Friday, February 09, 2007

Breaking News from the Snake Pit: How White Collar Criminals commit crimes under the guise of crime prevention

Our old buddy Mark Kurt, N.O. CIO, is apparently tyring to pull a fast one in the wake of our recent crime dilema. While everyone is pissed and demanding answers, you may have noticed one answer Nagin's administration is providing is to increase the number of crime cameras around town. Our local media has been lauding their success rate as well.

Sounds like a great idea right? (holy shit....right in the middle of this sentence Marlon Defillo just walked into the coffee shop I'm in...freaky deaky.)

Hold the applause folks.

The company who originally got this multi-million dollar contract as an RFP was a local company called Active Solutions. They designed and delivered the entire package for the city from scratch. They know the system inside and out and all the technical issues surrounding it, and by most accounts they delivered and delivered well.

The system works....it's producing arrests...great!

Nagin and Kurt advocate expanding the camera system under a new contract. So we put the contract up for RFP and let Active Solutions put in a bid along with any other companies who think they can do the job right???

WRONG beeoottchh!!!

I'll give you two guesses what Nagin did and the first one doesn't count. That's right...he issued another emergency procurement for the contract....after all guys, the whole crime thing is suddenly a pressing emergency right??? It's not like we haven't been living with it for goddam ever....oooohhhh now it's an emergency....oooohhhh the city marched down and told us it's an emergency..... ooohhhh let's issue a contract to someone....like say....us.

So under the procurement you'd think that Active Solutions would get the bid, huh? I mean they know the system inside and out considering they built the frukkin' thing. (Ashley...you dig frukkin? I like it...it rolls of the tongue.)

I'll give you two guesses who is getting the contract and the first one doesn't count. NETMETHODS.... yeah you right. Our good buddy Mark St. Pierre's company or Imagine V.2. Have they ever installed a system like this? Of course not. Does that matter? Of course not. Does it matter that Kurt was a former employee of Imagine? Of course not. Do you think Meffert will sit idly by and not figure out a way to get his greasy paws in on this? Of course not.

Now how can Meffert possibly get in on this without a legal breach? I would bet through Imagine V.4....Intelliport...a new company recently started by former Imagine/Netmethods employee Scott Domke. My guess is NetMethods will subcontract Intelliport who will employee Meffert. Just a guess.

So here's Nagin's answer to our crime problem...."I'll use the fervor to issue a no-bid contract to my good buddies and call it progress. Everyone will think I'm a genius."

I say we march on that fucker again and demand his arrest along with Meffert, Kurt, Domke, and St. Pierre.

Nagin and Meffert's bullshit already cost us a multi-million dollar grant from the DOJ which would have given us a storm-proof communication system before the storm. He tried to force 2nd party companies to run the contract through Imagine. The companies reported the shennanigans to the DOJ and they yanked the grant back. Ironically enough....he just got an award for his efforts to set up an ad-hoc wifi network during the hurricane.

I think they should both be charged with negligent homicide.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ooooooh darlin'! Good piece.

This a good example of why we need "Transparancy" in city guv'mit, and it seems the only way to aquire that is through the Bloggers. Keep it up.

Trackback from mine soon.

Anonymous said...

God almighty, I wish I could think for a moment that this was satire a la Jon Swift. It's really unfortunate that I cannot. It would make my life immeasurably easier.

Anonymous said...

Great post. D. I hope the MSM picks up on this one too.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like sour grapes to me...check the City of New Orleans website...looks like the City is bidding the contract.

Hmmm, I wonder why. Probably because the current vendor isn't doing the job. Or perhaps they are ripping the City a new asshole with their prices (remember, technology gets cheaper as time goes by). I suspect both.

Looks like whomever gets the lowest bid will win. Is it just me or isn't this good for the City?????

bayoustjohndavid said...

Did this happen in January as the ABC26 story implied? If so, the state of emergency was over. The mayor would still have a lot of latitude under the city charter by labeling it a professional service contract, because the mayor can award professional service contracts without the normal bidding process. But I believe that the city council could at least refuse to fund it. If the council doesn't ask some serious questions, we'll have to conclude that none of its members are entirely serious.

BTW, the mayor promised to reform the process for awarding professional services when he first an five years ago. The reforms he proposed when elected were weaker than he agreed to in the primary, he did back away from the specifics of that pledge in the runoff but promised reform. Now, five years later, he still hasn't even implemented the watered-down reforms he announced five years ago.

Anonymous said...

Dambala,

Wrong again.

I live uptown, and I have seen some of the cameras with Active Solution sitckers on them. They haven't worked for months now. As a matter of fact, I haven't seen them work since this summer.

This concerns me, becuase I think cameras are a great deterrent. So, I talked to a second district police officer and they say, the vendor, Active Solution, has been having all kinds of problems making the cameras work.

I would have to agree with what the city is doing. Obviuosly the current vendor, Active Solution, aint getting it done in my neighborhood. Have they been paid? I don't know, and don't care, but what I do know is there are others out there who can take care of business where Active Solution has failed and a bid is the best way to find them.

LAW70 said...

This is totally making me sick. What the HELL is going on in Nola? I thought Big D was bad. Has ANYONE spoke before the Mayor and City Council about this? You do have a voice ya know and if City Hall does not want to hear it then take it to the media. I can understand getting new cameras and what it is going to do to the crime rate in Nola, but WHY in the HELL would you NOT get numerous bids from companies who know this technology from the back of their heads? Not only this but Nola needs to consider hiring more police to do the foot work. You cannot always depend on cameras. There needs to be a physical presence. I have suggestions/ideas and I just may put it in the form of a proposal. These people need to get a clue. Do they think we are stupid or something? Go figure!

Jason Brad Berry said...

Anon #2,

I have spoken with 2 separate police officers who said the camera system does work and has produced arrests.

So we have conflicting reports on it's functionality and Active Solutions performance.

The bid is another story and curious. I was previously told the contract was not being put out for bid and was being issued under an emergency procurement...I believe this was the initial intention of the administration. Now it appears it is being put up for bid.

Regardless....if Netmethods is even allowed to bid on the contract I have an issue with it. These guys are kicking contracts back to themselves and/or shaking down 2nd party contractors forcing them to subcontract their companies.

I don't care if Active Solutions gets the contract or doesn't...but if NetMethods or Intelliport gets the contract...I cry bullshit.

Anonymous said...

To Dambala,


Did you speak to them since last summer? Becuase I spoke to an officer last week and they told me it was still down. If your source is correct, then GREAT!!!!! I have working cameras in my neighborhood, but if not, why are they telling you its up? Maybe you need to do an investigation into the validity of the stories.

Jason Brad Berry said...

I spoke to one of them two weeks ago.

It may be down in your neighborhood, but it's not down over the entire city...it produced arrests last week.

Maybe you should learn to qualify your comments.

Also if you have an antithetical opinion of the story....write it and I will post it right below this original post.

This is a blog...it is a resource for open discussion. So specify which neighborhood you're in and I will post your commentary. In other words, qualify your comment...are you claiming that you know the system is down across the city or you saying it is just down in you neighborhood?

LAW70 said...

Hey Ray aka Anonymous! Nice of you to join us today, now get to work and stay out of Washington DC!

Sorry about that Dambala (I could not resist).

Anonymous said...

I live on Carrondolet near 1st st, and I'm staring at a dead camera now.

Anonymous said...

I like frukkin. Sounds kinda 70ish, so Adrastos will like it too.

How can we get Nagin sued over this (and the constant this that this is)? Do we need to get some good evidence ourselves and go to the State Attorney's office? Maybe Jordan would take it on? Maybe the feds?

Jason Brad Berry said...

dude...can you read?

Jason Brad Berry said...

Ashley,

I think the best way to go after Nagin at this point is AFO investments. I still can't believe the TP has not at least questioned him on this.

But without saying too much about information I recently got but can't confirm...take heart, I think there's a reckoning on the horizon..and not from Jordan so I'll leave it to you to fill in the blanks.

Also take heart over the fact that this contract was forced to RFP. From what I've heard Stacy Head was actually on her game and sniffed the rats out in a city council meeting. She apparantley busted Kurt's balls as he was standing in front of them explaining the contract.

Now that's not going to stop Kurt from going ahead and awarding the contract to NetMethods, but at least now we know have somebody on the City Council paying attention.

A side note: One of my friend's friends said she was in a hotel bar in Washington, D.C. and recently saw Nagin and Jordan at the bar (i quote) "Yucking it up together."

Anonymous said...

I have someone working on the AFO B/S. I've connected four LLCs to this, and There may be two more to add to that list. (Been way too sick lately to keep at it.)

More to come.

Anonymous said...

I guess I can't...;)

BTW, I rode down Claiborne today and saw another down camera. Looked like it had a cover over it.

I am still perplexed why you would not want this to go out for bid? Wouldn't it bring more competition into the arena? Wouldn't it allow the city to get the best product at a good price? Isn't that the intention of a bid? Have you talked to anyone with the City at all, to ascertain their intentions with the bid?

Maybe we should learn to look at all sides before opinions are formed on a subject.

Jason Brad Berry said...

Anon,

i give up man. You are either in your own world or you really can't read.

I do want the contract to go out for bid. That's the whole fucking point of the post....that they intended to dole it out to themselves without a bid.

But for good measure...let's get it straight...you've seen two cameras down so far, right?

Do you think I'm going to bat for Active Solutions? I don't give a shit about Active Solutions...if they're doing a shitty job then they shold be canned, I have no problem with that.

I do have a problem with:

1. The contract not being bid.

2. NetMethods getting any contract from the city as it is clearly a conflict of interest for Kurt to hand out anything to them.

By my accounts I had not heard that AS had done a a bad job. If your saying that....then go ahead man...give us the dirty. I told you I will post it right below the original post or even post it as a new one.

If you're here to wax the ethos of journalism, save it...It's a frikkin' blog. I don't have time to go down to city hall and play reporter.

If you are privy to information then tell us what you know and participate in the conversation. Or better yet...start your own blog and send me the link, I will put it up and promote it among my fellow bloggers.

Fair enough?

Jason Brad Berry said...

G-Girl,

Sorry to hear your sick....hope you get better.

4 LLC's?? I know AFO owns Table One, Byblos, and soon to be Camellia Grill. I'd love to find out what you've found out.

I talked to someone who is in the real estate business and it's apparently no secret AFO is in the market and who the owners are.

keep at it and let me know when you post what you've found out.

take care of yourself.