A reader just dropped this letter on me. Maybe we can figure out its significance.
17 thoughts on “A reader just dropped this letter on me. Maybe we can figure out its significance.”
What does this mean ? !!!
The man needs tax shelters for the money he has extorted from Parish Officials, employees and contractors …
This low-life Coulon ass-licking POS was a busy little bureaucrat … at the office at 5 AM figuring out who he was going to shake down that day for insurance business …
Whitmer, while Budget Director for the Council, was crawling around for Hartwig Moss Ins. Company as Whitmer and Associates tapping any and everybody he could for business (similar to what Lee-Sheng’s husband does today) … and he continued to do the same while he was COO in Broussard’s Administration under the guise of Lagniappe and THT…
Flood insurance Cynthia? You got it … your assistant Henyoub and his father can vouch for me … Daryl Ward, yea buddy I can do it … of course Wilkinson’s relatives get a discount … Seizler, River Birch, Flemming, Burglass and all those other vendors with the Parish know what they need to do … and that includes Walter Baudier … hell we even got Ronnie Burke over at the DA's office and none other than President Broussard walking the streets for us …uh … I mean my wife Dawn … don't worry Hubbard's my partner … he gives us insurance, I get him contracts … fagetabouit … no problem … you rite … Coulon's the man …
And the list of conflicted parties goes on and on and on ..
Whitmer as I write is still making HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS from insurance premium residuals with these very same people and businesses …
So the time bomb question is PARISH PRESIDENT YOUNG:
When are you going to direct your Parish Attorney to file suit for recovery of ill gotten gains by Whitmer and Wilkinson by way of salary and retirement benefits ??? …
So if you get mad enough to act and butt heads with the fascist pigs who control everything … what will you do ?
Jeopardize losing your IPhone … having your driver’s license taken away so you won’t be able to drive your super duper SUV to the mall or to the golf course … risk having your kids go to public schools ?
Wake up people … you are ‘consumer slaves’ … you don’t vote because you’ve excused yourself from that civic responsibility by rationalizing your vote won’t make a difference … a sort of self imposed marginalization …
Everything's honkey-dorey, there's a new toy in town to buy …
Yea that’s rite, piss on the graves of American Revolutionaries who literally sacrificed their life, forsake their families, and forfeited their economic livelihood so we could allow the likes of mini-me Roberts and Elton Largeass to be anointed to office without one single vote being cast …
Can I throw up now ?
Unfortunately, the detachment of the living dead of Jefferson Parish is a forlorn sign of a never ending amoral future grounded on greed … it’s all about the money !!!
Of course, that money being your tax money …
So I guess this means that Tim Whitmer owns or had some percentage of ownership in the property located at 622 Canal Street in New Orleans. It's amazing how a recreation maintenance worker who rose through the ranks to become the Parish's chief administrative officer can acquire such an expensive piece of real estate! I'm not against hard work and building wealth, but in his case, one can reasonably assume that there were other factors that helped.
At last count it was rumored the Whitmers owned ( at the very least) a house in Jefferson Parish, land in Folsom La and a condo in Orange Beach or somewhere on the Gulf Coast. Anyone who can verify any of this? Oh and a house in Diamondhead Ms.
he does own 5 acres in folsom and is getting a patricia core deal. Year: 2011
Name: WHITMER, TIMOTHY A ETUX
Mailing Address: 3809 LAKE WINNIPEG DR HARVEY, LA 70058
Assessment Number: 105-113-7182
Property Description: LOT 4 CHERRY HILL ESTATES CONT 5 ACS CB 1361 691 CB 1485 453 INST NO 1236643 INST NO 1568220
Exemption:
Estimated Parish Tax (Based on 2010 Millages): $22.84
Estimated City Tax (Based on 2010 Millages): $0.00
the development where whitmer owns the 5 acres in folsom, cherry hill estates, i believe was developed by the late johnny smith of smith enterprises (smith & core real estate, johnny smith truck and dragline). one other smith enterprises unit was costal waste. i cant find a record of that transfer.
Johnny Smith's widow sure does keep that waterfront estate off Hwy 90 in the Rigolets looking immaculate. Based on the appearance of the house alone, the money still must be pouring in, or there was just too much of it to ever spend.
RE: Smith/Coastal/IESI
These are some of the timeless posts that I have filed, not written, over the last 3 years…
READ AND ENJOY:
nolakat60 January 03, 2010 at 10:02AM
You hit the nail on the head! Chris Roberts is but a puppet of the Wards and the Heebees. He is their "Boy" on the inside. He, along with many others within Parish government, including that Parish Attorney, lead the charge on illegally ousting Waste Management from the landfill contract. The Feds need to look closly at his involvement as well as Mr. Whitmer's connection through Lagniappe Insurance. On a related note, there was an article that appeared in the Times-Picayune around the time that Jefferson Parish was awarding its garbage collection contract back in late 2008 or early 2009. In the article, it listed a host of councilmen and administrative staff that received gifts in the form of boar hunting expeditions in the Honey Island Swamp, paid for by the new garbage company, IESI/Coastal Waste. Chris Roberts was one of the councilmen who benefited from such a trip. Coastal Waste/IESI was bidding on the garbage collection contract at the time. I only wish I had saved the article because this is probably the tip of the ice berg. Something stinks here and it's not the garbage! Chris Roberts will parade behind a facade of controlling blight and fighting crime in his district. This is just a farce and distraction to make the public think that he is looking out for them. He is only looking out for himself; wake up. His district has gotten worse, not better. It is loosing it's economic base and people are moving out in droves. Younger people with good jobs are not moving in! This is poor leadership driving by a self serving political hack, nothing more.
bucktownjoe December 18, 2009 at 2:38PM
The deal that needs to be looked into is the IESI/COASTAL WASTE contract to pick up garbage in Jefferson Parish. IESI's G.M. orchestrated the deal by hiring Tim Coulan's son as a consultant to work with Time Whitmer. Elton Lagasse's aide , Barry Bordeon, is on IESI's payrolll. Ramelli Janitorial was given $168,000 a month as part of the deal to satisfy Tom Cappella, who is Bob D'Hemecort's cousin, Bob is partners with Ramelli. Ramelli also employees Louis Congemi's relative, Nicalosi.
Several of the companies had connections to council members or their aides. Councilman Elton Lagasse's top aide, Barry Bordelon, for instance, has been on IESI's payroll as a consultant in northern Louisiana. And Gus Bordelon, who is not related to Lagasse's aide, hosted boar hunts in the spring for Roberts and Lagasse in the Honey Island Swamp in St. Tammany Parish.
Councilman Chris Roberts took umbrage at the suggestion that he was curtailing competition. He said well-established haulers provide a better guarantee that collection would not be interrupted by a hurricane, as happened after Katrina. Councilmen Elton Lagasse, Byron Lee and Tom Capella agreed.
"The concern that I have, Mr. Young, is based on some of the comments that may be perceived that some members of this council are not in favor of competitive price competition," Roberts said. "That's not necessarily the case."
I think the IESI contract is River Birch all over again … and mini-me is again at the center of this garbage … and he stinks like RICO !!!
why does whitmer own 5 acres in folsom that was previously owned by the head of coastal waste? weird.
So now you do you get it … Whitmer whose tongue is as wide as Lagasse’s ass, was crawling around JP Officials’ offices at 5 AM in the morning snaking out deals … insurance, contract kickbacks and whatever he could coil around …
Of course he owns a lot of property he bought from the ‘right’ politico mafioso people like himself …
These quotes are PRICELESS:
“Whitmer told legislative auditors that he had Bolotte cut the $5.6 million check for concrete revisions because Councilman Elton Lagasse asked for it. Lagasse told auditors he didn’t recall but that if Whitmer said it, it likely was true, according to the audit.”
(LAGASSE IS SOME REALLY STUPID … two synapses at most)
“ … the state legislative auditor describes how Finance Director Gwen Bolotte, without ever checking an invoice, cut a check for $5.6 million — doubling Youssef's figure — at Whitmer's request on June 24, 2009.”
(BOLOTTE, who Whitmer told to transfer Waste Management’s money to recreation so it would appear JP could not pay)
Jefferson Performing Arts Center job riddled with errors, legislative auditor says
Published: Friday, October 14, 2011, 7:28 PM Updated: Friday, October 14, 2011, 7:37 PM
By Richard Rainey, The Times-Picayune http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/10/je…
Listen up … the next MFer that I ever hear talk about Whitmer’s 5 AM ‘work ethic’ … well … it ain’t going to pretty …
And I hope that not only Whitmer’s attorneys take notice, but those attorneys representing AMV, Waste Management, and Concrete Busters, that Whitmer’s $172,000 Dollar a YEAR RETIREMENT can be seized for garnishment upon obtaining a Judgment for criminal/malfeasance acts he committed as a Public Employee of Jefferson Parish. And that holds true for Broussard and Wilkinson too ! Yea, Civil RICO is a good thing … And with Criminal RICO, the Government could seize it all NOW !
Continuing on with the JPPAC saga:
“The Broussard administration had no central database or a single individual responsible for reviewing invoices and supporting documents. Records were passed through a Byzantine chain of departments, including Capital Projects, Engineering and Finance before some eventually ended up with the Parks and Recreation Department, according to the audit.” http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/10/je…
So now we know one of the reasons why Whitmer had Broussard eliminate the Internal Auditor position … easy way to put a cool $2,800,000 MILLION in your pockets … Whitmer was 5 o’clock slick, slick, slick SNAKE …
And there are other reasons too …
There was the check Whitmer had Broussard and Nancy Cassange sign to pay Hubbard $15,000,000 MILLION from August 31th, 2005, the day after Katrina hit, thru October 31th, within 60 days … no receipts and/or documentation … by the end of February 2010, Hubbard had received nearly $30,000,000 MILLION DOLLARS … again checks signed by Broussard and Cassange at Whitmer’s direction …
It was also during this post-Katrina period that Whitmer and Wilkinson were helping themselves to outrageous raises to insure hefty retirement benefits …
Whitmer and Wilkinson should go to the guillotine holding hands !!!
Well…. This is a mere theory, a wee postulation, perhaps just a idea of a possibility of a question mark, but: what if this is about film credits and the LIFT / Malcolm Petal investigation?
“Jefferson Parish officials continues to work deal for Elmwood studio
Jefferson Parish officials continue to negotiate a contract with selected developer Soundstage One LLC to build a film studio in Elmwood. For more than a year, Parish President Aaron Broussard's administration has been trying to lock in a deal that would capture a slice of the film industry for Jefferson, but success has been measured. After one failed agreement, the parish selected Metairie-based Soundstage One in May to build a studio on the 2.3-acre lot adjacent to another film studio, the Nims Center Studios, on Distributor's Row in Elmwood Industrial Park in unincorporated Jefferson Parish. But the parish has yet to formulate a contract with Soundstage One, said *****Tim Whitmer , the parish's chief administrative officer. “We're in the process of negotiating the contract,” Whitmer said. “We've been in negotiations for some while, but it hasn't progressed too well.” The sticking point has been Soundstage One's ability to line up financing, Whitmer said. Soundstage One, which lists George Cella III and Oley Sassone as principals for the company, applied for the project through a parish request for proposals. Cella and Sassone could not be reached for comment. Jefferson Parish officials selected Murray and Associates of St. Charles Parish to design the studio, although officials are holding off on signing a contract with the firm until ratifying a final contract with Soundstage One – the next step, Whitmer said. In November 2007, parish council members voted to authorize a cooperative endeavor agreement with M.K International Inc., a global manufacturer of modular housing and construction materials as well as a trade-related company based in Seoul, South Korea. The parish rescinded its agreement in February after M.K International was slow to sign on for the project. Although the proposed studio will be adjacent to the Nims Center and will serve as a counterpart to the existing facility, the two facilities will not be affiliated. The Nims Center Studios is home to the Imagination Movers, the children's entertainment group who insisted its Disney Network program be produced at the Jefferson facility. Movies such as “Ray,” starring Jamie Foxx, “Déjà Vu,” with Denzel Washington and the soon-to-be-released “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” starring Brad Pitt, have used the Nims site. When a party steps up to close the deal for the new studio, it will include a clause that allows the parish to use the facility for an agreed amount of time each year at no cost for its own video and television productions. Jefferson Parish government has the backing of the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission in reaching out to make deals with the entertainment industry. JEDCO Executive Director Lucien Gunter said his organization has placed an increased emphasis on the burgeoning entertainment industry in 2008 because of its positive impact to businesses and the area's image.” -11.17.08 NO CityBusiness http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4200/is_2…
Not that this particular deal would have anything nefarious about it, no reason to think so, but it shows the process involved. That is, Tim Whitmer negotiating a movie studio deal on Distributors Row in Elmwood. And LIFT was at 668 Distributors Row, and there is Nims right there also…. Did Whitmer negotiate all that? And he was dealing in tax credits (of a different sort, yes) with the guy who got busted for dealing film tax credits?
For what it’s worth as a minor, wee fyi, Cella pops up here on the LA SOS:
“
Name
Type
City
Status
MURPHY, GAUTHIER & CELLA PROPERTIES
Partnership
KENNER
Active
Now: Why is a parish government negotiating movie studio lease deals? Why is a parish government doing its “own video and television productions”? JPAC / JPAC, same question: why is a parish government building a theatre?
Anyway, obviously the letter posted is about historic tax credits. Maybe those can be traded just like the film credits (and on that point Bryan Wagner and Praveen Kailas of Cajun Elevation and Chateau shopping center looking to host a new Kohl’s department store etc have been active in the Broadway South / Canal Street developments, so in terms of Nagin and Morial Jr. etc well that could be interesting…) so this letter shows at least that Whitmer was dealing with Brower. And the date of the letter is 2007 which is right in the ol’ film tax credit investigation time period.
So there’s a theory forya. Brought to you by the people at Google and various good government proponents like CFGG who worked so hard over the years to get it available online; this stuff is ALL on the internet guys. And that is why Margie is always right and the Council is always wrong. Always.
What does this mean ? !!!
The man needs tax shelters for the money he has extorted from Parish Officials, employees and contractors …
This low-life Coulon ass-licking POS was a busy little bureaucrat … at the office at 5 AM figuring out who he was going to shake down that day for insurance business …
Whitmer, while Budget Director for the Council, was crawling around for Hartwig Moss Ins. Company as Whitmer and Associates tapping any and everybody he could for business (similar to what Lee-Sheng’s husband does today) … and he continued to do the same while he was COO in Broussard’s Administration under the guise of Lagniappe and THT…
Flood insurance Cynthia? You got it … your assistant Henyoub and his father can vouch for me … Daryl Ward, yea buddy I can do it … of course Wilkinson’s relatives get a discount … Seizler, River Birch, Flemming, Burglass and all those other vendors with the Parish know what they need to do … and that includes Walter Baudier … hell we even got Ronnie Burke over at the DA's office and none other than President Broussard walking the streets for us …uh … I mean my wife Dawn … don't worry Hubbard's my partner … he gives us insurance, I get him contracts … fagetabouit … no problem … you rite … Coulon's the man …
And the list of conflicted parties goes on and on and on ..
Whitmer as I write is still making HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS from insurance premium residuals with these very same people and businesses …
So the time bomb question is PARISH PRESIDENT YOUNG:
When are you going to direct your Parish Attorney to file suit for recovery of ill gotten gains by Whitmer and Wilkinson by way of salary and retirement benefits ??? …
THE PRESCRIPTION CLOCK IS TOLLING !!!
CITIZEN'S ARRESTS!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WINDtlPXmmE&fe…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYIC0eZYEtI&fe…
So if you get mad enough to act and butt heads with the fascist pigs who control everything … what will you do ?
Jeopardize losing your IPhone … having your driver’s license taken away so you won’t be able to drive your super duper SUV to the mall or to the golf course … risk having your kids go to public schools ?
Wake up people … you are ‘consumer slaves’ … you don’t vote because you’ve excused yourself from that civic responsibility by rationalizing your vote won’t make a difference … a sort of self imposed marginalization …
Everything's honkey-dorey, there's a new toy in town to buy …
Yea that’s rite, piss on the graves of American Revolutionaries who literally sacrificed their life, forsake their families, and forfeited their economic livelihood so we could allow the likes of mini-me Roberts and Elton Largeass to be anointed to office without one single vote being cast …
Can I throw up now ?
Unfortunately, the detachment of the living dead of Jefferson Parish is a forlorn sign of a never ending amoral future grounded on greed … it’s all about the money !!!
Of course, that money being your tax money …
So I guess this means that Tim Whitmer owns or had some percentage of ownership in the property located at 622 Canal Street in New Orleans. It's amazing how a recreation maintenance worker who rose through the ranks to become the Parish's chief administrative officer can acquire such an expensive piece of real estate! I'm not against hard work and building wealth, but in his case, one can reasonably assume that there were other factors that helped.
At last count it was rumored the Whitmers owned ( at the very least) a house in Jefferson Parish, land in Folsom La and a condo in Orange Beach or somewhere on the Gulf Coast. Anyone who can verify any of this? Oh and a house in Diamondhead Ms.
he does own 5 acres in folsom and is getting a patricia core deal. Year: 2011
Name: WHITMER, TIMOTHY A ETUX
Mailing Address: 3809 LAKE WINNIPEG DR HARVEY, LA 70058
Assessment Number: 105-113-7182
Property Description: LOT 4 CHERRY HILL ESTATES CONT 5 ACS CB 1361 691 CB 1485 453 INST NO 1236643 INST NO 1568220
Exemption:
Estimated Parish Tax (Based on 2010 Millages): $22.84
Estimated City Tax (Based on 2010 Millages): $0.00
looks like the 5 acres are on the market for $95k. core strikes again. http://realestatecenter.bankofamerica.com/LA/Fols…
the development where whitmer owns the 5 acres in folsom, cherry hill estates, i believe was developed by the late johnny smith of smith enterprises (smith & core real estate, johnny smith truck and dragline). one other smith enterprises unit was costal waste. i cant find a record of that transfer.
the coastal waste/iesi/ johnny smith, waste management relationship goes back some time.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1992-11-07/news/…
Johnny Smith's widow sure does keep that waterfront estate off Hwy 90 in the Rigolets looking immaculate. Based on the appearance of the house alone, the money still must be pouring in, or there was just too much of it to ever spend.
RE: Smith/Coastal/IESI
These are some of the timeless posts that I have filed, not written, over the last 3 years…
READ AND ENJOY:
nolakat60 January 03, 2010 at 10:02AM
You hit the nail on the head! Chris Roberts is but a puppet of the Wards and the Heebees. He is their "Boy" on the inside. He, along with many others within Parish government, including that Parish Attorney, lead the charge on illegally ousting Waste Management from the landfill contract. The Feds need to look closly at his involvement as well as Mr. Whitmer's connection through Lagniappe Insurance. On a related note, there was an article that appeared in the Times-Picayune around the time that Jefferson Parish was awarding its garbage collection contract back in late 2008 or early 2009. In the article, it listed a host of councilmen and administrative staff that received gifts in the form of boar hunting expeditions in the Honey Island Swamp, paid for by the new garbage company, IESI/Coastal Waste. Chris Roberts was one of the councilmen who benefited from such a trip. Coastal Waste/IESI was bidding on the garbage collection contract at the time. I only wish I had saved the article because this is probably the tip of the ice berg. Something stinks here and it's not the garbage! Chris Roberts will parade behind a facade of controlling blight and fighting crime in his district. This is just a farce and distraction to make the public think that he is looking out for them. He is only looking out for himself; wake up. His district has gotten worse, not better. It is loosing it's economic base and people are moving out in droves. Younger people with good jobs are not moving in! This is poor leadership driving by a self serving political hack, nothing more.
bucktownjoe December 18, 2009 at 2:38PM
The deal that needs to be looked into is the IESI/COASTAL WASTE contract to pick up garbage in Jefferson Parish. IESI's G.M. orchestrated the deal by hiring Tim Coulan's son as a consultant to work with Time Whitmer. Elton Lagasse's aide , Barry Bordeon, is on IESI's payrolll. Ramelli Janitorial was given $168,000 a month as part of the deal to satisfy Tom Cappella, who is Bob D'Hemecort's cousin, Bob is partners with Ramelli. Ramelli also employees Louis Congemi's relative, Nicalosi.
Rich Rainey http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/08/coasta…
Several of the companies had connections to council members or their aides. Councilman Elton Lagasse's top aide, Barry Bordelon, for instance, has been on IESI's payroll as a consultant in northern Louisiana. And Gus Bordelon, who is not related to Lagasse's aide, hosted boar hunts in the spring for Roberts and Lagasse in the Honey Island Swamp in St. Tammany Parish.
Rich Rainey http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/04/new_qu…
Councilman Chris Roberts took umbrage at the suggestion that he was curtailing competition. He said well-established haulers provide a better guarantee that collection would not be interrupted by a hurricane, as happened after Katrina. Councilmen Elton Lagasse, Byron Lee and Tom Capella agreed.
"The concern that I have, Mr. Young, is based on some of the comments that may be perceived that some members of this council are not in favor of competitive price competition," Roberts said. "That's not necessarily the case."
I think the IESI contract is River Birch all over again … and mini-me is again at the center of this garbage … and he stinks like RICO !!!
why does whitmer own 5 acres in folsom that was previously owned by the head of coastal waste? weird.
So now you do you get it … Whitmer whose tongue is as wide as Lagasse’s ass, was crawling around JP Officials’ offices at 5 AM in the morning snaking out deals … insurance, contract kickbacks and whatever he could coil around …
Of course he owns a lot of property he bought from the ‘right’ politico mafioso people like himself …
These quotes are PRICELESS:
“Whitmer told legislative auditors that he had Bolotte cut the $5.6 million check for concrete revisions because Councilman Elton Lagasse asked for it. Lagasse told auditors he didn’t recall but that if Whitmer said it, it likely was true, according to the audit.”
(LAGASSE IS SOME REALLY STUPID … two synapses at most)
“ … the state legislative auditor describes how Finance Director Gwen Bolotte, without ever checking an invoice, cut a check for $5.6 million — doubling Youssef's figure — at Whitmer's request on June 24, 2009.”
(BOLOTTE, who Whitmer told to transfer Waste Management’s money to recreation so it would appear JP could not pay)
Jefferson Performing Arts Center job riddled with errors, legislative auditor says
Published: Friday, October 14, 2011, 7:28 PM Updated: Friday, October 14, 2011, 7:37 PM
By Richard Rainey, The Times-Picayune http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/10/je…
Listen up … the next MFer that I ever hear talk about Whitmer’s 5 AM ‘work ethic’ … well … it ain’t going to pretty …
And I hope that not only Whitmer’s attorneys take notice, but those attorneys representing AMV, Waste Management, and Concrete Busters, that Whitmer’s $172,000 Dollar a YEAR RETIREMENT can be seized for garnishment upon obtaining a Judgment for criminal/malfeasance acts he committed as a Public Employee of Jefferson Parish. And that holds true for Broussard and Wilkinson too ! Yea, Civil RICO is a good thing … And with Criminal RICO, the Government could seize it all NOW !
Continuing on with the JPPAC saga:
“The Broussard administration had no central database or a single individual responsible for reviewing invoices and supporting documents. Records were passed through a Byzantine chain of departments, including Capital Projects, Engineering and Finance before some eventually ended up with the Parks and Recreation Department, according to the audit.” http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/10/je…
So now we know one of the reasons why Whitmer had Broussard eliminate the Internal Auditor position … easy way to put a cool $2,800,000 MILLION in your pockets … Whitmer was 5 o’clock slick, slick, slick SNAKE …
And there are other reasons too …
There was the check Whitmer had Broussard and Nancy Cassange sign to pay Hubbard $15,000,000 MILLION from August 31th, 2005, the day after Katrina hit, thru October 31th, within 60 days … no receipts and/or documentation … by the end of February 2010, Hubbard had received nearly $30,000,000 MILLION DOLLARS … again checks signed by Broussard and Cassange at Whitmer’s direction …
It was also during this post-Katrina period that Whitmer and Wilkinson were helping themselves to outrageous raises to insure hefty retirement benefits …
Whitmer and Wilkinson should go to the guillotine holding hands !!!
Well…. This is a mere theory, a wee postulation, perhaps just a idea of a possibility of a question mark, but: what if this is about film credits and the LIFT / Malcolm Petal investigation?
George Brower II & Tax Credit Capital LLC:
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/la-supreme-court/15213… http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/film_e… http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/former…
“Jefferson Parish officials continues to work deal for Elmwood studio
Jefferson Parish officials continue to negotiate a contract with selected developer Soundstage One LLC to build a film studio in Elmwood. For more than a year, Parish President Aaron Broussard's administration has been trying to lock in a deal that would capture a slice of the film industry for Jefferson, but success has been measured. After one failed agreement, the parish selected Metairie-based Soundstage One in May to build a studio on the 2.3-acre lot adjacent to another film studio, the Nims Center Studios, on Distributor's Row in Elmwood Industrial Park in unincorporated Jefferson Parish. But the parish has yet to formulate a contract with Soundstage One, said *****Tim Whitmer , the parish's chief administrative officer. “We're in the process of negotiating the contract,” Whitmer said. “We've been in negotiations for some while, but it hasn't progressed too well.” The sticking point has been Soundstage One's ability to line up financing, Whitmer said. Soundstage One, which lists George Cella III and Oley Sassone as principals for the company, applied for the project through a parish request for proposals. Cella and Sassone could not be reached for comment. Jefferson Parish officials selected Murray and Associates of St. Charles Parish to design the studio, although officials are holding off on signing a contract with the firm until ratifying a final contract with Soundstage One – the next step, Whitmer said. In November 2007, parish council members voted to authorize a cooperative endeavor agreement with M.K International Inc., a global manufacturer of modular housing and construction materials as well as a trade-related company based in Seoul, South Korea. The parish rescinded its agreement in February after M.K International was slow to sign on for the project. Although the proposed studio will be adjacent to the Nims Center and will serve as a counterpart to the existing facility, the two facilities will not be affiliated. The Nims Center Studios is home to the Imagination Movers, the children's entertainment group who insisted its Disney Network program be produced at the Jefferson facility. Movies such as “Ray,” starring Jamie Foxx, “Déjà Vu,” with Denzel Washington and the soon-to-be-released “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” starring Brad Pitt, have used the Nims site. When a party steps up to close the deal for the new studio, it will include a clause that allows the parish to use the facility for an agreed amount of time each year at no cost for its own video and television productions. Jefferson Parish government has the backing of the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission in reaching out to make deals with the entertainment industry. JEDCO Executive Director Lucien Gunter said his organization has placed an increased emphasis on the burgeoning entertainment industry in 2008 because of its positive impact to businesses and the area's image.” -11.17.08 NO CityBusiness
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4200/is_2…
Not that this particular deal would have anything nefarious about it, no reason to think so, but it shows the process involved. That is, Tim Whitmer negotiating a movie studio deal on Distributors Row in Elmwood. And LIFT was at 668 Distributors Row, and there is Nims right there also…. Did Whitmer negotiate all that? And he was dealing in tax credits (of a different sort, yes) with the guy who got busted for dealing film tax credits?
For what it’s worth as a minor, wee fyi, Cella pops up here on the LA SOS:
“
Name
Type
City
Status
MURPHY, GAUTHIER & CELLA PROPERTIES
Partnership
KENNER
Active
Business:
MURPHY, GAUTHIER & CELLA PROPERTIES
Charter Number:
08103660 J
Registration Date:
2/19/1981
Domicile Address
3213 FLORIDA AVE.
KENNER, LA 70062
Mailing Address
3213 FLORIDA AVE.
KENNER, LA 70062
Status
Status:
Active
Registered:
2/19/1981
Last Report Filed:
N/A
Type:
Partnership
Officer(s)
Additional Officers: No
Officer:
ROBERT M. MURPHY
Title:
Partner
Address 1:
3213 FLORIDA AVE.
City, State, Zip:
KENNER, LA 70062
Officer:
WENDELL H. GAUTHIER
Title:
Partner
Address 1:
3213 FLORIDA AVE.
City, State, Zip:
KENNER, LA 70062
Officer:
GEORGE A. CELLA,III
Title:
Partner
Address 1:
28 MESA
City, State, Zip:
KENNER, LA, LA
Amendments on File
No Amendments on file
”
Guess who Oley Sassone and George Cella are related to and how?
http://stei-23818.tributes.com/obituary/print/877…
Now: Why is a parish government negotiating movie studio lease deals? Why is a parish government doing its “own video and television productions”? JPAC / JPAC, same question: why is a parish government building a theatre?
Anyway, obviously the letter posted is about historic tax credits. Maybe those can be traded just like the film credits (and on that point Bryan Wagner and Praveen Kailas of Cajun Elevation and Chateau shopping center looking to host a new Kohl’s department store etc have been active in the Broadway South / Canal Street developments, so in terms of Nagin and Morial Jr. etc well that could be interesting…) so this letter shows at least that Whitmer was dealing with Brower. And the date of the letter is 2007 which is right in the ol’ film tax credit investigation time period.
So there’s a theory forya. Brought to you by the people at Google and various good government proponents like CFGG who worked so hard over the years to get it available online; this stuff is ALL on the internet guys. And that is why Margie is always right and the Council is always wrong. Always.