Tag: Tim Coulon

That Eau de Landfill smell gives me the Heebe-Jeebies: Slabbed looks back at Baby Bushie as we tie a few things together.

Billy Tauzin

People are plain mad at the political class these days, after all who isn’t mad after being snookered by self-serving double-dealing politicians such as Chris Dodd, Max Baucus, David Vitter or Dick Shelby all of whom recommend people for important government positions such as US Attorney. With the election of Barack Obama in 2008 we found out here in Mississippi that the duty of recommending people for such jobs then falls to the House members when both senators are in the party out of power.

Back in the year 2000 the kingmaker in Louisiana was Billy Tauzin, at least for the southern part of the state. For now, lets circle that fact as Slabbed explores why a succession of US Attorneys failed to clean up the systemic corruption in New Orleans for years ending with the now disgraced Eddie Jordan. Jim Letten on the other hand has enjoyed far more success, so much so that the Republican Letten has stayed on to serve the Democrat Obama due to the popular outcry in favor of keeping him on. People everywhere yearn for clean and above-board government and Jim Letten has delivered it. But as a reader reminded us, it was almost business as usual back in the day. A Baton Rouge Advocate story from February 3, 2002 as memorialized by the National Organization for Women fills in the gap:

Acknowledging there is a previously undisclosed allegation of abuse, a Louisiana Republican congressman said Saturday the FBI has completed an expanded investigation of the U.S. Attorney-designee of Fred Heebe of New Orleans and cleared Heebe of all allegations that he abused three women.

“It’s a clean slate,” said U.S. Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-Chackbay. In addition to re-investigating the allegations made by an ex-wife and a former girlfriend of Heebe’s, the FBI “investigated this so-called third woman and has filed a report back to the White House,” Tauzin said. Continue reading “That Eau de Landfill smell gives me the Heebe-Jeebies: Slabbed looks back at Baby Bushie as we tie a few things together.”

Jefferson Parish Corruption the way Daddy still does it. Dumpster dived Jimmy Lawson and the ‘Heebe’-Jeebies. A look back at Steimle & Associates v Camp Dresser McKee.

Anyone keeping up with the recent commentary on the unfolding Jeferson Parish Political Corruption Scandal understands exactly how far reaching the systemic corruption extends. We’re holding lots of information for publication including some very early information we received from a concerned citizen on the way things were done in Jefferson Parish circa the late 1980’s and it is there we begin with the case of Steimle & Associates v Camp Dresser, a racketeering suit so old it does not appear on PACER. The case involved allegations of corruption involving then Jefferson Parish council member Jimmy Lawson. This bit of background comes courtesy of West Law which does have the related cases in their database. This is from US District Court Judge Patrick Carr’s opinion dated October 6, 1996 as the case was dismissed on a technicality:

Because the issue is when plaintiff knew certain facts, the background of this matter is set out in some detail. Plaintiff and defendant are both environmental engineering concerns involved in local government construction contracts regarding waste disposal. Prior to the late 1980s, plaintiff was a subcontractor for defendant on several jobs. The relationship between the parties deteriorated and they became rivals. Plaintiff hired an investigatory firm which went through the trash of defendant, gleaning defendant’s internal documents. A local newspaper published stories about defendant and its methods of obtaining contracts, apparently based on those documents.

It seems as though Steve Steimle had a PI digging dirt on the competition and he hit gold rummaging via ye old dumpster dive. Implicated for receiving gifts was Jimmy Lawson. As Judge Carr pointed out all this hit the media as we continue:  Continue reading “Jefferson Parish Corruption the way Daddy still does it. Dumpster dived Jimmy Lawson and the ‘Heebe’-Jeebies. A look back at Steimle & Associates v Camp Dresser McKee.”

Slabbed updates the Jefferson Parish front: Redflex reveals more under the table payments. Wilkinson “Broke the Parish’s law”

I’m reworking the post that was scheduled for publication yesterday in response to some new information so while the Slabbed nation waits we have a pair of stories from Fox 8 that directly touch on topics we’ve blogged on: The red light contract and Parish Attorney Tom Wilkerson’s double-dealing. Let’s start with Redflex:

Jefferson Parish President Steve Theriot says he’s started getting answers about the red light camera program.

In particular, he’s focused on the names of all subcontractors who will make money off the deal.

Theriot asked Redflex Traffic Systems two weeks ago for information on who would get money from the contract.

He finally got that information today.

Already mentioned was local insurance agent Bryan Wagner and Julie Murphy, who is the wife of Jefferson Parish judge Bob Murphy. Continue reading “Slabbed updates the Jefferson Parish front: Redflex reveals more under the table payments. Wilkinson “Broke the Parish’s law””

It all began with a dime drop to Raphael. Slabbed takes a look back at the unfolding Jefferson Parish political corruption investigation

As I compiled my notes for this post and along the lines of my affinity for applied mathematics I was reminded of the Butterfly effect, a concept based in Chaos theory which underpins several of the concepts expressed by Nassim Taleb in his two books.  I have alluded to the fact that we had an idea as to the origins of the current investigation into Aaron Broussard and I threw Bill Hubbard in the mix as one of the candidates in my post, Let’s talk Prisoner’s Dilemma which included a reader poll asking which rat our readers thought was squealing to Jim Letten:

For reasons I will not go into at this point (as such is another post), I’ll add a player that has not been connected to the ongoing investigation that I think is connected in former St. John the Baptist Parish President Bill Hubbard. So the question is simple, assuming the feds have the goods on Tim Whitmer, Tim Coulon and Aaron Broussard and knowing they have Bill Hubbard by the balls who, if anyone, is squealing to save their own skin?

Looking back I should have included combo answers as another member of the gang is talking to Jim Letten IMHO but my vote, for Bill Hubbard, was reflective of the fact that he squealed first and that is the fundamental concept behind Prison’s Dilemma. Today we’ll explore the basis for that opinion as I reveal the court case that we think lead to Raphael and the Metropolitan Crime Commission getting that tip. Lets start with the editorial from today’s Times Picayune that finally convinced me it was time to tackle this subject:

But corruption, like tango, often takes two. For every official who takes a bribe, there’s someone willing to pay it. Those private citizens and contractors who abet corruption are as much of a cancer as the officials themselves.

So it’s good to see federal prosecutors targeting an alleged accomplice of former St. John the Baptist President Bill Hubbard, who resigned in September when he admitted to soliciting and receiving a combined $20,000 in bribes from parish contractors.

Prosecutors said one of those contractors was Ray Davezac, owner of Davezac Consulting Engineers, who allegedly paid a $5,000 bribe to Mr. Hubbard. Mr. Davezac’s firm earned thousands of dollars in parish work granted during the Hubbard administration, and the parish appropriately has canceled those contracts.

Mr. Davezac last week told a magistrate judge that he is innocent of the bribery charge and a trial has been set for April. Continue reading “It all began with a dime drop to Raphael. Slabbed takes a look back at the unfolding Jefferson Parish political corruption investigation”

Let’s talk Prisoner’s Dilemma and the unfolding Jefferson Parish Political Corruption Scandal: Who is Squealing and Dealing (Poll)

Those of our readers have been with us since the Dickie Scruggs prosecution will no doubt remember one of the worst of the bunch, former Hinds County DA turned Grand Isle resident Ed Peters immediately ran to the feds after the scandal broke and sang like a canary. He even gave up his long time friend and protégé, former Judge Bobby DeLaughter who now resides in the Greybar Hotel courtesy of good ol’ Ed. The MO of criminals squealing on each other to get off the hook is time honored and is actually explained by Game Theory in the concept of Prisoner’s Dilemma which we’ll explore courtesy of Wiki:

In its classical form, the prisoner’s dilemma (“PD”) is presented as follows:

Two suspects are arrested by the police. The police have insufficient evidence for a conviction, and, having separated both prisoners, visit each of them to offer the same deal. If one testifies (defects from the other) for the prosecution against the other and the other remains silent (cooperates with the other), the betrayer goes free and the silent accomplice receives the full 10-year sentence. If both remain silent, both prisoners are sentenced to only six months in jail for a minor charge. If each betrays the other, each receives a five-year sentence. Each prisoner must choose to betray the other or to remain silent. Each one is assured that the other would not know about the betrayal before the end of the investigation. How should the prisoners act? Continue reading “Let’s talk Prisoner’s Dilemma and the unfolding Jefferson Parish Political Corruption Scandal: Who is Squealing and Dealing (Poll)”

How about some Friday morning Jefferson Parish political corruption

This is our Friday morning twofer in the target rich environment that is Jefferson Parish political corruption scandal. First up lets backtrack to December to highlight what has become the current MO of the rats on top of the public purse scattering like cockroaches when the light is shine upon them, in this case former Parish President Tim Coulon:

Tim Coulon, the former Jefferson Parish president now caught up in an insurance scandal, has resigned his seat on the Superdome Commission, Gov. Bobby Jindal’s office said.

“It is with deep regret that I tender my resignation in order to focus on other challenges I face,” Coulon wrote in a letter to Luke Letlow, the governor’s assistant on intergovernmental affairs.

Of course we now know the feds are looking at the Superdome Commission per our profile of Mr Coulon’s first employment stop after leaving office at the lobbying arm of the large law firm Adams and Reese. Evidently it didn’t take very long for the firm to understand they had a dog in Coulon who since moved on to the friendlier waters of the Jefferson Business Council as its executive director. It is from that position that he took a leave of absence yesterday as Times Picayune reporter Richard Rainey reports:

Amid a broadening political scandal in Jefferson Parish, former Parish President Tim Coulon took a temporary leave of absence Wednesday from his job as executive director of the Jefferson Business Council, Chairman Ric Smith said today. Continue reading “How about some Friday morning Jefferson Parish political corruption”

Slabbed goes behind the ‘green door’ and takes a peek at the Jefferson Parish corruption hive: Adams & Reese welcome back to Slabbed

I was actually tickled that a commenter mentioned former Mississippi Insurance Commissioner George Dale yesterday on my profile of Lafayette Insurance Company as it loosely fits with other information that has come to light in the unfolding Jefferson Parish corruption scandal. The intersection of course is the lobbying arm of law firm Adams and Reese which has a penchant for hiring crooked former pols to lobby for their big business clients. As the title implies we’ve blogged a good bit on Adams and Reese through time, especially the saga of former A&R partner Jamie Perdigao who is now in prison serving time for embezzling almost $30MM from his partners there without being caught for years. Our archival posts on this topic can be found generally here with some notable posts here, here and here. 

The web of relationships that fostered the cesspool that is Jefferson Parish government cuts across the legal profession, as everyone will eventually learn as some of the best lawyers both trial and corporate form the rats nest on top of the Parish treasury. This post focuses on our old friends at A&R as one of their lobbyist, former Jefferson Parish President Tim Coulon, has repeatedly surfaced in connection with the doubling dealing that centered around former Parish CAO Tim Whitmer and his insurance brokerage Lagniappe Industries. We’ll let Paul Murphy at WWL kick start things: 

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Federal investigators are now reviewing subpoenaed documents from the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, also known as the Superdome Commission.

They requested LSED contracts and insurance agreements from 2004 to 2008. That’s during a time when former Jefferson Parish President Tim Coulon served as chairman of the board and was on the payroll at Lagniappe Industries, owned by former parish Chief Administrative Officer Tim Whitmer.  Continue reading “Slabbed goes behind the ‘green door’ and takes a peek at the Jefferson Parish corruption hive: Adams & Reese welcome back to Slabbed”

Let’s make a deal: Monte I pick the green door!

Nowdy I think Stephanie Grace at the Times Picayune has helped me pick an overall title theme for my posts on the corruption scandal in Jefferson Parish. Her column today is very good. Here is a snippet:

Are there any Jefferson Parish employees who go to work every day, do their job and live on their income?

Actually, that’s a rhetorical question. I’m sure plenty of public sector workers do.

Boy, they must really feel like chumps these days.

I wonder how many of them knew before the Tim Whitmer investigation broke open that they were surrounded by moonlighters, people who collect a government paycheck and also have something going on the side.

Whitmer, until recently, was Moonlighter-in-Chief.

The Times Picayune on Perdigao v Adams & Reese (Updated)

The tale told by James Perdigao in his racketeering complaint against Adams and Reese is simply amazing.  It contains all the elements of a first class political-legal scandal that will make Mississippi’s own Judicial Bribery case look like child’s play. We will update our Perdigao legal page later today with more filings on the criminal side of this case but first we bring you today’s inevitable T-P story on the civil RICO filing. I say inevitable because our post, inspired by a tip from slabbed’s friend Richard Trahant, spread like wildfire in the Louisiana based blogesphere.  We welcome all our of our Louisiana friends here, especially those slabbed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Besides Katrina our states share Mr Perdigao’s former employer Adams and Reese. More on that and detail on the connections to Worldcom later. First today’s report by Gorden Russell.

In a sensational legal filing, a former partner at Adams and Reese who is awaiting trial on charges that he stole $30 million from the firm claims that the firm has had a hand in scandals ranging from the WorldCom stock fraud to the abuse of Louisiana film tax credits.

The lawsuit also claims the New Orleans firm has made a practice of hiring former public officials, including former Jefferson Parish President Tim Coulon and former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial, and improperly using them to land clients with whom they had dealt as public officials. Coulon and Morial deny the claim. Continue reading “The Times Picayune on Perdigao v Adams & Reese (Updated)”