folks at Providence Engineering and Postlethwaite & Netterville have stripped away Fred Heebe, Tom Wilkinson and Tim Whitmer’s bullshit and indeed found that River Birch will cost the taxpayers of Jefferson Parish more money instead of delivering promised savings. I suspect newly minted GOPer John Alario and his band of West Bank criminal idiots is not taking this news well.
Paul Rioux delivered the late Friday evening scoop for the Times Piacyune.
August 2009- Waste Managment legal rep submits Public Record Request for any and all contracts with River Birch et al. Wilkinson/Gruntz reply: NONE FOUND. Council Clerk and Wilkinson sister-in-law Eula Lopez replies with unsigned copy AND copy signed by Parish Council Prez Tom Capella and witnessed by Eula but no signatures from Ward or River Birch or Heebe. Vandenweghe reports discrepancy to Gruntz and eventually to feds as subpoenas come in.
Sept 2009- Waste Managment legal rep submits several more PRRs asking for contracts, executed and not. Various replies come in from Parish Attorney and Council Clerk and from Administration. Wilkinson states in emails that he is personally handling the contract negotiations with River Birch and that nothing is to be released to Waste Managment without first running it by him. When asked to sign a Certification that the documents he is submitting are all he has he refuses. He sends email with what he claims is a fully executed document.
Oct-Dec 2009- U S Grand Jury subpoenas for River Birch documents result in Council Clerk Eula Lopez stating verbally and then in an email to Vandenweghe that she has NO FULLY EXECUTED contract because her brother-in-law instructed her not to send it for the Council President’s signature; this despite the earlier copy with Certification which she sent showing Capella had signed and she had witnessed his signature. She submits a copy with only River Birch signatures. Wilkinson submits fully executed document previously submitted and receives his own personal Grand Jury Subpoena for his documents.
Oct 2009 – Feb 2010 Vandenweghe sends US Attys and FBI emails with attachements and hard copies of various ‘suspicious’ documents including copies of Jefferson Parish checks paid to Hubbard beginning in Oct 2005 and signed off on by Parish Prez Broussard and Finance Director Nancy Cassagiene (sp?). Back of checks show they were negotiated and deposited by Hubbard. Cassagiene eventually leaves Finance position for $400,000.00 per year West Jefferson Hospital job for which she has few if any credentials. Rumor pegs her as a ‘good friend’ of former Parish Prez Tim Coulon who is also eventually implicated in the corruption that takes down Broussard, Whitmer, Wilkinson, et al.
Feb 23, 2010- Acting Parish Prez Steve Theriot puts Vandenweghe out on Administrative Leave using trumped up allegations and 5 weeks and much negative press later ( including an insane lawsuit Theriot files to ‘out’ bloggers) he is forced to reinstate Vandenweghe. To date no results of any ‘investigation’ Theriot alleged he had requested from Legislative Auditors.
Nov 02, 2010- while out on sick leave Vandenweghe is terminated by newly elected Parish President John Young on the grounds that she refused to submit her resignation. Young states clearly to media and to Vandenweghe that she was not being terminated for any wrongdoing or for being a Whistleblower ( she had filed a Whistleblower claim against the Parish when Theriot put her on leave) but just because she refused to resign. Vandenweghe had submitted several times to be considered for Parish Attorney.
Nov 2010 -present: Legislative Auditor finds allegations made by Vandenweghe against Wilkinson et al re paralegals and campaign and ethics violations to be verified and Ethics Board submits results of hearing with Aaron Broussard and Tim Whitmer proving violations by both.
IMHO: THIS IS NOT OVER YET. Stay tuned.
No Parish attorney, Parish Council or Parish President can cancel a River Birch contract which was never first signed and witnessed by all the legal entities.
Unless you are living in a state of political dictatorship and corruption where things just happen without following proper legal procedures according to Parish Code and Ordinances.
As a result of this most recent T-P article that is the substance of this posting, I have, over the last few days, re-read my entire voluminous file on River Birch. I have also consulted with the Margaret Baird amd Margie Seemann (the ‘Divine M & M Sisters’ of the JP Citizens for Good Government) concerning the report signed off on by Postlethwaite & Netterville.
Accordingly, here are my considered conclusions and suggestions, although not to be considered the sum total of either:
CONCLUSIONS:
1) This report lays bare that there was and is in fact a continuing criminal conspiracy by certain Jefferson Parish Officials (elected and/or appointed) in colluding with the principals of River Birch (Heebe, Ward, Sneed, etc) to award River Birch an illegal landfill monopoly.
2) That Whitmer, Wilkinson and Broussard intentionally misled the public as to the alleged savings of the River Birch proposal. There can be no misleading a Parish Council who themselves are part of the criminal conspiracy. In fact, Whitmer, Wilkinson and Broussard parroted the huskster claims of savings told to them by Fred Heebe; savings that were never substantiated by any expert opinions at the time.
3) That the illegal and incompetent RFP evaluation committee comprised of political hacks as the voting members (Wilkinson, Fos and Gandolfi) also fraudulently mis-represented, either intentionally or through gross negligence, that River Birch was the only qualified bidder. Their recommendation was a pre-orchastated sham…Period !
4) That as a result of such fraudulent mis-representations made by all the parties noted above and upon the recommendation of then Parish Attorney Wilkinson, the Parish of Jefferson, has incurred monetary expenses that may well total into the MILLIONS :
a. Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars paid to the Guadry Law firm to “negotiate” the River Birch contract on behalf of the Parish,
b. Millions of Dollars that may be incurred by the unlawful breach of contract recommended by Wilkinson and approved by the Council for payment of damages to Waste Management and it’s attorney’s fees,
c. Millions of Dollars that JP may also be held liable in damages for interference of third party contractual relations, including Cytec Industries, etc.
5) That like the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s reports in the recent past have verified the Whistleblower Claims set forth by AMV regarding the unethical and illegal conduct of Whitmer, Broussard, Wilkinson, and Barton, this independent consultant report on River Birch also buttresses AMV’s original suspicions regarding River Birch: that the alleged contract between the Parish of Jefferson and River Birch is an illegal fiction !
SUGGESTIONS:
1) That Young direct the Parish Attorney’s Office, or get on his knees and beg his master, DA Connick, to sue all the individuals involved with the River Birch conspiracy to recover all monies the taxpayers of JP are going to have payed out and may pay out as a result of this debacle.
2) That DA Connick indict and prosecute all individuals who were and are now a part of this criminal River Birch landfill monopoly conspiracy.
3) That US Atty Letten indict and prosecute all individuals who were and are now a part of this criminal River Birch landfill monopoly conspiracy.
4) That AMV file suit against Jefferson Parish, any and all parties, both as agents of Jefferson Parish and individually, as result of their harassment, retaliation and deprivation of her constitutional rights by way of their immoral, unethical and illegal pursuit to “kill the messenger”…AMV, the person, who by filing a Whistleblower Claim, brought to light, the unlawful conduct of both elected and appointed Officials in Jefferson Parish government.
John Young you should be ashamed of yourself for your lack of defense of AMV, a person you professed to be a Saint due to her courage to be on the side of right.
John Young, you want respect, APPOLOGIZE TO AMV and FIRE PEGGY BARTON NOW !