Q. Many of your and nola.com readers are exercised about the relatively light punishments coming up for Broussard, Wilkinson, and Whitmer (BWW), but these readers seem to believe either that these are the targets or that they are stepping stones to the final targets, Heebe and Ward. Do you think these are really the targets? It would seem to me the DOJ would be much more interested in the true sleazebags: Alario, Foster, Tauzin, and maybe others. For example, why did Foster support Heebe for US Attorney? Can Heebe give them Foster? If the targets are the bigger fish, wouldn’t it be better to get BWW over with and not drag their trials out for 10 years like Jefferson?
Please provide us the big picture. Thanks.
Uptown Music
A. I’ve heard the big picture expressed a couple of different ways and am interested to hear what the commenters think. The media consensus is that Heebe is the final target but the media tends to focus on the short term and there is a sense indictments are coming. There is renewed speculation on the streets about 3 Jefferson Parish councilmen that were on the Parish Council back in 2004. But in the scheme of things they too are small fish.
I agree that Alario, Foster and Tauzin are sleazebags that “hit a lick” every chance they got. They also are/were puppets thus one view holds that the puppet masters to these organized crime schemes are the final targets. Here is a hint to the identity of one such person courtesy of Slabbed commenter Telemachus.
Unfortunately based on life experiences gained observing the local branch of the DoJ there is an expectation the prosecutions will stop way short of the aforementioned scenario, thus the disgust at the lenient plea deals handed out so far in the current scandal.
Finally people are reading a political component to the current prosecutions at the national level I do not think is present beyond what appears to be a renewed national focus on stamping out organized crime. That said it is an open secret Jim Letten and Fred Heebe harbor personal animus toward each other and to the extent their personal histories are intertwined such will be fodder for discussion for years to come.
I’m interested to hear what you guys are thinking on how this fits in the scheme of things?
as i mentioned in another thread, monday’s tp river birch piece mentioned ward and heebe trying to mess up the GNO landfill’s business. according to the piece ward went to a meeting at the pelican tomato company and was made an offer which ward refused. according to the tp, at the time ward said he was threatened. the owners of the GNO landfill, joe marcello and joe segretto were both close to carlos marcello, one his driver the other his son. to insinuate that river birch is a stepping stone to la cosa nostra makes no sense to me. as for pecora jr, the DOJ gave him one of the best deals ever when he came back from england. i dont see him involved here.
What about ONGO Jr.?
i dont know ONGO, doug.
You will soon. 🙂
oh, busguard. i recall yall talking about that a while back. so the guess is mamo. that guy cold have been pinched for so much why now i would ask. i dont know anything about that whole busguard deal but if that is the next step it would appear that “big jim” is just a mouthpiece on this deal as most have suspected.
Not saying Mamo is next but he has more power today than he ever had as DA.
I have no insight into the heads of doj’s da/ada’s. But IMHO names of bigger fish that would reasonably justify sweet deals for evidence would be three: mamoulides, connick(p), and landrieu(all)!
if heebe/ward were a stepping stone the most logical target(s) to me would be vitter and/or jindal. i am not saying that is the case and that either has done anything illegal. just that if there were a target beyond river birch those two are the only ones i can think of cuz both are anti-obama 24/7 365 open on sunday.
Trying to second guess political agendas, and make no mistake about this a political agenda is behind how far this will go, is impossible because of all the varibles. It is now depending on the “A Team” from Washington and Heebe’s chirps to how many Kingfish will be landed and for that we can thank Perricone with letten’ recusal.
speaking of pay to play. just saw this on the wire. who said crime does not pay?
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2012/2012-199.htm
I have a theory as many others and perhaps I’m off base and maybe not.
I question who is the target if not Broussard and his adminstrative staff? I wonder if the end target is not more on the level of at least state politics if not national politics. After Coulon retired he and his family member got a job with a pretty huge lobby firm that is a national lobying firm that also holds contracts with many parish governments. When his name first came up in the insurance scandal he was serving on at least one board appointed by the governor. Right after his name surfaced he left that board. It gave the appearance that Jindal wanted to distance himself from the scandal. It has been rumored that Coulon is spilling the beans. It appears to me this may be true because now Parker, Broussard and Wilkinson have admitted guilt to the deal to hire Parker on Coulon’s watch. So one has to wonder why Coulon has not been indicted in that case or if he can be because it happend on his watch. I wonder if Coulon is talking and may have dirt that reaches up to Jindal who is leader in the national republican party and other connections Coulon may have nationally that he may have dirt on?If you are a US attorney trying to CYA what better gift than to deliver to the sitting president one of the national republican party up and comings?
You also have to wonder if Heebe has the hundreds of millions of dollars that can reach far and wide in politics maybe he is not the end target but they just want his pecans in a Vice to tell what know knows if anything about politicians from here to D.C. and elsewhere.
If I was a US attorney trying to be recognized I’d rather a story that says I busted a racket of dirty politicians that stretches all over Louisiana with tentacles that reach out far and wide than to say I busted a wealthy land fill owner. Not making excuses for anyone who breaks the law but if we are going to start busting big business owners who use their money and influenece to further their own personal cause then they have bigger targets I’m sure in and out of Louisiana.
WO40,
The political variables are many however I lean towards your thoughts , if Holder remains he has a big GOP bone to pick what better place to chew that bone ? With all that Federal money poring into a hard core Republican state like Louisiana, with our history of political chicanery and dubious representatives , sure would be an image make over for Holder’s Democratic career doing some Kinfishing here, eh ?