Hat tip to an unhappy investor. Click the picture for a pdf of the entire signed 3 page agreement and click below the fold for a hint as to our next international destination as Slabbed follows the girls and the money. Meantime let’s all ponder if Abel and the girls pulled a Bugsy Siegel. By my math 40 is the maximum number of 2.5% investors a company can have without being more than 100% owned.
I went to the Trout Point Lodge webpage and began poking around. In the employment section, they have contacts through an e-mail address at food vacation. When I looked for FoodVacation I found it is also located in Costa Rica. I imagine that this is the same interested parties who started the “farm”, “dairy”, “cheese making” and cooking school at TPL.
So, you want a job in Nova Scotia, you have to apply in Costa Rica.
This group is tighter than an oyster with lock-jaw!
Let me throw something onto the table which may not be applicable at all: Louisiana is a “civilian” jurisdiction, still governed (with some modification) by “The Code Napoleon”. Canada is “mixed” English and French, although my guess would be that Nova Scotia (a/k/a “Acadie”) is more French (as in Napoleon) than English. My guess would be that the laws of Costa Rica also have a French “bent”, although I don’t know much about and have not researched its history. Now the “punchline”: Has anyone ever heard of a “counter-letter”, which allows people to masquerade as the owners of property, when the true ownership is revealed only in counter-letters in the possession of the true owners, and which may never be revealed until someone dies? This whole story is so mysterious that I would not doubt that one or more counter-letters exist, perhaps in multiple jurisdictions. Ashton O’Dwyer.
After reading AO’s comment above, went looking for info on “counter letters” and just for starters found this story by WDSU back in August 2008. In it, one Julie Quinn provides the “counter”-argument for why Louisiana should not ban this invitation to corruption. I feel dirty just reading it…the names, the dates, holy crap what a den of thieves we live in. NO GOOD SACKS OF CRAP!!!!!!!!
http://www.wdsu.com/news/17086749/detail.html
Ashton I’m not an expert on Costa Rican business formation so I defer to the experts—
“Contact us for advice and information or to start a Costa Rica company.
Abel, Perret, & Leary, LLC
[email protected]
Selected quotes from their site—
Retirement in Costa Rica: Come Visit and Consult with Vaughn Perret, J.D. and Charles Leary, PhD while staying at the luxurious Inn at Coyote Mountain, just 1 1/2 hours from central San Jose. Please send us an e-mail message or check here for more information.
A combination of strict secrecy laws, the country’s offshore status and legislative changes aimed at increasing competition and efficiency will probably result in major growth in the banking sector in the near future.
Unlike its southern neighbor, Panama, Costa Rica has never developed or been classified as an offshore financial center. In yet there are a number of elements that promote using Costa Rica in this way, including:
Banking secrecy laws
Anonymous corporations
No tax on income earned outside of Costa Rica for both individuals and businesses
Stable economy and the presence of major international banks
No discrimination between Costa Rica residents and non-residents for tax, real property, and corporate purposes
In Costa Rica business tax legislation is currently based on the principle of territoriality meaning that all business income which has a foreign source is tax exempt. Only that proportion of business revenue earned within Costa Rica is subject to an assessment by the tax authorities.”
http://www.living-abroad-consultants.com/costa_rica_international_living/id2.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELPzdyXnlCU
I wonder if the gang at the T-P has any questions?
Yippee Kia Yea!
sop
I think I am starting to see the clouds forming that Iggy was talking about…..Was Trout set up the same way? Was this “Company really regestered with the Costa Rican Government like the doc said it would be? Who would know if it was or was not….Hell it would cost you more than your investment to go to another country just to run all this crap down not counting any attorney fees. Theirs attorney fees are free..they repersent themselfs
This appears to be a better scam than Bernie Maid Off (spelling error on purpose)
A very enlightened remark Bel. Remeber Jr’s smoking gun comment. Rainey quoted investors in Trout Point in his now retracted piece.
All we needed was a document. Costa Rica will well do for now in that role but I know for a fact there is a reader of this blog that has the equalivent paperwork for Trout Point. I will not rest until at least a redacted version appears on this blog. Then I’ll apply my expertise in behavioral finance to explain why Broussard was integral to the girl’s game.
Bit by bit and slice by slice I’m determined to reveal the truth behind Trout Point. Rich Rainey would have but his employer is a pussy.
sop
I don’t claim to be a foreign relations expert, but it appears that Costa Rica was “propped up” by the United States during the 20th Century to serve as the Northern “buffer” for the Panama Canal Zone, which Jimmy Carter effectively ceded to the Peoples Republic of China, and to safeguard the holdings of Dole, Chiquita and United Fruit. A former President of Costa Rica was, within the last 12 hours, sentenced to 5 years of hard time for corruption involving a French telecommunications company, although the history of the country is Spanish. Unfortunately, the country had no gold or silver, and no indigenous population who could be enslaved by the Spanish. Within the past few years, Costa Rica has PISSED on the United States by breaking diplomatic ties with Taiwan and establishing diplomatic relations with the PRC (do you blame them, with Hutchinson Wampoa firmly entrenched on the Pacific and Atlantic sides of the Panama Canal?). They also have established diplomatic relations with the Palestinians (do they even have a state, yet?) and with Communist Cuba. And don’t forget that Costa Rica’s Northern border is the “democratic free state of Nicaragua”. The more I think about it, I see international “intrigue” in Louisiana, Nova Scotia and Costa Rica, and it makes me want to BARF. Ashton O’Dwyer.
Why have a Costa Rica corporation?
(We can also assist with Panama corporations or a combination–please inquire).
Send us an encrypted e-mail here.
http://www.living-abroad-consultants.com/id8.html
Question. If the Girls and Broussard hoodwinked the likes of Butler, Krantz, Muniz, Gauthier, Powell, and others can the likes of Hebee, Ward, Coulon, Kass, Mayer, Hubbard, and certain current and past council members be far behind on the list of suckers? 2%+2%+2% doesn’t take long to add up to real monies….and you thought campaign contributions was where the big monies where at
Excuse me… but talking about the girls and international stuff…haven’t y’all been tuned in to TLC’s coverage of the Royal Wedding…
If not, you should…I mean really…could they have planned a honeymoon at Trout Point Lodge?…
And what about the wedding dress for Pete’s sake…
The sequel…”Coyote Mountain”… !!!
Please note all of the below is PUBLIC information.
There are no statements asserted as “fact” here; this is information recited from public sources and under no circumstances is this to be construed as anything but opinion and maybe occasionally satire. Thank you.
Ok, some thoughts:
2/22/11 report from the Pic (Rioux):
“The following individuals and firms made $1,000 contributions to Broussard after his resignation:
Amy M. Arthur of Madisonville, Bruce D. Burglass Jr. of Metairie, David R. Sherman of Metairie, Greg Cantrell Inc. of St. Rose, J. Caldarera & Co. of LaPlace, Bryan Krantz of Kenner, Jennifer Lanasa of New Orleans, John E. Lapworth of Metairie, Francis E. Lauricella of Harahan, Paul D. Monsour of Kenner, Leonard B. Newton of Pass Christian, Miss., Quest Realty of Metairie, Wayne E. Thomas of Metairie and John H. Wales of Mandeville.”
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/02/jefferson_parish_politicians_r.html
You will see there: Bryan Krantz, apparently the son of Marie Krantz.
Sherman – you know who that is, Chehardy & Co.
Caldarera – that as everyone knows by now means WARD
Wales – his name’s been mentioned before?
Monsour – well, it just so happens…
https://business.sos.state.ms.us/corp/soskb/Corp.asp?515939
… there is a company called Mississippi 214, L.L.C. in Greenville. Its purpose? Who knows but Peter Butler Jr. is apparently the owner of it, because while MS does not show officers in their listings (why not again?) it does show agents (a Philip Mansour, with an *a*, typo? Close, but no, maybe not.) and an address, 7216 Stoneleigh Drive, Harahan LA 70123.
Also at that address…
PRAKA HOLDINGS (USA) L.L.C.
PRAKA-LOUISIANA, L.L.C.
PRAKA-MISSISSIPPI, L.L.C.
PRAKA-NOVA SCOTIA, L.L.C.
PRAKA-ST. BERNARD, L.L.C.
All basically showing the same info:
“Officer: PETER J. BUTLER, JR.
Title: Manager
Address 1: 7216 STONELEIGH DRIVE
City, State, Zip: HARAHAN, LA 70123”
As for the word “Praka”, who knows what that means.
The closest to be found may be this:
“New in town: The Praka Group Inc., a Boca Raton-based commercial real estate brokerage specializing in restaurant and nightclub sales and leasing, has expanded to Orlando with offices at 7380 Sand Lake Center.”
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2006-06-19/business/REAL19_1_osceola-county-avalon-park-cb-richard
But that may not be the same group. But still so many “Praka”`s in so many places. Real estate might indeed be their business.
If it’s the not the same group, what does “PRAKA” mean? Is it an acronym, like so many companies? Is the “P” for Peter, etc.? Are the other characters just initials for other names? Who knows, maybe Butler does nothing with these companies.
That find was made by Mr. Whitmergate, which can be googled to here.
So for the above you will find Butler also being the agent, sole officer, and that Stoneleigh address being the domicile.
Which domicile by the way is next door to Provino Mosca. Is that Vinny, mayor of Harahan, former lawyer for Carlos Marcello? Might be??? You see this is the nature of a question, NOT a statement of fact. Please look it up yourself. Say using the super secret Google Maps, on that search engine thingy that people talk about, in public, because that works and atually accomplished this. As in this is not a secret, folks, it just needs to be looked up.
So far the other info here (the Praka info above) came from the LA Secretary of State, Google, and Whitmergate here. Got that? Public information, all of it.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/02/jefferson_parish_politicians_r.html
Now there is an a lot of Nova Scotia reference on the LA SOS and NS Province corporate database, there is:
SCOTIA POINT, LLC – Abel etc.
NOVA SCOTIA ENTERPRISES, L.L.C. – Broussard’s work address
NOVA SCOTIA, L.L.C. – oddly enough this involves a guy who sold a ton of land to LIFT the movie company that got busted for the LA film credit scandal, but none of the folks mentioned here
TRIDENT HOLDINGS INC. OF NOVA SCOTIA – who knows what this is, again none of the folks mentioned here
PUBLIC WORKS INVESTMENTS (NS)
PUBLIC WORKS, INC. (LA)
KEMPT WILDERNESS LODGE SERVICES (NS)
Ok, now, back to the Google Maps.
The NS corporate info – online on the province’s own public site meant for public use – provide some addresses. One is for “East Kemptville Road”, that is the TPL address on the public province site. No number, or other detail, is provided. If you do the Google street level view, and go to the start of East Kemptville Rd. at the corner of Highway 203, you will see NO SIGN. There is a small white sign with an arrow but who knows what it says, it’s small, it’s covered.
Meanwhile the TPL’s actual office is shown (again on the NS public site) at 189 Trout Point Road. That’s simple enough. Go to the Google street level view at the beginning of Trout Point Road, and you will see that it stems from East Branch Road, and then if you look at the beginning of East Branch Road at Hwy. 203 you will see a big red sign with the official TPL logo and the sign says “Trout Point Lodge.”
So would it be fair to say that anything after that big red sign is Trout Point property?
Also after that red sign:
the registered office of Public Works Investments, shown on the NS corporate database online as “East Branch Road, c/o Trout Point Lodge.”
and so is the registered office for Kempt Wilderness Lodge, “7 Trout Point Road.”
Then again it may NOT be fair to assume it is all Trout Point property, perhaps the sign just points to the big lodge at the END of the road. Ok, but there is still the “Care Of” (“C/O”) language in the online NS SOS Public Works Inv. registration.
And it is described as a “100 acre wooded estate”. That sounds pretty big.
http://www.ecotourisminamerica.com/lodgings/290/
Let’s look at some more notes:
Leary & Perret actually wrote an article FOR the Picayune.
Yes:
http://www.foodvacation.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/costaricanaturally.pdf
TPL also uses quotes from 2-3 of the the Pic’s several prior stories about them in their promotional pieces, or at least such quotes appear in pieces touting TPL. And the Pic has featured V-A-L on several occasions, they have had no trouble getting mentioned in that pub, whether for Chicory Farm, their lodges, or individually, over the years.
One of the Pic’s articles references that Larry Stoulig is a partner in “Broussard’s management company and that “investors” – plural – bought him out some time around 2005 or after.
Now, that’s interesting, what would qualify as a Broussard “management company”?
Let’s look at what AB companies, active or inactive, show Stoulig as a partner or officer:
There is:
AARON BROUSSARD – GOVERNOR, CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE, INC. (Inactive: Sherman, Stoulig, Carvin, officers)
GRANDLAKE GARDEN HOMES HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC. (ACTIVE: Stoulig, Linda Nugent Smith, AB, officers)
This is all on the LA SOS site – public.
Anything else?
Apparently not, but there is also this:
VILLAGE ROW PARTNERSHIP (ACTIVE, Stoulig & MARIE KRANTZ, officers; located next to AB’s firm address)
Now the article said – “said” – that it was KWS or PWI. Those’re both registered in NS. That KWS company shows Broussard’s business address but not Broussard and not Stoulig as partners. PWI shows Karen Parker. Now if so Stoulig is not SHOWN in the official LA SOS or NS Joint Registry databases that citizens use to determine information about coporate ownership and – sometimes – politicians. Or the Pic was wrong on that. But then again the NS Province Registry of Joint Stock Companies shows there was a “Change of Partners” on October 29, 2010. And there is NO other reference to change in partners before then. So what did it say before 10/29/10? It may not matter, because the key here is that even if Stoulig was shown as a partner on the online NS Joint Registry the other “investors” who bought him out were possibly not.
Another thing worth noting: Muniz said that he had not recovered a single penny from his “investment” over time. Now if none of the other “shareholders” ever recovered a single penny, or nickel, or dime, or Loonie (fyi that’s the Canadian dollar), then what kind of “investment” is that exactly that goes just one way?
For further reading – anything by the Flaming Liberal on the Broussard administration, such as:
http://righthandthief.blogspot.com/2009/11/commentary-by-david-c-bellinger.html
{The Flaming Liberal is an interesting guy, he would regularly call in to Jeff Crouere’s show on 990 am and take over the whole damn shooting match. He doesn’t call in anymore though, either that or they don’t let him on anymore. Not sure}
Finally:
In looking over the Lips and other cases showing Broussard & Abel working together:
does anyone notice the address is the same for both? 2421 Clearview? Does this mean Broussard has left his old digs and is now in biz with Abel? Let’s rephrase that: they show themselves at the same address; the dates are late, recent, 2011. And what’s with that “Legal Department” stuff? No law firm name is shown. And does anyone believe Broussard is really doing anything? Or is this one of those things where it’s supposed to swing a judge because his name is there? Apparently not because they lost everything that was posted by the looks of it. But then times they are a’changin’. And, at last: Abel’s email address: “[email protected]” Just what is that??? Is that a real person? A pseudonym? A law firm name? That goes down as the actual contact email for Abel???? Remarkable.
I have one more question:
Forget New Scotland and the Rich Coast – has this business model ever been used in Jefferson Parish?
Say:
Timberlane?
Churchill Downs?
River Birch?
GNOL?
Willswood (recently approved by the JP Council)?
How would one know after all?
PRAKA is the initials of Butler, his wife and kids I believe.
sop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu3zltNBeVw
The math doesn’t compute too well for a tired dog searching for a bone-i- find ( pun intended) time share retreat . We read from the Cerro Coyote document there are evidently 40 blocks of 2.5% of stock, each to be sold for $10,000. All monies ( $400,000) were to be spent in land and building a retreat/ facilities in which each individual would be entitled to 21 days of stay per year ( page 2) at the retreat. Hmmmm. 40 investors X 21 days of time share use is 840 days per year. That means a minimum of three rental units ( a couple of bedrooms each) plus facilities, i.e buildings to support the retreaters. All the land, lodge and units for $400,000. Seems under capitalized to me. If this is an ongoing time share organization maybe we need to check international time share listings to see if the retreat is listed and the same for Trout Point Lodge. Finally, from what I have read land and buildings have skyrocketed in Costa Rica with the influx of americans so would not this land and buildings purchased be worth much more today.
Luxurious, secluded and private 5-bedroom house for sale. 40 miles north of the San Jose airport.
Professional kitchen, large living room with fireplace, formal dining room, 5 distinctive bedrooms, interior courtyard, and extensive landscaping
70 acre private forested acres, including an entire mountaintop
Breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and a Mediterranean climate
Price: US $1.9 million
For additional information, please send us an e-mail message.
This new construction (2004) in the Colonial Morisco style is an architectural jewel unsurpassed within Costa Rica.
http://www.living-abroad-consultants.com/id5.html
To me this is the ideal way to live—
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u25gqDjR3KA
“We read from the Cerro Coyote document there are evidently 40 blocks of 2.5% of stock, each to be sold for $10,000. All monies ( $400,000) were to be spent in land and building a retreat/ facilities in which each individual would be entitled to 21 days of stay per year ( page 2) at the retreat. ” From above post.
From advertisement for intership at Trout Point and the Cerro Coyote property. Not sure what the Pacific Avenue company is all about but it makes one wonder what the Cerro Coyote investors own. Would be hard to tell as Costa Rica corporate laws are not as transparent as those in the USA for example.
” Pacific Avenue, Ltd”?
“The Inn has 4 guest rooms, and offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”
RESERVE YOUR STAY NOW ONLINE
Hotels of Costa Rica: Inn at Coyote Mountain
Owned & Operated by Pacific Avenue, Ltd./Pacific Avenue, S.A.
[email protected] local phone: 8 383 0544 (not for reservations or information)
Reservation & Hotel Information Requests, Call our Sister Propery, Trout Point Lodge: 1-902-482-8360
Toll-free fax: +1 (800) 980-0713
http://www.cerrocoyote.com/francais/
http://www.cerrocoyote.com/costa_rica_luxury_vacation_rentals/
And it’s also for sale:
http://www.intertica.com/homes/leary.htm
1.4 mill.
Pass the hat.
NY Dept. of State corporations database:
http://appext9.dos.state.ny.us/corp_public/CORPSEARCH.ENTITY_INFORMATION?p_nameid=2980022&p_corpid=2964352&p_entity_name=%70%61%63%69%66%69%63%20%61%76%65%6E%75%65&p_name_type=%25&p_search_type=%42%45%47%49%4E%53&p_srch_results_page=0
“NYS Department of State
Division of Corporations
Entity Information
…
Selected Entity Name: PACIFIC AVENUE, S.A.
Selected Entity Status Information Current Entity Name: PACIFIC AVENUE, S.A.
Initial DOS Filing Date: OCTOBER 10, 2003
County: TOMPKINS
Jurisdiction: COSTA RICA
Entity Type: FOREIGN BUSINESS CORPORATION
Current Entity Status: INACTIVE – Dissolution by Proclamation / Annulment of Authority (Oct 27, 2010)
…
Selected Entity Address Information DOS Process (Address to which DOS will mail process if accepted on behalf of the entity)
PACIFIC AVENUE, S.A.
329 WEST BUFFALO ST
ITHACA, NEW YORK, 14850
Registered Agent
CHARLES L. LEARY
329 W BUFFALO ST
ITHACA, NEW YORK, 14850
…
Name HistoryFiling Date Name Type Entity Name
OCT 10, 2003 Actual PACIFIC AVENUE, S.A.
…
*Stock Information# of Shares Type of Stock $ Value per Share
No Information Available
*Stock information is applicable to domestic business corporations.
…”
I wonder if the 2.5 % inverstors know it is for sale? uh oh…cats out of the bag now
Wow, a whole mountain plus facilities – a view of the Pacific- sounds like a steal. Looks like the Cerro Coyote investors will make some money if in fact this is the lodge and facilities purchased and built originally with the $400,000 capital raised and is for sale for $1.4 million. How could they not with property values soaring in Costa Rica the last 10 years. However, if the Pacific Ave. corporation was dissolved/annulled in October 2010 how does that affect the Cerro Coyote Corporation partnership. The Cerro corporation document says the managers could buy out the investors at anytime and if the investors have not been notified I would think they have not been bought out. Or are they going to buy out their $10,000 partnerships after the sale. It is time for the Cerro investors to call the ‘ french connection ‘ and have Clousteau and Cato rent a ‘ rooooooooom ‘ at Coyote Mountain, do some digging and have Clousteau personally ‘ telephooooon ‘ the Slabbed Nation and end this international intrigue once and for all.
Well this moves AB up the road a fair bit:
“AARON F BROUSSARD
(902) 761-2351
140 Trout Point Rd
Carleton, NS”
http://www./res/9027612351/AARON-F-BROUSSARD/153270997/Details.html
That differs and is quite up the road, and closer to the lodge at No. 189, from 7 Trout Point Rd., the address given on the online NS corporate registry for KWS. PWI provides no actual TP Rd. address.
Basically, TPL says that AB is merely down the road, on different property, and not the same entity. Ok, let’s accept that.
Using the tool available here you can find where this property rests in the overall layout:
http://www.nsassessmentonline.ca
This is the PUBLIC assessment record for No. 140 provided by Nova Scotia online records on the WORLD WIDE web:
“Year Market Value Assessment
2011 $374,600
2010 $40,700
2009 $39,500
2008 $36,500
2007 $36,100
2006 $36,100
2005 $36,100
2004 $36,100
2003 $36,100
2002 $31,500
2001 $31,500 ”
http://www.nsassessmentonline.ca/Forms/MapDatalet.aspx?idx=1&sIndex=0
Obviously quite a jump in assessed value there from one year to the next. Wonder what happened there.
Using the map there you can see No. 189 is actually three properties away (that is, there are two properties in between). However no properties numbered 100 or above actually appear in the online assessment database, so perhaps there is no building or structure on either intervening site.
And technically it does indeed show as a separate parcel and separate property.
For comparison No. 7 shows up as:
“Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea… and ideas are bulletproof.” – “V”
Well this moves AB up the road a fair bit:
“AARON F BROUSSARD
(902) 761-2351
140 Trout Point Rd
Carleton, NS”
http://www./res/9027612351/AARON-F-BROUSSARD/153270997/Details.html
That differs and is quite up the road, and closer to the lodge at No. 189, from 7 Trout Point Rd., the address given on the online NS corporate registry for KWS. PWI provides no actual TP Rd. address.
Using the tool available here you can find where this property rests in the overall layout:
http://www.nsassessmentonline.ca
This is the PUBLIC assessment record for No. 140 provided by Nova Scotia online records on the WORLD WIDE web:
“Year Market Value Assessment
2011 $374,600
2010 $40,700
2009 $39,500
2008 $36,500
2007 $36,100
2006 $36,100
2005 $36,100
2004 $36,100
2003 $36,100
2002 $31,500
2001 $31,500 ”
http://www.nsassessmentonline.ca/Forms/MapDatalet.aspx?idx=1&sIndex=0
Obviously quite a jump in assessed value there from one year to the next. Wonder what happened there.
Using the map there you can see No. 189 is actually three properties away (that is, there are two properties in between). However no properties numbered 100 or above actually appear in the online assessment database, so perhaps there is no building or structure on either intervening site.
And technically it does indeed show as a separate parcel and separate property.
For comparison No. 7 shows up as:
Well this moves AB up the road a fair bit:
“AARON F BROUSSARD
(902) 761-2351
140 Trout Point Rd
Carleton, NS”
http://www./res/9027612351/AARON-F-BROUSSARD/153270997/Details.html
That differs and is quite up the road, and closer to the lodge at No. 189, from 7 Trout Point Rd., the address given on the online NS corporate registry for KWS. PWI provides no actual TP Rd. address.
Using the tool available here you can find where this property rests in the overall layout:
http://www.nsassessmentonline.ca
This is the PUBLIC assessment record for No. 140 provided by Nova Scotia online records on the WORLD WIDE web:
“Year Market Value Assessment
2011 $374,600
2010 $40,700
2009 $39,500
2008 $36,500
2007 $36,100
2006 $36,100
2005 $36,100
2004 $36,100
2003 $36,100
2002 $31,500
2001 $31,500 ”
http://www.nsassessmentonline.ca/Forms/MapDatalet.aspx?idx=1&sIndex=0
Obviously quite a jump in assessed value there from one year to the next. Wonder what happened there.
Using the map there you can see No. 189 is actually three properties away (that is, there are two properties in between). However no properties numbered 100 or above actually appear in the online assessment database, so perhaps there is no building or structure on either intervening site.
And technically it does indeed show as a separate parcel and separate property.
For comparison No. 7 shows up as:
… Box 456 is the same PO number as TP Lodge itself
PO Box 456 is the same PO number as TP Lodge itself
… Ok, so about River Bend Lodge, where it is, etc.:
To each his own but I find it odd that the group would place this case information on their own website. For sake of space I only put the facts portion of the document they display at their site where they advertise for most if not all of their business—
http://www.living-abroad-consultants.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/documents_brief_web.pdf
Facts
1 On or around September 15, 2000, ACOA performed an on-site audit at the La Ferme d’Acadie
cheese plant at Chebogue Point, Yarmouth County. I participated in that audit and supplied
ACOA with receipts and guided an inspection of the facility (as detailed in my affidavit for
the June 5 hearing).
2. No audit report has ever been produced by ACOA.
3. On August 15, 2001, ACOA received an Access to Information Act request for all files and
documents related to client La Ferme d’Acadie. This is referred to in my affidavit for the
hearing.
4. According to the affidavit of attorney Scott Gillis, ACOA first consulted with outside counsel in
March, 2002.
5. According to the Gillis affidavit, ACOA had internal counsel before it consulted with outside
counsel in the person of Thomas Khattar, Q.C..
6. Mr. Khattar presumably familiarized himself with the matters and documents relevant to these
proceedings. According to the Barrister’s Society, he obtained his legal education at Dalhousie
University, and is a member of the Nova Scotia Barrister’s Society.
7. According to the Gillis affidavit, ACOA has had three external solicitors for this proceeding,
including Mr. Gillis, Mr. Balcome, and Ms. Siobhan Doyle.
8. ACOA started this proceeding in June, 2002.
9 ACOA is a corporation and must be treated as a single entity under the law; thus knowledge of
one part, department, division, officer, agent, or employee must be treated as the knowledge
2
of ACOA itself.
10. ACOA was required by the Civil Procedure Rules then in effect to file its List of Documents
within 60 days after the close of pleadings.
11. ACOA filed its first List of Documents in May, 2008 and a Supplementary List in October,
2008 (2 and nearly 3 years after it destroyed relevant documents).
12. In the November 14, decision Atlantic Canada Opportunity Agency v. La Ferme D’Acadie,
2008 NSSC 334, Justice LeBlanc determined that there had been a period of inordinate delay in
the proceedings between March, 2005 and November, 2007.
13 Not a single e-mail communication, internal or external, written by Simon d’Entremont, Valerie
Murray, Mary Ellen Valkenier, or Stuart MacDonald exists in ACOA’s Lists of Documents.
14. Not a single written document or communication of Stuart MacDonald, Director of Programs,
exists in the Lists.
15. In his decision, Justice LeBlanc wrote:
Why does it seem like EVERYBODY is selling their properties these days? Slidell, Costa Rica, Nova Scotia….
Buyers’ market too, odd:
Page 5:
“Waterfront: #1735: Trout Point Road River Bend Lodge. 2 storey lodge on the east branch of the Tusket River. 4 Large bedrooms with ensuites, open concept living/kitchen/dining area and beautiful stone fireplace. Includes an Includes an island and a 6 acre building lot. $329,000.00.” [Note the “#1735 is a listing number, not an address].
Pretty sure using the above public information that is AB’s No. 140 TP Rd. property. Or not, folks, it’s all public, the links are there, you decide.
http://www.homefrontns.ca/issues/39/HF-196.pdf
This property is also interesting:
“Waterfront: #1717: 17 Richardson Lane, Carleton Pristine waterfront. 100
Thanks V. I try to source stuff directly from the horses mouth when it is available.
I did do an ownership search of the site and it indicated the below—
Registrant:
Pacific Avenue, Ltd.
Calle 0
San Jose, San Jose na
CR
Domain name: LIVING-ABROAD-CONSULTANTS.COM
Administrative Contact:
Avenue, Pacific
Calle 0
San Jose, San Jose na
CR
+506.3830400
Under site profile it notes
DMOZ Title:Abel, Perret, & Leary International Relocation & Retirement
It does note on the this site it is hosted in Atlanta, Georgia.
http://whois.domaintools.com/living-abroad-consultants.com
Speaking of deleted content. I noticed one of the links you placed was no longer active V. Perhaps the Lodge no longer books rooms for the privately owned properties? Not clear on their website but certainly they no longer advertise on the link you provided. I did search the cached link and it had this data which is obviously outdated along with a nice map—
Privately-owned vacation houses are available for rental from Trout Point Lodge. These houses lie off the Trout Point Road near the Great Lodge, all are on the water
With all these new broken links it is clear to me that when it comes to niche high end resorts in the middle of no where the girls…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhs3Rj71gpo
sop
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:rEu_lrxlvcoJ:www.troutpoint.com/cotttages.html+Trout+Point+Road+River+Bend+Lodge&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com
There is an active River Bend Lodge— 100 Trout Point Road, Kemptville, Nova Scotia B0W1Y0, Canada –advertised here—
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g499228-d608605-Reviews-River_Bend_Lodge-Kemptville_Nova_Scotia.html
Danny bought someone a $620 lunch for the
Alright.
Now.
Revisit.
This:
“Canticum appears as a NS corporation:
Wow.
The Kemptville listing on the LA SOS website is now GONE.
Can that even be done?
Amazing.
Isn’t there some law about that???
Public records something something shall be kept for public viewing and not destroyed something something etc.?
V, I tried to pull up kemptville wilderness services on la. sos and results=0. So it is not your computer or connection.Here today gone tomorrow.Evidently there are some big dogs out there covering up every hole you are digging for bones. Very interesting. Big dogs usually mean some big time bones hidden somewhere in them hills.
On January 7,2010 the TP published a story that according to Aaron Broussard’s own financial disclosure he owned 1/3 of Kempt Wilderness Lodge Services. Now puff its gone in the La. sos data base. I’m I correct in possibly also remembering that he also in a news interview admitted to the same 1/3 ownership.
Lock, I’ve been thinking of this since posting
Nova Scotia does show it so perhaps it was the NS corporate registry that had it and not LA SOS:
Yes, let’s keep it as correct as possible.
Was there a LA SOS entry?
Here’s the NS entry:
“PROFILE – KEMPT WILDERNESS LODGE SERVICES – as of: 2011-05-05 08:39 PM
Business/Organization Name: KEMPT WILDERNESS LODGE SERVICES
Registry ID: 3082839
Type: Partnership/Business Name
Nature of Business: PROVIDING SECURITY, CARETAKING, BUSINESS MACHINE, ACCESS SERVICES TO WILDNERESS RENTAL PROPERTIES.
Status: Active
Jurisdiction: Nova Scotia
Registered Office: 7 TROUT POINT ROAD
KEMPTVILLE NS Canada B0W 1Y0
Mailing Address: 3329 FLORIA AVENUE
KENNER LOUISIANA USA 70065
PEOPLE
Name Position Civic Address Mailing Address
ROY M. D’AQUILA Partner 3329 FLORIDA AVENUE
KENNER LOUISIANA 70065
JAMES E. SMITH, JR. Partner 1838 FERN STREET
NEW ORLEANS LOUISIANA 70118
PATRICIA E. CALDWELL, Q.C. Recognized Agent 101 WATER ST., SUITE 1B
YARMOUTH NS B5A 4P4 101 WATER ST., SUITE 1B
YARMOUTH NS B5A 4P4
ACTIVITIES
Activity Date
Change of Partners 2010-10-29
Annual Renewal 2010-10-12
Renewal Information Update 2010-10-12
Annual Renewal 2009-10-01
Renewal Information Update 2009-09-25
Annual Renewal 2008-10-27
Annual Renewal 2007-10-24
Annual Renewal 2006-10-27
Renewal Information Update 2006-10-26
Annual Renewal 2005-10-14
Annual Renewal 2004-10-13
Renewal Information Update 2004-10-13
Registered 2003-10-20
Appoint an Agent 2003-10-20”
Also, go back and look at the 2 Picayune stories by Rainey, I would say the commentary on Stoulig, and by Stoulig since it’s interesting what RR chose to quote, in both is really the most problematic part of those for all concerned.
Rainey reported that Nova Scotia public records show that Stoulig and the others owned shares in Kempt Wilderness Lodge Services since 2003 (though he also said that Stoulig said he had sold his shares in or by 2005) (+ of course those records are not online, but they must exist because Rainey claimed to state what was in them). So it must have been on NS corporate registry, not LA SOS.
Note that is saying what Rainey said or claimed and what Rainey said or claimed Stoulig said.
Here’s something else Rainey said or claimed:
Rainey claimed (and now infamously claims no more):
That based on Canadian property records AB had ownership rights in six properties with a combined (residential/commercial/resource tax value = to about 847,000 loonies ($C) or US$801,700.
That’s what Rainey said. Or claimed.
Six?
6.
Totalling C$847K.
So where’s the rest?
Oh, wait, Rainey (or the Picayune for him) has said he was wrong. Never mind.
On the other hand this bit of info is from the January 23rd 2010 Rainey story – was that one actually retracted? Well it was after their 2010 retraction, so perhaps that was the point as the 2011 retraction basically gobbles up everything in January 2011 that made reference to TPL. So, ok, Rainey was wrong.
Actually this whole thing is satire; the Picayune is satire and so is discussing its reporting as demonstrated by this video of the Picayune’s crack reporter trying to track down the elusive mystery on the shores of Nova Scotia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycb9_Y_gJ-g
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You know my grandfather was a back wood Mississippi guy born in the late 1800 hundreds… and always was very contrite. Just for a suggestion…If he ever started tell you “let me tell you a story” You knew that it was BS…it might have some truth in it …but over all “IT WAS A STORY”
So guys…Just tell us a story….it may or may not be true,,,,LOL
Legal issues covered
Lovely culture
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pih_XM2zkxQ
Steve, after paying $4 /gal this AM the Arab music is a turn off even with a very talented belly dancer.
Wayne Hymel Sr. (RIP, might have been a well loved guy…) was also VP of something called Jefferson Bancorp, by all appearances a bank in Gretna. Apparently no relation to Jefferson Guaranty but it was in the middle of the action at 1011 Fourth St. It was consumed by Iberia Bank.
======================
But alongside Hymel there on Stoulig Home Council, Inc. [by the way, that has been active since 1952, what is that? Some vestigal campaign entity?] is a guy named George Bucher.
George Bucher ends up here:
“Muniz: Firm’s dual names a surprise – He says Coulon suggested broker
Upon entering office as Kenner’s new mayor in July 2006, Ed Muniz fielded a litany of complaints from employees about the city’s health insurance provider. “The plan is a terrible plan,” Muniz recalled thinking.
He mentioned the complaints to a member of his transition team, former Jefferson Parish President Tim Coulon. A licensed insurance agent, Coulon told Muniz he might be able to help, Muniz recalled last week.
So a month after taking office, Muniz appointed THT Group, for which Coulon works, to broker a new contract, records show. By law, government leaders can choose any insurance broker they want, at any time. While he sought out no other brokers before picking THT Group, Muniz said he knew and trusted Coulon, making the choice easy. A few weeks later, THT Group presented officials with several options. They chose Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana for city workers’ health insurance policies. Overall, Muniz said he’s satisfied with the product.
“We got a good price,” he said. “And still we have nobody complaining.”
But what Muniz said he didn’t know at the time is that THT Group is a trade name for Lagniappe Industries, an insurance brokerage owned by Dawn and Tim Whitmer, the embattled chief administrative officer of Jefferson Parish’s government. He said Dawn Whitmer handled the Kenner account and that her husband has never contacted the city about any insurance business. However, he said he was surprised to learn THT Group and the couple’s Lagniappe Industries were the same company, and that Coulon worked with Lagniappe. “I never did put the two things together,” Muniz said.
“We served eight years together, and we thought him the poster boy of good government,” Muniz said, referring to his years on the Parish Council while Coulon was parish president.
Coulon declined comment about his work in Kenner. Since 2005, Lagniappe Industries has obtained insurance business from at least three public agencies, including a secret deal to split commissions on policies at the West Jefferson hospital. Federal investigators issued subpoenas Wednesday for Jefferson Parish records outlining Lagniappe’s involvement at the hospital. That same day, Whitmer announced he will retire Feb. 1 from his public position, Parish President Aaron Broussard said.
There is no public indication that the Kenner contract is of any interest to the U.S. attorney’s office, but its arrangement with Lagniappe Industries raises more questions about a company owned by a public official doing business with government agencies. Lagniappe also handles Kenner’s voluntary disability coverage for employees, an agreement approved by former Mayor Phil Capitano and continued by Muniz.
A seven-year-old company, Lagniappe operated in relative obscurity until October, when The Times-Picayune began reporting its business in St. John the Baptist Parish. Now-convicted Parish President Bill Hubbard had recommended Lagniappe to the Parish Council at a time when his private contracting company was working for Jefferson Parish’s government.
Later, it was discovered that Lagniappe was secretly splitting commissions with other brokers for servicing supplemental insurance plans at West Jefferson Medical Center.
In Kenner, taxpayers and employees pay about $3.6 million in premiums each year for health insurance coverage, according to the Blue Cross policy. Of those premiums, THT Group collects 1 percent — about $36,000 — as its commission, the contract states.
Dawn Whitmer’s signature is the only one from THT Group on the contract. She didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Muniz said Tim Whitmer’s involvement doesn’t worry him.
“Why would that be a cause for concern? Tim Whitmer has always been an honorable man, and his wife’s got a right to a job, doesn’t she?” he said.
Don Cousins, a local insurance agent who serviced Kenner’s health insurance coverage for 10 years before THT Group stepped in, said he was unaware whom Muniz had appointed to replace him. After being told by a reporter, he said, “It definitely smells.
“It doesn’t look good at all. I don’t know how illegal it is, but it doesn’t look good at all.”
He questioned why Kenner would go with a relatively new company to handle a large and complicated insurance policy. “You usually want an experienced company in there to negotiate these kind of contracts.”
Though incorporated in 2002, Lagniappe didn’t obtain a state insurance license until October 2005. Among its agents, Coulon has had a license since at least July 2005, and Maurice “Hippo” Katz, the agent for Kenner’s disability insurance, has had a license since 1986, according to state records. Coulon’s wife, Mary, and Katz’s wife, Judy, are also listed as agents for Lagniappe.
Muniz said he doesn’t regret his decision. The plan offered by Dawn Whitmer and Coulon was far better than that of the previous insurer, Coventry Healthcare of Louisiana, he said.
++++++++++++++George Bucher , a Coventry representative listed on correspondence from Muniz, didn’t return a message left Thursday for comment.”++++++++++++++++++++++++
By a Mr. Richard Rainey, 11/22/09 Picayune.
Now, I’m sure you recall that Muniz featured prominently in Rainey’s Trout Point articles.
But in any event, there you have Lagniappe popping its head up.
Note – there was/is also a Chris Bucher who was Treasurer of JEDCO. He was also on the Lafreniere Park Foundation Board of Directors, which featured such folks as Andrea Apuzzo, Henry Shane and Larry Stoulig. Les Belles de Lafreniere would put on balls for the who’s who of Jefferson society, such as the daughter of AB himself and Butch Ward.
=========================
Now, back to the society pages:
“*** Trapani to enjoy festivities ***
Mardi Gras for Henry Trapani has always meant plenty of hard work. As director of Carnival for Jefferson Parish government, Trapani spends months before the celebration’s peak two weeks finalizing parade lineups, setting up reviewing stands and checking to make sure the days ahead will be packed with good, safe fun.
But this year his friends want him to join in the fun. In a surprise ambush Friday at Parish President Tim Coulon’s Elmwood office, Argus captain Bob DeViney Jr., Assessor Lawrence Chehardy and Coulon crowned Trapani parade marshal for Argus, Metairie’s premier parade on Fat Tuesday.
The no-nonsense Trapani, however, didn’t jump at the invitation. He said he might be too old to enjoy several hours strapped to a float. “It’s a great honor,” said Trapani, 80, who has supervised Carnival for 24 years but has never ridden on a float. “But maybe because I’m an older person, and because of my job, I see it as a chore.”
Always the diplomat, Trapani said he will discuss the proposition with his family before making a decision.
*** Downhill all the way ***
Jefferson Parish Council Chairman Aaron Broussard and his men-only travel club returned last weekend from their annual masquerade ski trip to Lake Tahoe, Nev. The trip, which started 17 years ago as a small fund-raiser for Broussard, has grown to more than 80 people.
Called the “Out of Control Patrol” ski club, the gang spent its days skiing and its nights partying, with an opening-night skit, black-tie ball and an occasional trip to Harrah’s Lake Tahoe Casino.
This year the group chose “Godfather 2000″ as its theme, with state Rep. Glenn Ansardi, D-Kenner, serving up a stellar performance during the opening-night skit in the role that Marlon Brando created for the mafia movies, according to those who attended. Other notables in the crowd included Kenner Mayor Louis Congemi, Rep. Danny Martini, R-Kenner, Rep. Joseph Toomey, R-Gretna, Jean Lafitte Mayor Tim Kerner and Jefferson Parish government attorney Tom Wilkinson.”
2/12/00 TP
What do we have here? Skits? Costumes? Songs?
Just a bunchaguys playing dressup yaknow.
Hold the phone, did someone say ‘song’?
“Social bookings are still plentiful as the Christmas-New Year’s holidays have given way to Carnival capers. But a few noel anecdotes still remain. “Fa-la-la-la-Lafreniere” was the ditty by Chris Bucher and Jerri Klein, who were respective chairman and party chairman of the Lafreniere Lights Committee. Committee members were Jim Besselman, Sue Blankingship, Ginger Crawford, Bill Hall, Charlene Mora, Allene Shane and Sibyl White. A party on the park’s grounds drew notables Charmaine Neville, Jefferson Parish President Mike Yenni and Santa Claus, who greatly resembled Kenner Mayor Aaron Broussard . To the query “will he sing?” the answer was a very strong affirmative.”
1/14/91 TP – Nell Nolan reporting.
Satire is often found in the Society Pages after all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGSVy2nRQVY
By the way I really hope you check out the words to that song because they really, really, really – really – fit the Jefferson Parish Players.
V, looking at the NS registry as of 5/05/2011 you cited for Kempt Wilderness Lodge Services I see a entry of ‘ Change of Partners on 10/29/2010 ‘. Is there any way to see the partners before the Change of Partners. Also, FYI the January 7, 2010 story by RR, alleging that RR alleged to have seen on Aaron’s financial disclosure form he owned a 1/3 interest in Kempt Wilderness Lodge Services, is still on the internet at various locations but it has been taken off the the TP archives. If true, those La. Financial Disclosure forms that RR claimed to have seen ought to still be viable for viewing.Correct ?
Lock on the financial disclosure forms, they can be found here:
http://www.ethics.state.la.us/PFDisclosure/DisclosureSearch.aspx
Enter Broussard, you should find 2 for AB. Try this:
http://www.ethics.state.la.us/PFDisclosure/DisclosureDetails.aspx?disclosure=Aaron%20Francis%20Broussard
2008 and 2009.
Look at Schedules B & H.
Georges Lake – Val Bracy covered that one but I’m not sure anyone else has mentioned it. It’s near something called Old Garden Road in NS, opposite direction from Kemptville, looks like another development by a lake. Google map it. – 50% interest per the form. Note this refers to “land dwelling” only (as opposed to the land? Or does that mean land & dwelling?)
Lot 4, TP – That is likely No. 140 above. – 50% interest per the form, again “land dwelling”.
Lot 20 TP – possibly No. 7. – 16.65% interest, again “land dwelling”
Sched. B:
“Corner of Trout Point Road and East Branch Road” is likely No. 7. That’s KWLS.
“PO Box 458, Kemptville”…. funny how no actual address is given here.
Now this is a toughie, but for comparison, this is awfully, awfully close:
“Trout Point Lodge
P.O. Box 456
Kemptville, NS
CANADA B0W 1Y0 Phone: (902)742-0980
Game: trout”
http://www.sportsmanschoice.com/search/search_CA3.php?major=2&sort=15&ptr=0
For whatever reason ________ AB reported his ownership in these places but was awfully, awfully reluctant to put down an actual address for any of them.
As for the question about change of partners, Rainey made mention in his articles of public records obtained from the NS province but in the end all he mentioned was that Stoulig was a partner in one of the management companies (KWLS) and that Stoulig told him he never owned more than 4% and that he sold his stake in 2005 or before. RR also said that Stoulig said no money changed hands and that only bank notes were used. – Has anyone ever heard of such a thing? How would that work? Heck, what’s a bank note?
Rainey & the TP said this was all false though so…. never mind.
Lock, you had this:
“We read from the Cerro Coyote document there are evidently 40 blocks of 2.5% of stock, each to be sold for $10,000. All monies ( $400,000) were to be spent in land and building a retreat/ facilities in which each individual would be entitled to 21 days of stay per year ( page 2) at the retreat. Hmmmm. 40 investors X 21 days of time share use is 840 days per year. That means a minimum of three rental units ( a couple of bedrooms each) plus facilities, i.e buildings to support the retreaters. All the land, lodge and units for $400,000.”
Alright, that’s in Costa Rica. Let’s just take a hypothetical development anywhere where each 2.5% came at $5,000 per share?
Would that be possible in another situation?
Consider this and the neato graphic there showing names like Henry Shane, Tim Whitmer & Lagniappe, Jack Stumpf, Jon Gegenheimer, Tom Wilkinson and others…
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/03/broussard_owes_214000_campaign.html
—“That’s a very traditional method of fundraising that came up when I started campaigning back in the ’70s,” Broussard said.—
“Whether the supporter writes a loan, a contribution check or both, the aggregate amount of assistance must stay within the state’s campaign finance limits, said Kathleen Allen, staff attorney for the Louisiana Board of Ethics. In the parish president’s case, no donor could give more than $5,000 in total donations and loans per election, with the primary and runoff counting as separate elections. Greg Buisson, a political adviser to Broussard and many other Jefferson politicians, said it makes sense that supporters would be more inclined to extend a loan to a candidate rather than a straight donation. He said some politicians find it more lucrative than others. “It’s essentially a process of raising funds for a campaign and at the same time really lessening someone’s out-of-pocket financial commitment to the campaign,” he said. “But obviously, if the person doesn’t win, they’re not going to get that loan paid down.” ”
And consider Broussard’s role at certain banks…
For instance:
========================================
Go to Louisiana Ethics:
http://204.196.0.56/laimg/index.html
Search for Aaron Broussard.
8/21/02 Faxed from JEDCO (?!?):
Broussard shows himself as “Member, Jefferson Parish Incentive Fund Committee”; and then “First Bank & Trust” and shows himself as “Director.” A transaction concerning Diamond Data Services and Turbotrip are shown. For some reason AB recused himself.
The campaign finance reports, under four different listings at the Ethics Board, probably have more info buried about loans in different campaigns, but that 3/21/08 report by the TP shows $314,000 in loans from that last campaign alone.
And then consider this…
========================
From a Mr. “JpigpenP”: “Personally, I am moved by whitmergate’s posting. If you go to WVUE 10:00 release they are reporting bank notes signed by Langiappe(WHITMER) and other highly paid Broussard “assistants” for his campaign debt ! Come ‘on, enough is enough. …”
http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2009/12/id_really_love_it_if_you_gave/3743/comments-newest.html
Can anyone find that Ch. 8 report online by the way? I can’t.
***************************************
“What Does Banknote Mean?
A negotiable promissory note issued by a bank and payable to the bearer on demand. The amount payable is stated on the face of the note. Banknotes are considered legal tender, and, along with coins, make up the bearer forms of all modern money.
Also known as a “bill” or a “note.” ”
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/banknote.asp
Then consider what Rainey said that Stoulig said in the 1/6/10 TP: That Stoulig said he couldn
————In the next five months, Jefferson Parish politicians will reach into their campaign accounts to pay for all the bells and whistles associated with elections: pricey telephone polls, glossy mailers and television commercials designed to give the candidates an advantage when they ask voters to send them into second terms.
Parish President Aaron Broussard , for instance, plunked down $32,600 in March and April for his first wave of TV spots, which started airing before he even had a declared opponent. More bills for consultants, billboards and yard signs will surely follow.
But the average constituent who opened his wallet to support one of parish government’s eight politicians since they took office three years ago shouldn’t assume the donation paid for such obvious campaign expenses.
That $250 or $500 fundraiser ticket or monetary contribution could very well have been gobbled up at a fine restaurant or turned into a gift of flowers or money to some other supporter favored by the politician. It could have bought part of an airline ticket to Lake Tahoe , Nev., or paid for renting a tuxedo to wear to a Carnival ball.
Of the $1.5 million spent by Broussard and the seven Parish Council members since they took office in 2004, about half went to costs associated with running campaign offices, advertising, consulting and the like. Some $330,000, about a fifth of the collective expenses, paid for events designed to raise more money for the campaigns.
Golf, meals, flowers
In the third-largest category, the group of politicians spent about $150,000, or a tenth of the collective total, on entertaining constituents, supporters and business people. Some gave them flowers and gift certificates. They paid for meals, rounds of golf and tickets to sporting events.
The state ethics code sets only one standard for the money: that it can’t pay for personal expenses unrelated to political campaigning or the holding of political office.
That turns out to be quite a wide allowance, judging from some of the memos politicians tucked into the campaign finance reports the state requires them to file annually.
Broussard, for instance, included $270-a-month fish tank maintenance in his list of campaign expenses, according to his 2005 report. He paid Joe Barcelona of River Ridge $810 to care for a 50-gallon saltwater tank in his office from December 2004 to February 2005.
Other payments with various monthly rates appear on his 2004 and 2006 reports, bringing the total cost of the fish caretaker to $4,830. The final payment of $900 covered six months of maintenance, ending in December 2005.
Barcelona declined Friday to describe the underwater upkeep.
“I don’t think it was anything that elaborate,” he said.
Broussard described the saltwater tank with tropical fish and live coral outside his office at the Joseph Yenni Building at Elmwood as a calming force that helped him do his job.
“I was captivated by how soothing a fish tank makes an environment, particularly when you keep people waiting,” he said.
The fish died because of a power failure during Hurricane Katrina, so Broussard said he donated the tank and supplies to Barcelona.
An array of restaurants
In another expense financed by the parish president’s campaign coffer, Broussard pulled out $2,002 to pay three months of rent at the Palmetto Creek apartments in River Ridge.
Broussard said he had just moved out of the apartment and experimented with it as a space steps away from the government building in which he could host breakfast meetings or rest before attending civic or parish events in the evenings.
“After three months, I realized I wasn’t utilizing it enough to justify the expense,” he said.
Campaign finance reports from nearly every council member are replete with payments for meals and travel — a common practice that the ethics board has approved as long as the occasions serve some purpose for the elected office.
Jefferson council members said they’re vigilant about upholding that rule, though they’re not required to specify dining companions or travel agendas in the campaign finance reports.
Broussard spent the most on meals: $17,040 from 2004 to his most recent filing in April. Among his most-frequented spots were Bozo’s Restaurant, Drago’s, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse and Sake Cafe of Chateau.
Councilman Chris Roberts’ $15,670 meal tally came in second, followed by Councilman-at-large John Young, who recorded $9,070 on meals and had one of the most diverse arrays of eateries, from low-brow to gourmet.
Most of the travel expenses reported in the campaign finance documents were for lobbying jaunts to Washington, D.C. Others included Broussard’s trips to Hollywood, Lake Tahoe , New York, Phoenix and Toronto.
Reeling in contributors
Broussard said even the most social excursions are all part of the political process. He said by using a contribution for a plane ticket and resort stay, he has a chance of rubbing elbows with big-time donors.
“They meet me, they like me and say, ‘I want to help you on your next campaign,’ ” he said. “And they end up being contributors.”
Councilman Byron Lee managed to work golf into some of his travels, recording course fees from Reflection Bay in Las Vegas and the Texas Star Golf Course in Euless, Texas.
Roberts said all of his travel expenses served some lobbying or educational purpose for his district. He used a trip to San Francisco with Jefferson Parish Clerk of Court Jon Gegenheimer, for example, to learn about the Delancey Street Project to determine whether Jefferson could start a similar program to combat poverty, drug abuse and crime.
“It certainly gives you a better understanding of what they do,” he said of the San Francisco rehabilitation program.
Only Councilwoman Jennifer Sneed reported no expenses for meals or travel. Married to landfill magnate Fred Heebe, Sneed largely financed her first election and has done little fundraising.
Another chunk of the donations goes to the politicians’ favorite charities, including a slew of area churches. The group spent $99,000 on nonprofits, charities and churches, with Councilman Elton Lagasse giving the largest share of his spending: $13,047, or about 19 percent.
“You run like you anticipate a race, but there are some worthy causes and candidates,” Council Chairman Tom Capella said. “So you use what you have to.”
Pollster Silas Lee said most donors understand that their contributions pay for expenses across the political spectrum, so they probably have no expectations for them other than the spending being legal and ethical.
“The bottom line is when a donor contributes money, they are contributing to show their support and not to earmark it for a specific purchase,” he said.—————————-
5/27/07 TP
Key:
“Most of the travel expenses reported in the campaign finance documents were for lobbying jaunts to Washington, D.C. Others included Broussard’s trips to Hollywood, Lake Tahoe , New York, Phoenix and +++++++++++++++Toronto.
Broussard said even the most social excursions are all part of the political process. He said by using a contribution for a ++++++plane ticket and +++++++++resort stay, he has a chance of rubbing elbows with big-time donors.
“They meet me, they like me and say, ‘I want to help you on your next campaign,’ ” he said. “And they end up being contributors.” “
Okay let’s wrap it up with the greatest investigative reporter the Picayune has Ev-ah known…..
….Milli Ball.
So what was going on befor then?
Here’s Stoulig and Krantz:
“A decade ago, Kenner ‘s lakefront was mostly a barren strip of silt and riprap. But with the recent groundbreaking for a new hotel and impending construction of what could be one of Jefferson Parish’s most expensive subdivisions, the area is quickly becoming a destination for people who want to get back to the lake.
“We’d certainly like to see more people using Lake Pontchartrain, and we believe Laketown is one of the best places to do it,” said Carlton Dufrechou, executive director of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation.
Kenner ‘s lakefront is attracting more attention these days because it is one of the few places in East Jefferson with room left for development, said Wade Ragas, director of a real estate research center at the University of New Orleans.
“It’s clearly investors saying, ‘We’re confident in the future of Jefferson Parish,'” Ragas said.
The revitalization began in 1990 when the Pontchartrain Center opened. In 1994, then-Mayor Aaron Broussard dubbed the area Laketown, and the Treasure Chest Casino docked there beside the old Williams Boulevard boat launch. The boat launch was refurbished, and two years later, with money from the casino , Kenner turned the barren West Peninsula shoreline into a neatly landscaped jetty with playgrounds, picnic pavilions and a fishing pier.
This past week, ground was broken for a 121-room, three-story Hilton Garden Inn hotel that will be built east of the Pontchartrain Center on land leased from the city. It took Kenner officials four years to get a hotel developer to agree to build in Laketown, and it took even longer for Jefferson Downs owner Marie Krantz to decide to build a gated community, Gabriel, at the site of the former racetrack.
In addition to the hotel and the subdivision, Kenner is applying for federal permission to fill in 41 more acres of Lake Pontchartrain to expand its lakefront park. And city officials are scouting for investors to build a sports complex with in-line and ice skating and a swimming pool west of the Pontchartrain Center.
The $9 million hotel will be finished next summer, said developer Bryan Dupepe Jr., and will be used by visitors to the casino and the Pontchartrain Center.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for the development team, investors and most importantly the city of Kenner ,” Dupepe said “This hotel is just going to make this area flourish.”
Dupepe and his family own the Provincial Hotel in New Orleans and built the Fairfield Inn on 32nd Street in Kenner .
The Pontchartrain Center, which has 90 percent occupancy on the weekends and 60 percent on the weekdays, has long needed a hotel to house those who come to town for weekend trade shows, General Manager Jeffrey Trahan said.
“We have a lot of people who participate in our large consumer shows, such as craft shows, (who) have a need to spend the night or weekend here,” Trahan said.
The hotel developers have a 45-year lease with the city, with a 25-year renewal option. According to the lease, the city receives the greater of $50,000 a year in rent or a portion of gross room revenue: 1.5. percent the first and second years, 2.75 percent the third and 4 percent each subsequent year. After the lease expires, Kenner would own the building. Based on projections, the city would receive at least $120,000 a year by the fourth year.
Kenner sought a developer for a lakefront hotel for four years. In 1997, the city entered an agreement with a developer for an 180-room Sheraton Hotel, but that deal fell through. Mayor Louis Congemi said the main problem was finding a developer who would build a hotel without special commitments, such as special financing or tax breaks, from the city. That Dupepe and his investors wanted nothing from Kenner showed they were dedicated to the project, Congemi said.
That same dedication is obvious in the developers of Gabriel, an upscale 219-home development that is planned for the old Jefferson Downs site, Congemi said.
“Mrs. Krantz was willing to make an investment as a developer and as homeowner,” City Councilwoman Michele Branigan said. “She’s been great to the community.”
The racetrack closed in 1992, but an off-track betting parlor remains there.
Krantz wanted a development that wouldn’t clash with existing neighborhoods, said Lawrence Stoulig Jr., a consultant for the new development. She was approached with offers to buy the property from people who wanted to turn it into a theme park, water park and even a baseball stadium, but Krantz “never really embraced those type of developments,” Stoulig said.
Neither did neighbors who often called City Council members after hearing rumors that the land was going to be turned into a theme park, Branigan said.
“All anyone wanted to see was a residential development,” she said.
A feasibility study determined an upscale subdivision was the best fit for the neighborhood, Stoulig said.
The planned subdivision will have a mixture of residences, from “garden homes” on 7,000-square-foot lots to larger homes on lots of up to 24,000 square feet. Prices for the smaller lots will begin at $145,000, Stoulig said. Prices haven’t been set for the larger lots, he said.
All of the homes will have to conform to an architectural “Caribbean-like” style, and the gated community will be heavily landscaped and have several parks and paths, he said.
Although reservations for the lots are being taken, they won’t be sold until September, after the streets in the 90-acre development are built. The streets won’t be put in until the off-track betting parlor is relocated next spring. Then, the Jefferson Downs buildings will be torn down, Stoulig said.” – 8/13/99 TP
And here’s Butler:
“Three years after the Jefferson Parish Council hired attorneys to monitor legal activity at Jefferson’s two publicly owned hospitals, legal costs at both have risen, led by a nearly 300-percent jump at East Jefferson General Hospital, according to hospital and parish records.
East Jefferson General’s legal expenses skyrocketed from $565,000 in 1996 to $1.6 million in 1999, with almost half going to council-appointed attorneys Salvador Anzelmo and his son, Tommy. The rest went to in-house attorneys and other outside firms. This comes at a time when the hospital is trying to cope with its first net loss in 10 years, and has frozen employee salaries for 2000.
West Jefferson Medical Center, which has no in-house counsel, spent $380,000 on legal work in 1996 and $530,000 in 1999.
Sal Anzelmo said Tuesday that East Jefferson has been involved in several big lawsuits, including a contract dispute with its radiology group that has bounced through the federal and state court systems. That, combined with a rise in medical malpractice suits, has caused legal fees to rise, he said.
“I truly believe these things happen in cycles,” Anzelmo said. “I think maybe this is just a bad time for legal work and the hospital.”
Peter Butler Jr., an attorney for West Jefferson, said increased federal regulation of the health care industry has made hospital law more complex and costly. He also said both hospitals fall well within national norms for legal expenses, considering the millions of dollars they take in each year.
“Three to 10 percent in legal fees is not unusual in any business,” he said. “If anything, the hospitals are on the low end.”
The Parish Council is scheduled to vote today on whether to extend contracts with its attorneys for both hospitals, but several council members said they might ask to defer the matter for further study.
Although the council hired extra attorneys in part to keep it informed of legal matters at the two hospitals, Councilmen Ed Muniz and Nick Giambelluca said they were unaware of East Jefferson’s sharp rise in legal fees. Both Muniz and Giambelluca voted against the council’s 1997 decision to hire hospital attorneys.
Muniz said he will ask his hospital board appointees for an explanation.
Giambelluca said he believes the increase in fees is justified and expected in today’s litigious society. He will vote to renew the contracts for what he calls three excellent law firms. “I feel they have done a good job,” Giambelluca said. “We are not comparing apples to apples when you look at West Jefferson’s fees. Their volume is a lot different. Good legal advice is expensive. I understand that their costs are going up.”
In 1997, the Parish Council voted 5-2 to hire the Law Offices of Salvador Anzelmo and Campbell, McCranie, Sistrunk, Anzelmo & Hardy, to take over much of the legal work at East Jefferson General. Peter Butler Sr. and Peter Butler Jr., who work together in the same firm, were hired by the same vote to represent West Jefferson. All three law firms have donated to council campaigns in the past.
Council Chairman Aaron Broussard led the charge as part of a series of moves to exert more control over the hospitals, which had operated with little council supervision for years. Broussard said East Jefferson General had forced the council’s hand by soliciting proposals from companies interested in buying or running the hospital without telling council members. The hospitals, in turn, were made to pay for the council’s attorneys out of their revenue. No taxpayer dollars go to operate either hospital. Broussard did not return phone calls Tuesday.
Muniz and Giambelluca voted against the contracts, voicing concern that the parish would be spending money unnecessarily. Board members of both hospitals also resisted the move, saying the expense was redundant and unnecessary. Later, they acquiesced to the changes.
On Tuesday, East Jefferson General Board President Wayne Thomas issued a written statement saying the board did not object to the proposed extension of the Anzelmos’ contracts.
“We have a strong working relationship with our legal counsel,” he wrote. “The firm’s solid history of dealing with public entities such as the Louisiana state Legislature brings a new level of experience to our table.”
When they were hired in 1997, Sal Anzelmo and the Butlers ‘ firms were placed under a $390,000 spending cap. But the council has since amended those caps to allow each to earn more.
Anzelmo may now charge up to $390,000 annually for general legal advice, but litigation or other services may be billed above that amount. Butler may charge up to $490,000, plus expenses. Thomas Anzelmo’s firm has no spending cap. All of the contracts expired Feb. 6.
In addition to the attorneys, the council in 1997 appointed a series of auditors and financial managers who in some cases replaced consultants the hospital boards had hired. The council today will consider extending the contracts of two accounting firms, Rebowe & Co. for East Jefferson and Hanford M. Harrison Inc. for West Jefferson, until the end of the year.” -2/23/00 TP.
Rebowe of course took over for Stoulig.
Millie:
It opened summer 2000.
——-“”Mr. Broussard was up here last week with his son,” said a construction worker outside a brand new lakeside home I checked out on my walk. “Mr. Broussard?” “Aaron,” he said, as in Jefferson Parish Council chairman. “This is his house.”
And “Miss Marie’s” house over there, that would be Miss Marie . . . ? Listening carefully to his garbled pronunciation, I came up with “Marie Krantz?” “Yes, that’s her,” he said. As in the Fair Grounds’ Marie Krantz.
Wendell Gauthier is an investor, though he’s never been here. New Orleans attorney Peter J. Butler Jr. said on the phone he invested as a 2 percent partner, and plans to visit for the first time next October. “We hope to make money, but if we don’t, I hear it’s a nice place to visit.” ——
Bon nuit, les gentes, bon nuit.
Per – Rainey, 1/23/10 TP, after the last 2010 retraction: Broussard had/has ownership rights in six properties in East Kemptville, according to Canadian property records. Altogether the residential, commercial or resource taxable value was C$847,000 or US$801,700.
It turns out Georges Lake is actually the medium sized lake that the Tusket River flows into and through, approximately 11-12 lots surround the lake right next door to TP, and Lot 11 is probably the one abutting to the No. 7 TP property. And the actual term used is:
“River Bend Lodge & the Cottages at Trout Point
79 TROUT POINT ROAD
OFF THE EAST BRANCH ROAD
EAST KEMPTVILLE NS B0W 1Y0”
http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/ns-east-kemptville-riverbendlodgethecottagesattroutpoint.html
So “& The Cottages” probably means the other small cottages featured on the old Trout site.
If so, given all of the above, that probably means Broussard & whoever he shared interests with had No. 140 TP (River Bend Lodge) (C$374,600 2011 assessed value), plus across the road 5 properties adjoining each other (including No. 7 (C$9300), No. 79 TP (C$175,700), No. 81 TP (C$169,200), Lot 11 Georges Lake (C$1600), and the unnumbered property at the corner of TP Road at East Branch Road (C$226,200)). If that is correct using the NS assessment site that would be a total value of C$956,600, or using today’s rate US$1,003,188.05. The higher value might be due to Rainey using prior year’s assessments and possibly because at least one of the properties (maybe No. 140, as above, where the assessment jumped from C$374,600 in 2011 from C$40,700 in 2010) appears to be for sale or has been sold recently.
These were remarkable investments. The 2001 values for these 6 properties amounted to apx. C$69,400. Of course, Muniz said that he never saw a penny back of his investment (and there may have been a comment to that efefct from someone else in Millie Ball’s article too). If so, that is quite the rake by AB.
You may probably see that by now River Bend Lodge is now referred to as “Tusket Lodge”, but any way Black Bear Cottage is likely on one of these properties running along the west side of TP Road.
By the way in June 2010 one of the owners reported as to the Costa Rica property, “In August, Coyote Mountain will be sold to a tourism official from Ontario … .”
http://www.changemakers.com/fr/node/83450
So Cerro Coyote may have already been sold as well as River Bend Lodge plus perhaps even the other properties. If 2010 was probably an excellent time to liquidate.
Ok, so truly now, c’est tout.
I think there is more than enough info up for a recap post. It appears Leary, Abel and Perret have some explaining to do vis a vie their financial relationship with Aaron Broussard. Excellent commentary.
sop
V, very nice work. I would like to pose a question as to the increased valuations. In the assessments, could the huge jump in value be due to improvements i.e. cottages or lodges being built on the properties? If so, A.B. might have sunk all that investor money into the improvements. There may be no profit. He may be left holding all these places in N.S.
Anyway, it still seems fishy.(pun intended) Use other people’s money to speculate with on real estate in N.S. Most of these investors seem pretty well off, so they can’t be that dumb. It almost seems like from their comments that they had written the money off from the start. Wonder why they would bankroll A.B.’s crazy idea to build a lodge in the woods halfway around the continent?
/rolls eyes
Also, maybe some of these parish contractors were planning on booking the places solid before all the mess. Now that would have been a plan. Get all of the people who “owe” you to put up the $ to build this joint out of the country and then lease it to all the new people who are vying for a spot at the trough. Doesn’t look like it worked out and now the Times Pic and everyone else is pretending that it never even happened.
I’d love to hear from Val Bracey to find out what else she dug up in NS and if she thought that was a contributing reason for her unjustified termination from FOX news. Remember she sniffed out this NS info first, went into her famous offensive play mode and got Broussard to sit down and admit to several property plays in NS but then she got yanked as JP’s MVP investigative quarterback. Then Rich Rainey picked up the fumbled, loose ball and started to run around end trying to finish Bracey’s original play, but was tackled immediately by a little known player jumping off the bench and filing the NS litigation. Broussard’s players are still out there and are still very much running around running interference.The question in my mind – is the NS litigation actually for alleged defamation damages by TP or more so an offensive, innovative play to protect Broussard from further scrutiny about his international play making in NS. All the great coaches, quarterbacks and politicians know sometimes a good offense running out the clock is the best defense.
Since this post went up I was contacted by an investor in this project that inquired if the link above showing the property was sold was accurate. My reply was that the links speak for themselves. Since then Charles Leary has updated his LinkedIn page that should dispel any remaining doubts for those that were sold this now worthless investment.
http://ca.linkedin.com/pub/charles-leary/18/563/b64
If he deletes it I have a pdf already snagged.
sop
Does your screen grab from Jan 2012 match what is there now? Any comment on the content provoking the contact 😉
Pretty much. Re-reading Telemachus’ comments brings chills to my spine. Is there any wonder why he was featured so prominently in Leary’s commenter witch hunt on behalf of Aaron Broussard.