Drew Broach chimes in today with River Birch deal recalls Jefferson Parish canal bottoms rip-off. Broach’s commentary frames River Birch story with “historical incompetence”. However, I see the picture in a different frame – but Broach first and I’ll follow:
“Trust, but verify” is an old aphorism, and one that any public official would do well to follow.
That Jefferson Parish officials didn’t follow it before approving the 2009 River Birch landfill deal is now coming back to haunt them. Their failure threatens to eclipse the infamous Robco canal bottoms deal of 1987, once called “the biggest rip-off in the history of the parish”…
None of the current members of the council held their seats in 1987 when Robco happened, but that’s hardly an excuse…Clearly some due diligence was in order before — not after — the council sealed the Robco deal in 1987….It was a lesson learned the hard way: Trust, but verify. And to think that some believe lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place.
My turn. If the Parish Council lack of “due diligence” was an act of incompetence, as Broach suggests, it is only because such incompetence; i.e. the lack of due diligence, is a cultural expectation in Jefferson Parish:
We internalize the attitudes of the society around us by making the attitudes our own. Besides attitudes, people internalize cultural expectations about how to behave…
The individual is often unaware of his acceptance of these socially derived roles, roles are often accepted unconsciously…
Applying behavioral science puts a tighter frame on the incredible story Broach tells and the full text of his commentary is a must read for all who are following the River Birch controversy:
“Trust, but verify” is an old aphorism, and one that any public official would do well to follow.
That Jefferson Parish officials didn’t follow it before approving the 2009 River Birch landfill deal is now coming back to haunt them. Their failure threatens to eclipse the infamous Robco canal bottoms deal of 1987, once called “the biggest rip-off in the history of the parish.”
The basic premise is that one respectfully listens to and considers pitchmen but doesn’t act without independently testing their assertions. The journalism corollary is, “If your mama says she loves you, check it out.”
Yet Jefferson officials did little checking when Fred Heebe came calling in late 2008 with an intriguing proposal: Close the public landfill for 25 years, send household garbage to his privately owned dump and save almost $60 million in the process.
Tim Whitmer, chief administrator to then-Parish President Aaron Broussard, fell for it. He supervised the River Birch deal for the administration, and parish attorney Tom Wilkinson negotiated the contract. No one outside the administration sought to check it out.
Only later did it come to light that Whitmer’s privately owned insurance agency, Lagniappe Industries, was a River Birch contractor, and that Broussard was Lagniappe’s consulting lawyer. Both resigned their offices amid scandal in 2010, as did Wilkinson.
Perhaps we can never rid ourselves of corrupt administrators. But isn’t that why we have a legislative branch of government, as a check on the executive?
Nah, the Parish Council approved the River Birch deal 7-0, without verifying the company’s pitch or the administration’s work.
Only after the feds opened a criminal investigation of the deal, and other questionable actions of the Broussard administration, did the council stir itself to commission an independent analysis. Lo and behold the Postlethwaite & Netterville report came back this month, concluding that River Birch wouldn’t save the public squat but would actually cost it $8.7 million. Parish President John Young, who was on the council in 2009, is now trying to undo the deal.
To be sure, River Birch has its own study by Loren C. Scott and Associates saying Jefferson would save $42 million to $59 million. It might be right. But it might be wrong, too.
The real lesson, regardless whether anyone knew Broussard and Whitmer were hopelessly compromised, is that the Parish Council was asleep at the switch when it approved the River Birch deal without some independent analysis. You can bank on this mistake costing the public hundreds of thousands of dollars for litigation, no matter where Jefferson sends it garbage for the next quarter century.
None of the current members of the council held their seats in 1987 when Robco happened, but that’s hardly an excuse. The canal bottoms deal stunk from the get-go and remains a case study in government gullibility.
Back in 1973, Gordon Konrad helped form Robco Inc. to buy up slivers of supposedly useless land around Jefferson Parish. When local governments and utility companies began trying to improve drainage in the canals or string power lines across rights of way, however, they found they had to pay tribute to the company.
Konrad, on the payroll of then-District Attorney John Mamoulides, eventually decided to get out of that aspect of the real estate business. The only conceivable buyer for the canal bottoms, of course, was the local government. The Legislature, where Mamoulides held considerably sway, duly coughed up some cash and Jefferson Parish moved to use the money to buy Robco’s real estate.
Only, it wasn’t really Robco’s to sell. Not all of it, anyway.
Without any title examination but acting on Robco’s guarantee, the Parish Council voted 4-3 to fork over $5 million for 2 million square feet of canal bottoms and rights of way.
It wasn’t until 1990 that critics of the deal mustered enough votes on the council for an independent study of the land titles. When the report came back, lo and behold, it said Robco didn’t even own more than one third of the real estate it had claimed.
The parish sued and eventually settled. Robco paid back $450,000 and relinquished claims on $2.8 million worth of property. The parish spent $300,000 on the litigation.
Clearly some due diligence was in order before — not after — the council sealed the Robco deal in 1987. It was a lesson learned the hard way: Trust, but verify.
And to think that some believe lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place.
Behavioral science holds that individuals playing “roles dictated by the culture within which they live…may act as if…[they]…agree with…perceived social expectations, because…[they]…do not want to disappoint the people who expect…[them]…to meet a particular set of requirements”.
In voting to award River Birch a contract, the Jefferson Parish Council pleased Fred Heebe and disappointed the people they were elected to serve – and that’s how the cow at the cabbage garbage!
Nowdy, your critique relative to due diligence is not only relevant in this instance, but would be inclusive of the consequences suffered by AMV as a result of the filing of her Whistleblower Claim. The foundation of your argument is as you wrote:
Behavioral science holds that individuals playing
Freakin’ facts for Drew Broach to think about: Robco was given $5,000.000 for canal bottoms by a close 4-3 council vote. River Birch was given a 25yr contract worth hundreds of millions by a 7-0 vote.The significance of comparison is that the Robco council had a few honest council people while the River Birch council had none. Drew, apples are apples and oranges are oranges and there is no comparison in parish councils. The River Birch council was an organized conspiracy which is still in operation today.
If I recall once upon a time there was a
Yaknow, I’m a tad surprised more has not been made here especaially of their being THREE op-eds dealing with River Birch. Steph Grace – who someone here correctly pointed out appears to be not only on the editorial board but also running interference for Young – also tangentially hit upon the Birchers.
Gill’s was the strongest, not surprisingly. “If the River Birch deal is now dead ….” Why make this assumption unnecessarily? Gill may know more hard fact than you think and may know people you may not realize.
Broach I find seriously telling. As we all know this guy is a homer, he’s in bed with the bugs and he’s at home that way. So something or someone might really be pushing him to drop this. In fact, I’d say his article was probably a “held” article, just waiting for the right moment to release it. And the key there (as interesting as the Robco snippet is) is that it lays the fiasco at the feet of Mother Negligence, providing prompt succour from the accusations of fraud, crime and conspiracy. In other words, a public exculpating defense. That Lagasse and others have said ‘leave it for the PA and president’ just tells me they will have at least a sheen of political cover from friends as well as foe.
Grace: she does not mention the Birchers by name but this…. “””””…But Mr. Young said his administration will examine every tip and won’t tolerate any violations. “The message here is that this administration has zero tolerance when it comes to illegal or unethical activity,” said Mr. Young, a former prosecutor. He said investigations have been completed for half of the 34 tips his office has received, so additional actions could be in the future. “It doesn’t matter if it’s $100 or $100,000,” he said. “If someone is stealing from Jefferson Parish taxpayers, we’re going to look into it.” That would go a long way to restore the public’s trust in parish government.”””” ….. is really about them I suspect.
Oh, but wait, THERE IS A FOURTH (4th!) op-ed following hard on the others’ heels, telling us fo the great anti-graft efforts of the modern Elliot Ness, John Young! Annie Oakley get yer gun, them thar’s injuns to round up.
http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2011/01/jefferson_parish_president_joh_1.html
Something’s afoot. I’ve seen the excellent opinions here predicting the RB fix to continue and get cemented in with Letten voluntarily turning his back while it all happens, but I think the red carpet is being laid out to put this baby to bed with a convenient excuse ready-made – they were tricked, cuckolded, cajolled, fooled, hoodwinked, what have you – it t`weren’t their fault.
And the great whistelblower? The one and only John Young.
{Here’s a bucket, you’ll need it}.
If I’m wrong I’m wrong, I readily admit I’m just reading the smudgy black and white tea-leaves here.
Maybe it’s the idealist in me, and I don’t care if the nefarious motives as above are true, this thing should just be killed for the good of the people and the parish and I hope it happens, no matter the reason.
Spot on Tele. IMHO Waste Management has a firm hold on everyone’s cojones and it is in the political best interest of all involved to move along. With the recent cross pollination between Teams Letten and Young along with the Maestri connection all sorts of back channels of communication are open.
Everyone walk away, no harm no foul right?
There is mucho chatter about Letten having a sealed indictment on Byron Lee. If one of ’em has to be served up it might as well be the token.
So you end up with a focused case against Whitmer, Broussard and Wilkinson.
sop
Nancy Drew is a close personal friend of Louis Gruntz and has on more than one occasion sugar-coated references re Gruntz following a call from his pal. Nancy grew up behind Gruntz’s daddy’s property on Jefferson Highway.
Nancy also has failed miserably in editing his news writers’ materials to the point they have been known to ‘hold’ their stories until deadline to reduce the editing by Nancy-the-nincompoop.
IMHO anything with any coherence was probably ghosted by JP or RB or worse, PR firms on behalf of those entities.
Tele: you are spot on …all the Council Members and all the Administration hacks were very aware of the RB scam as it unfolded. They were informed and advised at each step of the way. Their Research & Budget director, Alan Gandolfi, who is charged with advising the Council, WAS ON THE TECHNICAL EVALUATION COMMITTEE AS A VOTING MEMBER.
He would have gone to each Council Member ( including John Young) and briefed them on the entire deal.
I call foul on anyone in the Administration or Council at the time of the River Birch con job who now wants to plead negligence or ignorance .
BULLSHIT PEGGY OLSEN BARTON AND FRIENDS…BULLSHIT.
Tele, your bucket reference gave me inspiration for this comment as I am very suggestible…
The only blowing Connick’s punk Young is doing is up the asses of the JP voter’s about his being a reformer !
Yea right…the Connicks are his masters…the Burkes are still selling the Parish insurance…he still has Wilkinson’s incompetent ghost haunting the Parish Attorney’s Office…he fired AMV, the real whistleblower…now he has a girlfriend on the payroll a la Broussard…his deep seeded arrogance still holds the M & M sisters in contempt…he continues to display characteristics of having Korsakoff’s Syndrome…a campaign contibutor’s list that reads like’ what have you done for me lately’…continuing to play the Sergeant Schulz rountine, “I know nothing”, when cornered about his votes while on the Council and lies…and on and on and on…
As long as Peggy Barton, David Fos, and the remaining Wilkinson posse of Asst PAs, along with Junior Mendoza, Clem Donelon, Ted Nass, and others to numerous to mention remain part of Jefferson Parish Government, Young will continue to be the fraud he has shown himself to be in the past and now in the present.
Venez les hommes … quand cette merde putain va finir ?