The Jefferson Parish Politico Mafioso: A reign of uninterrupted criminal malfeasance and

You want public records you paid tax dollars to have produced ? Well the above picture pretty much sums up the attitude of the Jefferson Parish Politico Mafioso…that’s right…FUCK YOUZ… WHAT YOUZ GONNA DUES ABOUT IT !

“…It was Deja Vu …and live on Cox TV too. Our backdrop is during one of the Council meetings around the time the public records debate was heating up as a result of a sudden and dramatic shift in policy resulting from Anne Marie Vandenweghe’s reassignment. She was removed from the Public Records Department only to be replaced by Greg Giangrosso, a Wilkinson lackey. Under Vandenweghe’s direction, public documents were just that, Public Records readily available in most instances to those qualified to request the same. Giangrosso’s assignment was and is to stonewall the release of Public Information which he and his superiors, Peggy Barton and Louis Gruntz, have decided taxpayers are to have limited access to in almost all instances. The response that one receives from Giangrosso is a pasted legalese form letter citing erroneous legal precedent for not honoring the Public Records Request. Margie Seemann (CFGG) was pressing the Council to explain why documents regarding information of a similar topic which she had previously received under Vandenweghe’s tenure, was now routinely denied under some broad and vague “governmental” exception. It was at that moment when Peggy Barton opened her mouth to defend the indefensible, everyone in that Council Chamber and watching TV, could foretell the response as though it would have been uttered by her mentor Tom Wilkinson, himself. She looked down at Ms. Seemann, a facial expression of pure contempt and as sarcastic a tone as one could muster, stated that she would review “OUR” records and “SHE” would determine what would be made available to the public at some later date. And there you have it, Wilkinson in drag…without the proverbial…FUCK YOU, SUE ME!”

And more of the same tone of arrogance, as we read, “…yada, yada…blah, blah, blah of some pasted authority that gives support to her expected response in defending the indefensible. As though this pointed insult by Barton isn’t enough, she further states, “…If the documents you request are not afforded an exception in the public records law, then they will be provided to you in due course. ” Right! In essence, FUCK YOU Margie and Margaret, go away, don’t bother me…”

And you can thank the Jefferson Parish State legislative delegation and the grunt saboteur of public records, Louis Gruntz, for their combined efforts to add more and more ludicrous exceptions as to what information you, the taxpayer, may not be entitled to. Their collusion is nothing less than UNCONSCIONABLE; and it’s what has been at play here for way too many years and all with a concerted intent to water down any legitimate attempt for accountability.

WAIT SOP … HOLD THE PRESS … YET AGAIN ! … recent timeline status of AMV vs Jefferson Parish as it concerns “PUBLIC RECORDS”:

The frivolous application filed by Phelps, Dunbar to have the Louisiana Supreme Court review was denied. Surprise, surprise, surprise !

How better to describe the tone of having the “fix” facilitated by GretnaMentality’s poster boy … 24th JDC Judge Ross LaDart’s home-cooked ruling against AMV as critiqued here, I attribute some backdrop to Bunhare:

I was in the courtroom when LaDart rendered his decision. Guess I’ll never forget the subtle shit-eating grin Mike Thomas (who then was a Council aid) flashed to Eula Lopez after LaDart gave his decision. “The Riot’s” daughter was also in the courtroom.

I will follow this one with a great deal of interest…”

Unfortunately, what was not made part of Judge Wicker’s definitive and scholarly written opinion was an order that five (5) copies of this decision be made; and that Judas LaDart be made to shove one copy each up the ass of Kim Boyle, Nan Alexandra, Wanda Theriot, Greg Giangrosso and MIKE THOMAS (having his copy crumbled up in a wod in particular) …Then have LaDart remove the papers from each, and proceed to eat shit.

The reversal of LaDart’s shit house legal opinion can be found here.

BACK TO THE PAST:

Here’s a factual scenario of Gruntz’s relentless attempts, that are more like assaults one could say, to sabotage public access to public records… even when contradicting himself …thank God he retired to his own private hell hole !!! …Hitler and Don Coreleone would have been proud of this lock-step soldier. Oops …Sorry … he has opted for DROP, and is in the employ of the Parish as a liaison with the Legislature …GOD help us through his remaining three years.

Now this from The Jefferson Report:

You’ve Got Mail (for now)
June 2, 2010

If the Jefferson Parish Council gets what it wants during the ongoing regular session, certain email communications sent from voters to their local government would no longer be considered public records.

By Jeremy Alford
It has been snaking through the legislative process largely unnoticed. Good government groups, which largely oppose such measures, didn’t have it on their tick sheets. The press association, for its part, has been tracking bigger fish. And the mainstream media, preoccupied by a historic oil spill and and equally unprecedented budget shortfall, has mostly failed to pick up on the ensuing debates.

Nonetheless, legislation that was originally filed to block the public’s access to certain documents in the Jefferson Parish Department of Inspection and Code Enforcement appears highly likely to pass before the regular session adjourns June 21. If this happens, the bill would become state law before the end of the year.

The Jefferson Parish Council unanimously adopted a resolution in early February backing the concept and state Rep. Robert E. Billiot, D-Westwego, eventually drafted and introduced House Bill 951 for consideration. Billiot, who has a close relationship with the Council and contributed money to its membership during the most recent election cycle, has steered the legislation through the House already and the proposal is now pending action in the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee.

For the Council, it’s stance is in direct conflict with the crawfishing it did back in April when members reversed course and unendorsed another set of public records bills that would have stripped all access to parish documents subpoenaed by federal investigators. As the feds continued sifting through the parish’s dirty laundry, voters rebelled against the move and the Council rescinded its resolution backing the measures authored by Sen. Danny Martiny, R-Metairie. As a result, they died on the legislative vine.

However, Billiot’s HB 951 is still alive and kicking, complete with the backing of the Jefferson Parish Council. Although it has been heavily amended and rewritten by lawmakers, there are still a couple of weeks remaining in the regular session — just enough time for just about anything, meaning the proposal could change and be altered a few more times.

To be certain, Billiot’s bill has had an interesting run through the session so far. It may have escaped the attention of local observers earlier this spring because it was originally filed as a measure targeting West Baton Rouge Parish. Billiot called it a “clerical error” before the language was changed during the bill’s initial hearing before the House and Governmental Affairs Committee in late April.

Additionally, the argument that Billiot has presented to lawmakers isn’t the same line that Parish Attorney Louis Gruntz fed The Jefferson Report in February when we asked him about the new law the Council wanted:

[Gruntz said] that an exemption from the public records law is needed to protect tipsters who call in leads on businesses and individuals that might be violating local ordinances.

He said such tips are commonplace already and range from zoning disputes to blighted properties.

“We’ve had a few problems in the past that resulted in shouting matches and arguments and we just want to avoid that,” Gruntz said. “We want to protect the public and offer them anonymity, like Crime Stoppers.”

That means, if such a law were to be adopted, that a person or business being investigated by a parish code enforcement official would not be able to ascertain what – or who – prompted the inspection.

The property owners who end up being fined, however, would remain in the public record.
Gruntz has been attending the legislative hearings in recent weeks and testifying before lawmakers, but Billiot, as the bill’s author, has taken the lead. In his presentations to lawmakers, Billiot has repeatedly said a new law is needed because there have been problems with animal control. As for the residential challenges cited by Gruntz, Billiot has largely glossed over those issues.

In particular, Billiot has recounted at least twice a story about a constituent’s “little kitten” and her neighbors’ refusal to get involved out of fear. Some members of the House and Governmental Affairs Committee actually laughed at Billiot’s story when he explained further in late April. “They took that kitten and threw it over the fence where there was a pit bull and it ate the poor, little kitten,” Billiot said, adding that neighbors may have dropped a dime on the responsible party if there had been an anonymous process in place.

Of course, the only thing funny about the situation is that Billiot’s legislation was filed in an attempt to alter the section of state law addressing residential and commercial building code enforcement, not animal protection. So, not surprisingly, when the full House received HB 951, a group of mindful lawmakers were able to rewrite the bill so that it would only impact the area of state law dealing with animal cruelty. And that is still the posture of the bill as of this week.

During his testimony on the bill, Gruntz zeroed in on the kind of emails that the bill would exempt from public records law. He claimed that government officials are able to keep tipsters confidential if they act through a phone call or in person, but when they send an email, their identity becomes public record. “And that’s the problem,” he told lawmakers.

For now, the House has thrown the effort a slight curveball and the exemption isn’t as broad as it was during the spring. But strange things tend to happen during the session’s closing days.

The pace will soon become hectic as dozens of bills are tossed into compromise committees and legislative leaders try to hammer out an agreement on how best to close the state’s unprecedented budget shortfalls. It’s just the kind of mass hysteria where anything can happen — and if history is any indication, it will.

To keep tabs on HB 951, visit www.legis.state.la.us

And of course one more useless exceptions to protect deadhead retirement junkies:

Regular Session, 2011
HOUSE BILL NO. 284
BY REPRESENTATIVES WILLMOTT, BILLIOT, CONNICK, HENRY, LABRUZZO,
LIGI, AND LOPINTO AND SENATORS APPEL, MARTINY, AND QUINN

Abstract: Provides a public records exemption for certain records of the Jefferson Parish
Personnel Dept.
Present law provides for availability of public records in the custody of the state or any
political subdivision. Further provides specific exceptions to this availability. Proposed law
retains present law.
Proposed law adds an exception to the Public Records Law for promotional or competitive
tests and certain records relative thereto in the custody of the Jefferson Parish Personnel
Dept.
Proposed law provides two exceptions to this proposed law:
(1) Under certain circumstances, for the production of test questions, answers, and
papers to the Jefferson Parish Personnel Board.
(2) For the actual administration of the test itself.
_____

As a result of ‘new media’ blogs like Slabbed, American Zombie, The Jefferson Report (now transformed into The Political Desk), The Ladder, the Lens and many others, it would seem that such attempts to control what information becomes public would be useless. But ignorance is bliss, and ignorant these JP Political Mafioso are, as are the majority of registered voters who either don’t vote or vote for these same thugs.

As in the most recent public records lawsuit filed by AMV, we have a loco yokel Judge, Ross LaDart, cook up a Gretna Mentality Judgement; only to have a Court of Appeals reverse his stupid ass BS in definitive and blistering terms: everyone has a right to sue for disclosure of public records, and it is the Court, in camera, who must decide whether any exceptions claimed have merit and are applicable, even if this means reviewing 25,000 thousand e-mails !!!

What can be done to reverse this trend of going backwards … a REVOLUTION … a legal revolution … file lawsuit after lawsuit on each and every response you get stamped with that pasted nonsense gobblety gook exception … sue for fines of $100 dollars a day …sue for Attorney’s fees …sue for any related damages as a result of their sham and frivolous excuses … file criminal charges against the custodian responsible to provide you with the public records requested … I’ll bet the tone over there in that JP Government Building will be more accommodating faced with HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN JUDGEMENTS based on the arrogant desire of a few who want to keep covered up that which is ours … the taxpaying public who owns these records in the first place.

Do you really think that this Administration or any other JP political entity can afford to continue to waste taxpayers’ money to pay for the likes of a Phelps, Dunbar law firm to defend each and every lawsuit … hell they’ve already paid Phelps Dunbar over $120,000 DOLLARS in AMV’s PRR case alone, only to lose … and now the Parish is on the hook for THOUSANDS MORE in fines, legal fees, damages, interest on the Judgement, etc…

SUE, SUE, SUE … and we will bankrupt this rotting Government ruled by these MFers until the public realizes what these thugs, The Jefferson Parish Mafioso, have done to our Government that we paid and pay for !!!

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Slabbed commenter Whitmergate is a member of Citizens for Good Government.

Slabbed welcomes all points of view on the topics we cover. Our readers can submit guest columns to Sop. While we allow anonymous comments on the blog, guest columnist must submit a verifiable name and contact information in order to be published.