Complete bullshit

I just went back through the interoperability RFP. The only cameras involved or needed were cheap $150 webcams which were to be used at the command stations. The bid did not require exterior pole mounted cameras for the interoperability system. Muppet lied on the stand.



Plaintiff's attorneys may want to check out the name below and call her to the stand in regards to the interoperability grant. They should ask her whether or not Meffert was speaking with Kim Fury Jennings about anything to do with cameras specifically regarding the interoperability grant:


Rebecca Grenn Queen
City of New Orleans
1515 Poydras Street, Suite 1150
New Orleans, LA 70112
Phone: (504) 304-8306
Fax: (504) 565-8074

methinks, not

Plaintiffs in crime-camera trial seek to have insider counter Greg Meffert's testimony

On Tuesday, Meffert had looked at the same e-mail and contended Fury was talking about a different project involving cameras, a multi-parish interoperability proposal. He said it wouldn't have made any sense for him to work against the bid process because, if he had wanted to give the work to Dell, he could have simply done that.

The interoperability bid included cameras? Really? Or did he mean antennas? I have to go back and look at the interoperability bid and see if cameras were even listed as a requirement. I can't believe they would be as then it would be redundant to have multiple camera systems in place across multiple parishes. Even if that statement holds water, why would he be bidding out two contracts that provided the same service? Did he expect to have cameras on top of cameras?

Now keep in mind he was simultaneously pulling the same bullshit with the interoperability contract that he was with the crime cameras. Grant Holcomb's solution ran on Apple hardware while Meffert was trying to push the contract to Dell. I actually summarized the IO grant story here:

American Zombie: Flashback to the Interoperability Grant

The Purveyor of Pummel

The King of the Kingpin during Saint's games is identified:

Big Daddy

thanks anon.

Does Les have a permanent blog on the Saints?

Duh, yeah....it would help if I hit the view blog button:

Big Daddy Blog

I hereby declare

The Yellow Blog as the ORIGINAL Reggie Bush basher:

This looks like the earliest blatant complaint about him as a Saint (10/2/06) - Jeffrey

And just for the record...I ain't hatin' on Reg. I think we pay him too much, but I ain't hatin'.

The Llc. shuffle exposed

Greg Meffert takes the stand in civil crime-camera trial

Bonnecarre gave what could prove to be crucial testimony when she said that NetMethods paid for a shipment by another St. Pierre firm to Dell on behalf of the New Orleans Police Department. The defense has always maintained that NetMethods could legitimately pay for Meffert and Mayor Ray Nagin to take various trips because it wasn't doing any business with the city and was completely separate from St. Pierre's other firm, Veracent, which did have the city account.

Oops. You screwed that one up guys.

They were throwing up Llc.'s in order to shield themselves from the appearance of inside dealing and kickbacks, but they apparently screwed the pooch on that one. Veracent was set up essentially as a billing shell company to shield/separate/hide their other companies from city contracts. Not that the multiple Llc. scheme would hold up in criminal court anyway, but in the civil case it may have had legs. Doesn't look like that anymore.

Remember, during Meffert's deposition, Glad Jones called the multiple company shield strategy (I just made that up, MCSS....like it?) out and told Randy Smith, "I know that's your defense strategy....good luck with that."

Apparently they didn't even get that strategy right and billed Dell through Netmethods instead of Veracent. Doh. They didn't even stick to their own plan...silly rabbits. That's going to make things all the more easier to enforce RICO in the criminal case. Things are definitely not looking good for Muppet and St. Pierre...but now I would say things are looking increasingly bad for the mayor.

Just my view from afar...wish it was up close. I would love to be in that courtroom blogging the whole thing.

Class Action? Anyone?

Beaumont, Texas, files suit alleging overbilling against Entergy

On a day when the humidity drops...

Humid Beings comes out of Beta...in about an hour that is.

It's funny cause I was just about to write a rather lengthy post on Iran per Reza Aslan's persepective but the site will showcase Aslan's speech he gave about Iran while he was here for the Faulkner society event. It's broken up into 5 segments (video) but its worth every second you spend on it if you really want to understand the dynamics of the Iranian political climate.

There is so much misinformation and misunderstanding in regards to Iran and their role in the Middle East and the world stage, this video segment will go a long way to providing a better understanding of what is really going on in the country.

After his presentation, I interviewed him about his connections to New Orleans (he has a house in the FQ)....he's a true Nawlin's fan.

Check it out...and congratulations to HB for getting the plane off the ground.

My favorite moments of yesterday's game

I went to the illustrious Kingpin yesterday to watch the game, where the patron's are always outspoken, even on the commercials.

My favorite moments:

1. When they showed footage of Katrina, the entire bar erupted in boo's and hisses....even more so than the poor officiating the Saints suffered in the first half.

2. Every time Reggie Bush would run back and forth and go nowhere, there was a cacophony of utter disdain. I think Dirty Coast is gonna have to take the "Bush we can all agree on" shirt out of production. Bush hating is now becoming a thing. When Bush did perform, the crowd was conspicuously quiet.

3. Every time the Saints score the bar plays Maxine Gayle's "Get right back to where we started from" at full blast. Don't ask why, but it totally works. Even the big, burly guys are all clapping in sync.

4. Driving home and remembering that I have a case of Abita riding on the Saint's to win 2 out of 3 games including yesterday's game, the Jets, and the Giants. I'm one game up with one to go. I'm pretty sure we're going to beat the Jets...damn....that's what happens when you bet against your own team. As I pointed out before...Pete Rose didn't even bet against his own team...what kind of fan does something like that?

That's what you get for doin' smack in Vegas

Lost Vegas

Please don't start a health care debate in the comment section....I can't take it anymore. My public option is to ignore the public who seems to be ignoring the reality that they don't really have an option. I leave it at that.

Can you imagine going to sleep and waking up in a torrent of flood water? Oh yeah...wait a minute, of course we can.

Adios

It appears Mr. Hubbard has spun his final web...word has it he has resigned his post as Parish President.

ZoomZoomZoom!

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten's office to discuss 'major enforcement operation' today

Let's call this one Mr. Hubbard

So Clay has valiantly limped out in his front yard, broken ankle and all, and provided us with a beautiful shot of Mr. Hubbard:

Looks like he's got himself a cricket or maybe even a circada. Its hard to see the actual web, but trust me, it's flucktacular. Its huge and extends probably 5 to 7 feet at it's breadth.

I blew the pic up and altered the levels to get a better picture of him:

That's his actual color, yellow and black. Isn't that amazing? It kinda looks like a tick.

Alright...let the search begin. Tell me what this thorny little fellow's true name is and you get free tickets to the next Saint's home game. No...i'm just fucking around...everybody knows you can't get tickets to a Saint's game.

Update: I think we have a winner, from Anon:

she is the spinybacked orbweaver -
Gasteracantha cancriformis


the perfect metaphor for "parochial deal-cutting atmosphere that is suffocating our recovery" (see link for boring details below) if I ever saw one. nice one Zombie. Hat's off. JB for Mayor!

"Niche partitioning in orb-weaver spiders of Louisiana"

http://sciencewhynot.blogspot.com/2009/05/niche-partitioning-in-orb-weaver.html

Update 2: In the strange synchronicity which only the intertubes can provide, I opened my browser to Wired's home page to find that 1 million Orb weavers have joined forces to create a golden silk blanket. Perhaps Mr. Hubbard (the real one) can spend his 1 million dollars on that blanket to keep himself warm in the clink.

I just have to keep posting this picture

Because its so fucking amazing. What is the Pulitzer award for photojournalism?

Anyway....let's do quick summary on this story:

Federal authorities are investigating St. John the Baptist Parish President Bill Hubbard in connection with a scheme in which parish contractors helped buy a new Toyota Camry for his girlfriend last spring, several sources have confirmed.

The sources said at least three contractors — Parson & Sanderson Inc. of Harahan, Davezac Consulting Engineers of Destrehan and Pipeworks Plumbing & Demolition of Harahan — covered at least part of the payment for the vehicle in May.

Ok, so for all you folks who say follow the money....let's do that:

Davezac Consulting Engineering LLC of Destrehan was hired by the parish in July for $1 million to oversee the spending of its $29.5 million bond issue to finance part of a hurricane protection levee, make improvements to the water, roads and drainage systems in the parish and build a gym and east bank government complex.

Parish spokesman Buddy Boe said Davezac has earned $32,375 so far this year in parish work and $80,510 in 2008. He said Parson & Sanderson has earned $163,480 so far this year and $103,046 in 2008 for pumps and valve work. Pipeworks has earned $900,182 this year and $93,577 in 2008 under general maintenance contracts with the parish, Boe said.

Campaign finance reports for 2007 and 2008 show Parsons contributed $12,500 to Hubbard, while Pipeworks contributed $7,500 and Davezac contributed $5,000.

Who is the big winner out of that trifecta? Looks like Pipeworks, huh? A 900k pull....not bad. Add the 93k in and we almost come out to a nice cool 1 million...especially if we use the Odom sliding abacus. Funny how 1 million seems to consistently pop up as a subliminal benchmark in issues of corruption.

Now, does anyone want to post odds that Hubbard is an owner in Pipeworks? Anyone? Beuller? Beuller?

voodoo economics....voodoo economics.....

File this story in the back of yo' skulls, zombies

Former Jefferson Parish prosecutor used police database to find motorist who angered him

One day....we may revisit it.

"We" deserve a piece of the action

Plaintiff says Greg Meffert ordered crime cameras from Dell before he left New Orleans City Hall

Perrin testified that he met in February 2005, more than a year into the crime camera project, with Chris Drake, one of St. Pierre's employees who worked in the city's tech office. It was at that meeting at Mr. John's Steakhouse that Drake floated the idea of having some of the work go to St. Pierre's companies.

"I was shocked the words came out of Chris’ mouth. He said Mr. Meffert told him this was the largest tech project in the city at the time 'and we didn’t even have a piece of it.' I thought that was kind of strange that (Meffert) was using the word 'we,'" Perrin said.

"I said, Chris, I don’t think this is ethical. He said they had already passed it by the city attorney, who said it would not be a conflict. I said, 'Chris, these guys worked way too hard to put this system together and for you to take one of them out and put yourself in would be wrong.' So, I declined."

That pretty much sums up how Meffert, St. Pierre, Drake, Domke viewed the city tech department....if there's a contract to be let...WE deserve it.
To me, the most interesting role in this whole mess is Mark Kurt's. I get this picture of Kurt as being the reluctant soldier. I think he really hated the position he was in and he knew it reeked to high heaven, but he probably got so far into it that he had to continue. He didn't want the CTO position in the first place but Nagin "assured" him he was the man for the job. I think when Stacy Head started putting pressure on him to answer questions about the cameras and then when the story started making its way into the press, he saw the writing on the wall and bailed out while he could. Note Kurt's comment to Perrin that Meffert had laid a turd on his desk before he left....I really think Kurt felt like he was trapped from the beginning...and he was.
Interesting to note that in the period immediately following Kurt's departure, Benetech was hired...without bid...to run the city's IT services as an interim contractor. Anthony Jones was eventually promoted to the CTO position...even though he didn't have the credentials to acquire the job. For that matter, Benetech wasn't qualified to do the job as the only "tech" part of their resume was creating security cards for casinos and NASA. Now of course they're doing everything from the French Market to a 100 million dollar ACE contract. I don't know what kind of stroke Bennett has but he's pulling the moon down from the sky.
Oh and when they "passed it by the city attorney" who said it was ok....who the hell would say that is ok?

UPDATE:  This explain's a lot:

Anonymous said...

as for benetech, they have this service disabled veteran owned small business deal that gets them set aside government contracts. iarrons dad, bill, must have slipped on a bannana peel while in the army medical corps. when associated contractors was bought by HSOA bill bennett was listed as owning 1/3 of a.c. making them unqualified as a SDVOSB. that did not stop them. in investor presentations HSOA would tell people of this SDVOSB scam they had going. this is a slap in the face to all truly disabled veterans.

Interesting revelation

Suing crime-camera maker testifies in civil case over New Orleans contracts

But despite the success and a 57-percent drop in crime in the 1st District, plaintiffs' lawyer Glad Jones asked Perrin if he knew that, at that time, Meffert was telling Dell that he "would pull the video-surveillance system from the street if he could." Jones also asked if Perrin knew that St. Pierre was forming a company, NetMethods, to get into the crime-camera business.

That's big. How can they prove he was telling them that? Do they have that in a deposition? If Meffert told Dell he would pull the existing cameras off the poles...cameras that the city had already paid for....wow.

Tangentially, that really pisses me off. Not only was he abusing his position, he was prepared to piss away all the city's money he had already spent on the existing system so he could get in the action with Dell....nice.

One day at a time...

Sweet Jesus!

Man...I don't even know what to say. I knew she had a fucked up life, but good christ.

What a picture

Damn this is good.

Da Saints

are fo' true!

Here we go...

I think we've found our Johnson Controls v 2.0:

New Orleans airport gets go-ahead to seek private investors

I am going to start a pool as to which Nagin chrony gets it. Bennett? White? Or Both? I think David White is 2:1 out of the gate....my money is on him.

You know what's gonna happen? I'm gonna peer into the looking glass here....

This whole deal is gonna get stinky...it's going to piss off the rest of the state. The state is then going to create a bond and/or allow for the Shaw group (or someone similar, if there is someone similar to Shaw) to build another, bigger, better, more modern, airport outside of Baton Rouge. (By and/or I mean public, public/private, or completely private).

You have to understand that there is a very large contigency north of I-10 who fucking hates New Orleans with a passion and actually wishes we would have been completely wiped out in Katrina. Yeah...I'm not kidding...they exist. I've met them face to face....and yes, racism is a factor.

This contingency has been pushing for Baton Rouge International since even before Katrina. If Louis Armstong is privatized....that's going to provide the catalyst the anti-Nawlins contingency needs to push the BR International plan through the state legislature.

The original ploy was somewhat of a Trojan in that there was a plan to build a massive cargo aiport in B.R....but you know that would quickly turn into a something else. That's how it always works....remember how the original Harrah's deal prohibited them from opening a restaurant or a hotel? Not to hate on Harrah's...I actually think that was a silly demand on the city's part from the begginning and I would hate to think about where our city would be without Harrah's right now. But I'm just using that scenario as an example of how deals change.

Privatizing L.A.I. may be the worst thing that could happen to N.O. I don't know for sure...I'm just speculating. This move will have a massive, political ripple effect through the state. Would love to hear your opines.

what wicked webs

one here

and

one here

Hey, watch me pull a company out of my hat!!!

...nothing up my sleeve....presto!

Bright French Market renovation shadowed by cost overruns

That seems to be Aaron Bennett's amazing talent during the Nagin Administration....he does tech, he does construction, he does Casino membership cards.......ooops.....just forget that last one.

And it seems like Bennett and Frank Fradella had an affinity for Infinity Surety, a bond company out of.....where else....Texas. And these guys....well they just can't seem to get anything right:

Overseer: Terminal process vague

Fox smells blood

Hate to link to Fox, but this is a must. Is the national MSM starting to foreshadow coming events in N.O.?

Lazy Eye in the Sky

"What I think we need to do now, is we need to start to demand that everything comes to the surface"

Hang on.....I have snot running down my face because I just laughed so hard I couldn't control my bodily functions....ok....better.

Oyster makes the bestest observations here....so I'm subbing posting out. But don't worry, we bloggers are very careful to list all of our subs.

As Mr. Nagin not-so-subtly plays the race card and calls for the African-American community in N.O. to rise up against the IG office under allegations of racism, I would just ask you to look back through the posts on this blog and the names involved before you make that decision. I think there is a pretty good track record which shows you that most of the people Nagin has pushed money to are white republicans.

I have a hunch the results of the coming federal probe may spell that out much more clearly....I also have a hunch Nagin knows this and he's circling the wagons in a pathetic attempt to garner a sympathy vote in the court of public opinion. Don't buy it....when it comes to business acumen, cronyism, and back room dealings....Ray Nagin is whiter than my hillbilly ass.

One of the things which I always find annoying is when people tell me to "follow the money!" Yeah...I get that....but its not exactly easy. Especially with an administration that is as transparent as the river which runs through our city.

However, over time we (the citizens, da paper, the TV, the blogs) have been able to actually "bring things to the surface". And if you follow the money trail that has surfaced it becomes pretty apparent that the major recipients of Nagin's favor are cracker-ass-crackers...saltine....balooga.....white....and I don't mean Veronica....I mean white like Meffert....and that's flippin' white.

Don't be fooled by this crap he's spewing...there is no racist conspiracy in the IG's office. You want proof? Look at the difference between the IG's report on the crime cameras and then Nagin's internal audit. Nagin's internal audit blamed everything on a black man and sheltered the white guys pulling the strings. The IG's report exposed the white owned companies behind the curtain.

Folks its not black or white....its green.

Would the real airport contractor please stand up?

I'm a little confused right now cause I just found this:

Benetech, LLC et al v. Infinity Surety Agency, LLC et al

I guess I'm confused becasue Infinity Surety was the bond company for the HSOA construction contract at Louis Armstrong Int. Turned out the bonds were bogus and the whole contract went to hell....after the city had paid out HSOA.

So is this lawsuit in connection with the airport? If it is why is Benetech filing it and not HSOA? If it's not in relation to the airport, its one more interesting link between Frank Fradella, Aaron Bennett, and....what? Texas....yeah....Texas....let's just say that. Can the state of Texas sue me?

I know Bennett is now an owner of Picke Construction...but it's interesting that both HSOA and Benetech would be using the same Bond company out of Texas.

And also, just to back assertions that Benetech did, in fact, receive a no-bid contract from the city....I went back and re-read this story. Now it may have been legal...but just read this story again, knowing everything we know now. I had actually forgotten that Veracent was a Benetech sub. Read these two columns in particular:

Complicated connections

Nagin spokeswoman Ceeon Quiett said the city could not answer questions about Veracent -- including how much the city owes the firm -- because the city does not contract directly with the firm. "Veracent is (a) subcontractor to Benetech," she wrote via e-mail. "Benetech can answer details about Veracent."

Quiett added that it is up to Benetech to "manage and vet all applicants and then make recommendations" about which ones to use.

In fact, Veracent held the rooftop lease before the city ever hired Benetech. When the lease was signed, Imagine -- and later Veracent -- were subcontractors to another firm, Ciber Inc. Ciber was the third company to oversee Imagine at City Hall.

Thanks to an executive order signed by Nagin in 2004, when it comes to technology services, the city does not have to follow its own procurement rules and seek competitive proposals as long as it does business with a company that has prenegotiated rates with the federal General Services Administration. Ciber and Benetech both bill under a so-called "GSA schedule."

Around February of this year, Ciber, which also was owed a substantial amount of money by the city, decided to drop that contract. Benetech, a local firm that also uses a GSA schedule, volunteered to take over as prime contractor.

Benetech's owner, Aaron Bennett, said that when he took on the job, he had been told the city's chief technology officer at the time, Mark Kurt -- who had been a partner in Imagine before taking the city job -- that a change was in the works.

Tired of questions about favoritism, Kurt wanted to end the practice of using subcontractors to do the technology work at City Hall. Bennett said his plan was to decide which Imagine and Veracent employees to keep, and to make them Benetech employees.

Shortly after issuing that directive, Kurt left the city and went to work for Ciber.

Hispanic firm chosen

Kurt's position was filled on an interim basis by Anthony Jones, who issued a request for proposals in April in hopes of contracting directly with a company that would provide technology services. (More recently, the city has advertised for the position of chief technology officer as well.)

The city received 10 proposals for technology services, and spent months looking them over. In the meantime, Benetech has continued to bill on behalf of Imagine and Veracent.

Quiett confirmed last week that city officials have decided to award the new technology contract to Vision IT of Detroit. City Hall has not yet provided score sheets or other materials requested by The Times-Picayune showing how the proposals were ranked.

According to the company's Web site, Vision IT is one of the nation's fastest-growing Hispanic-owned firms. Locally, the company hosted a "Tech Day with the Saints" in July at the Saints' facility on Airline Drive.

Quiett said the company has not begun working for the city yet. "A draft contract is being negotiated," she said.

That said, most of the city's current technology vendors apparently have been shown the door. Bennett, of Benetech, said he got a letter from the city in early September saying his services, and those of his subcontractors, no longer were needed.

Bennett alerted St. Pierre, who was displeased with the abrupt notice. The next day, St. Pierre sent his e-mail demanding payment from the city.

A turd by any other name....

....still smells like a turd.

I am currently reading the OIG report on the OIG....so let's do it together....because together we're heavy.

Here is the amount spent on the computers:


I'm no accountant...just ask my wife, but according to my trusty dusty electronic abacus, all computer related expenses add up to $436,188. For 33 employees that comes out to $13,217.82 per employee. But I am assuming that is including centralized servers, networking equipment like secure routers, encryption software, etc. That may be a little high, but I don't think its "extravagant" by any means.

The bigger question is where in the hell did Odom originally come up with the 600k figure? Am I missing something or was he just rounding up to an extra 25%?

The main beef regarding the computer systems doesn't seem to be any collusion with Sparkhound (the Baton Rouge based IT firm who spec'd and built the IG's IT department), it seems to be a lack of competence in purchasing:

• Sparkhound recommended one media license of Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 but
instead 86 individual licenses were ordered at a cost $575.99 each for a total of
$49,535.14.

• Sparkhound recommended one media license of Windows Vista Business but instead 86
individual licenses were ordered at a cost of $121.93 each or a total of $10,485.09.

Uhhhhh.....there could be a valid reason for these two desicions. I would want to understand that decision a little more before I pass judgement.

• Sparkhound suggested specific encryption software and the employees ordered the
incorrect encryption software. The software company will not allow the OIG to return the
incorrect software which cost $10,992.00.

oops. bad call. somebody fucked up.

• Sparkhound specified the 2005 SQL Server software and the employees ordered the 2008
SQL Server software at a cost of $3,742.78 which was incompatible with other software
that had been installed.

Common error. I've seen this happen before regarding Microsoft server 2003, 2005, and 2008 and 32bit to 64 bit updates which I suspect is what may have happened here regarding this unnamed software. If the purchaser wasn't aware of the technical issues with software purchases this doesn't surprise me. Ok...so somebody was given a job that was a little over their head. That happens in any start up....and the OIG office is a frikkin' start up.

• The Sparkhound software requirements included the purchase of SNARE; however, the
employees failed to order this critical software in 2008. The software, which cost
$10,620.00, was placed in 2009 after IG Cerasoli had given back the $1.2 million to the
City.

The report keeps simultaneously harping on the fact that Cerasoli gave back the 1.2 million and then rails on him for overspending. Every paragraph ends with the statment "after he gave back the 1.2 million". So I guess I'm a little confused....is the overall allegation that he gave away money which was actually needed or that he spent money unnecessarily? Was he a drunken sailor or a miser? I'm not sure what the point is.

• Sparkhound recommended the purchase of 50 LTO4-120 Back-up Tapes for the Power
Vault TL2000; however, the employees failed to place the order for the back-up tapes.
The back-up tapes were not ordered in 2008. Accordingly, the tapes were purchased in
2009 after IG Cerasoli had given back the $1.2 million to the City.

Ok...do the tapes work now?

• Sparkhound's plan included the purchase of 5 switches. The OIG only ordered 4 and
failed to order the 5th. The 5th switch was ordered on 3/02/09 at a cost of $2,444.15 after
IG Cerasoli had given back the $1.2 million to the City.

• As a result of IG Cerasoli increasing the number of computers ordered from the
recommended 20 laptops to 32 laptops and increasing the number of desktops ordered
from the recommended 12 to 54 desktop computers there is a significant amount of
inventory that remains on the shelf in the evidence room. There is a potential risk that this
equipment will become obsolete.

Well, all computers become obsolete within 2 years. So the question here is why Cerasoli increased the amount of computers by 12? Did he expect the office to grow? If he only ordered the 20 computers and he came up short...would the report still be criticizing him in the same way if he under-ordered computer purchases like the under-ordering of the switch listed above?

• The employees placed an order was for 86 battery back-ups for all laptops and desktops
at a cost of $53.99 each, or $4,643.14. The OIG leases office space in the Federal
Reserve Bank building which has its own back-up generator for the entire building in the
event there is a loss of power. This renders the vast majority of these battery back-ups
unnecessary and they are currently housed and unused on a shelf in the evidence room.
There were issues that arose during the installation phase as a result of the employees' lack of
expertise. A few issues that we discovered are as follows:

eehhhhh....no. Not. The building back up generators don't ensure stable power supplies to the individual computers which may hold some seriously important information. If the electricity in the building goes out, it will only take a fraction of a second to 1. crash the computers and 2. potentially surge the computers and fry the motherboards. This is a very weak argument.

• The original Sparkhound plan was to outfit the entire office with the necessary cable for
internet and phone. At cable installation, an IG employee provided a map to the
electrical subcontractor which reduced the number of workspaces to be wired to only 19.
As the office staff grew, it was necessary to have the electrical subcontractor return on
10 multiple occasions to perform the task of running cable to other workstations thus driving
up the cost of installation. Critical areas such as the Evidence Room and the IG's office
still do not have the necessary cable run to perform the basic functions of phone and
internet.

Lack of foresight is the issue?

The PGP encryption software for the desk tops and laptops was ordered on December 18,
2008, and arrived on January 14, 2009; however, Sparkhound was not able to install the
encryption software until July, 2009, because the IG's office was not informed by the
ERB employee that the software had arrived.

Why is that? Sparkhound was too busy for 6 full months to conduct the installation? So the issue here is miscommunication?

OIG WEBSITE

Robert Cerasoli personally purchased the domain name NOLAOIG.COM while he was an
employee of the City. It has been alleged that one of IG Cerasoli's hobbies was collecting
domain names. The price to register this domain name is approximately $10 with a $10 annual
renewal rate.

His hobby is collecting domain names? Really? Isn't this the same guy who slept on the floor without a TV in his apartment?

IG Cerasoli resigned his position as IG on January 30, 2009. It has been alleged that former IG
Cerasoli initially agreed to sign over the domain name NOLAOIG.COM to the OIG; however,
Former IG Cerasoli subsequently refused to sell the domain name to the OIG and refused to sign
the necessary paperwork to allow the OIG to obtain the certificate for the encryption algorithm.

OBSERVATION
There is a potential for conflict of interest related to Robert Cerasoli's purchase of the
intellectual property, N0LA0IG.COM, in his personal name as opposed to the name of the
office for which he was in-charge.

Subsequent to the departure of IG Cerasoli, the ERB employee and the OIG employee placed in
charge of the computer system requested Sparkhound set up a stand-up server and several
workstations in order to permit staff to begin working. Sparkhound advised against an early set
up of the computer system and instead recommended waiting for the computer equipment to
arrive to avoid unnecessary problems and costs. The ERB employee and the OIG employee did
not follow the advice of Sparkhound and initiated the early set-up. As part of the early set-up
process, the ERB employee and the OIG employee directed Sparkhound to program the server
with NOLAOIG.COM despite the fact that this domain name was owned personally by former
IG Cerasoli.

When the former IG refused to cooperate regarding the transference of the domain name
N0LA0IG.COM all the servers had to be reprogrammed with a different domain name,
NOLAOIG.ORG, which resulted in an additional cost to the OIG of approximately $13,125.

Holy shit! I want that job. 13 grand to change a domain name....fucking eh! Somebody scored on that one. Who did that, Netmethods?

OBSERVATION

It has come to our attention that as an agency within the City of New Orleans, the OIG and the
ERB are permitted to mail any documents from City Hall for free. The Interim Inspector
General is in the process of returning the leased equipment and obtaining a refund for the unusedpre-paid postage which is in excess of $19,950.

Just out of curiosity...how does that mail process work at City Hall? Do you drop your mail in a huge mail slot and it all goes to the mail room? Just curious? What if the IG did an investigation on the mail room in City Hall and they sent the report out via the mail room in City Hall?

INVESTIGATIVE EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES

IG Cerasoli sent a Criminal Investigator from the OIG office to visit the Department of
Investigations for New York City to gain information about ordering investigative supplies and
equipment for the OIG. The Criminal Investigator compiled a list of investigative equipment
and supplies to be ordered based on information gathered during the course of his visit.

OBSERVATION

It has come to our attention that the First Assistant Inspector General for Criminal Investigations and the First Assistant Inspector General for Audit and Review analyzed the order prior to
placement and recommended that 80% of the order be cancelled as it was promulgated on
information obtained from an agency that is not comparable in size, scope or jurisdiction to the
City of New Orleans OIG. However, IG Cerasoli chose to disregard the recommendations made
by his two First Assistants and IG Cerasoli placed an order for $50,774 of investigative
equipment and $23,314 of investigative supplies. There is a potential risk that much of this
equipment may not be used the Criminal Investigations Division.

So we didn't need 40 pairs of shoe phones? hmmm. This one is impossible to call. If you don't use all that spy schweg, send it to me....I'll use it....I'll go spy on Entergy.

OBSERVATION

It has come to our attention that IG Cerasoli canceled the purchase of the 3 SUV's in conjunction
with the issuance of his first report related to the management of the City's passenger vehicle
fleet and prior to returning the $1.2 million to the City. As the OIG had an immediate
requirement for vehicles in order to effectively perform its lawful duties and carry out
operational activities, the Interim IG reordered the 3 vehicles. The cost of the vehicles was
$72,853.75 and the Interim IG utilized funds from the 2009 operating budget.

He's guilty of being concerned of a potential conflict of interest. Then he changed his mind and bought them anyway.

Wow....that's it? I think the most egregious offense could be the nepotism charge in hiring one of his former students. But Cannizaro just did the same thing in the D.A.'s office with his daughter and there's not a lot of stink about that. Plus...some other names....Anthony Jones....Kenya Smith.

I think Cerasoli, himself, summed it up best:

"There are all sorts of allegations in the report that don't really hold any water. They had eight months to do reports. They only did one -- on me."

Correction: A man much more vigilant than I pointed out Cannizaro's daughter was already working in the DA's office before he won the position. Thanks, Clay.

By the way..I was by your house today and you have this very awesome spider web outside your door which was spun by one of those really peculiar little fat, round arachnids. You know I have a thing for spiders and snakes...would love it if you took a macro picture of it and posted it so we could search the intertubes and find out what it is. Not that you don't have enough to worry about with the broken ankle...ouch....sorry bro.

Of course

NAACP calls for investigation into IG office

When all else fails, cry race.

Which is it?

In Wednesday's article we were told that Odom claimed Cerasoli spent over $600k on computer equipment.

In today' article that number has dropped to $69,000.

Which is it?

I'm not busting balls, I just want to know if Odom is pulling numbers out of his hat or if we're talking about two completely separate computer systems.....or what. 69k for 33 people is not "extravagant". ...690k....that deserves some splainin'.

And how did Tracie Washington get into this? How does Tracie get into everything for that matter?

Once again...from the moment this office was created, there are people who have been attempting to bring it down. I am curious if Odom is just pissed and attempting to throw the anchor chain around the neck of the entire department or if there is a larger effort to discredit the OIG.

UPDATE: Somehow...I completely missed this article. Actually I know how I missed it...because NOLA.com really needs to reconsider how they are indexing stories and how what's printed in the TP is translated to the website....just my two cents.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Which is it?":

Well, this might seem a bit far-fetched but reading on Nola.com the related articles on the OIG I am getting the impression that there is a push underway to completely discredit the office in order to prevent its investigation into city contract fraud.

This article might give you an idea of who I suspect of being a major motivator, if not the chief orchestrator of said push:

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/09/nagin_says_hell_fight_expandin.html

Just sayin.

Well, of course. But...back to Odom's motivation...is this just piss and vinegar or has he been influenced by the Naginites or other forces?

Bonding with Ray

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "MAS/MSF recapitulation....cont.":

Zombie, the paper has two stories about city bond issues, one to help "saint" Benson buy a building near the Superdome, the other supposedly to fix streets, which does badly need to be done.

One nola.com commenter makes the good point that the sewer lines and water pipes also need a redo, so are they going to fix the streets only to tear them up to fix the pipes early in the next Mayoral administration?

I'm concerned that our old friends at HSOA and Picke Construction and the other connected contractors and odd little subs who lost out when the Chevron building deal did not go through are now getting another kick at the can.

The city bond granting body is a largely unexplored part of the scandal-plagued Reconstruction of New Orleans.

Can we get some light shed on what's going down right now?

Can any AZ readers bring us up to speed?

I don't trust that any of this is going to be done in responsible or open way.

I am pissed that these weasels are still weaseling even though everyone knows they are bad news.

I wish there was some way to make them stop touching the city until the damage they have already done has been determined.

wut's a mattah Pygmy slayer?

Did a bee sting yah?

MAS/MSF recapitulation....cont.

4. Anytime you hear a politician or public official say, "Why hire out of state when we can hire COMPETENT firms within our own city and state!" Be concerned. I offer the following:



Deloitte and Touche, which Carter speaks of....was an independent accounting firm from Dallas which Amato decided to bring in in order to get an accurate audit on the School System's finances. This was a nightmare for the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people sucking off the NOPS teet....with no performance standards in place.

For the back story, go here. And also this documentary is available here.

I'm not going to rail on Karen Carter or Ann Duplesis. I don't think they are any different than any other politician in our city.

Ok I am going to rail on Ann.

I love this statement:

"We have not done a comprehensive evaluation on his performance.....No...wait...I gotta go back......we have done a comprehensive evaluation on his performance.....and it is absolutely unsatisfactory."


Whooaa!! That evaluation happened inside of her head....in a split second. There must be a team of analysts working full time inside of Ann's head.

I love how comprehensive evaluations can occur in a split-fucking-second.

Damn....that's stunning.


But...

I make this "Point 4" because it's important to understand how backroom deals and BAD deals are pushed through under the guise of "We should pay our own people!"

Well...no, we shouldn't....not if they're not competent and especially if they're screwing the system.

Not to say I don't support local business. I just don't want my drunk friend running sanitation...or sewerage and water.

5. coming....

Oh boy

Allegations of corruption within our anti-corruption office. Could this city get any more absurd?

New Orleans inspector general's office in turmoil

I'm still waiting to find out how Cerasoli buying computers for his office is considered "extravagant".

Yeah man...you IG guys should be using manual typewriters...and not electric because then we'll have to pay for the electricity. Better yet, just write your reports on papyrus and use your own blood as ink.

I smell a rat....correction, I smell rats and moles. I smell an attempt to undermine the credibility of the IG office, by forces within the office and outside the office. Forces who know its not in their best interest to have an IG office.

I also smell dinner...be back later.

So much for the post-racial America theory

I slid into my favorite pool playing haunt last night to get my billiards fix in....I have a serious addiction with pool, even more than golf. Anyway, the moment I walked in one of the regular patrons (white, late 30's) was feverishly ranting.... Kanye, Kanye, Kanye....that fucking racist. I had only briefly caught the flak that Kanye West did something stupid yesterday (suprise), but I didn't really know the whole story, nor did I really care. But this guy apperently did....a little too much. A few minutes later another regular came in, even older than the first (late 50s) and he was just as upset.

I filled myself in on the full story after I got home, and all I could think about was "Why the hell do grown men give a damn what happens on the MTV music awards?" I forced myself to painfully watch the video of Kanye stealing the sweet, little, white girl's moment in the sun...and then I understood what riled these guys up so much. If Taylor Swift was a male, punk rocker...it would have just been another stupid moment in the litany of stupid moments in MTV history. As a matter of fact, it would have been great to see an Axl Rose type up there and watch the two of them beat the shit out of each other....now that's good MTV. Unfortunately the demographics of this situation were just too much to bare for white, protective middle age men across the country.

Listening to these guys cry racist, ad nauseum....militantly, mind you....it was a harsh reminder that maybe we are still stuck on stupid.

The redeeming factor in the whole incident was Obama calling Kanye a jackass. Yup, Mr. President... that's about the sum total of the whole fucking thing. Forget the grand, racist conspiracies....this guy was just a drunk ass screaming his opinion into a microphone...unfortunately a sweet, little, white girl caught the butt of his tirade.

After the bar patron had ranted and screamed "racist" for about 30 minutes he was finally chastised by one of the employees and asked to "Please, just shut the fuck up." He kind of sulked for a few minutes then turned to me and painfully professed, "Nobody listens to me." I wanted to tell him, "Yeah...because you're being an ass just like the guy you're screaming about. No one likes to be screamed at." But I kind of felt sorry for him...so I just listened to him instead.

Maybe this is part of the process...maybe this is healthy dialogue to actually get to a post-racial America. Or maybe we're a nation of screaming, territorial apes....and that's what we'll always be. I don't know anymore...are we going forwards or backwards?

Also...there's this.

I was listening to WWL today list the reasons why Fielkow said he wasn't running. The main reason Arnie gave was because of the racist accusations he has had to face in the past year....and that he felt he would be further dividing the community if he ran.

You know my answer to that is I'm glad he's dropping out because he apparently doesn't have the fortitude to handle the job anyway. It sounds like he's moping because he got slapped with the race card. If his skin is that thin, then he's definitely not the right guy for this job. Citing fear of racial reprise for not running for mayor....it seems to me like he's perpetuating the problem. I don't know, but it's very disappointing to me.

MAS/MSF recapitulation

Yo, Zombies....let's grok on this dingy ding.

I've been doing my homework over the past few days to get a more holistic view of the schnizzel-wizzel going down in our City IT department. I've got a much broader picture and I hope to whip that portrait up for you in this post. Here goes....

Let's start with the now.

Boyd has apparently decided to play hard ball with MAS and is now contesting their employee's August time sheets. Sounds cool? Not so much. This isn't going to affect the upper tier management of MAS very much but it's nailing the guys/gals who were actually doing the work. It's a kind of a silly ploy to get MAS to turn over their CMS to MSF. I think it's piss and vinegar, personally. Now you know I'm no fan of Domke or MAS but this isn't the answer...MSF needs to get a CMS in place themselves. That CMS needs to be transitional to whoever gets the next contract for these services...we've gone over this and it just makes sense. This requires Mr. Boyd to demand that from MSF. I don't care if the city portal goes down for a month...let's do this right....right now. And pay people, dammit. Pay them...please.

From what I've learned...we will soon be learning a lot more thanks to a legislative audit. I think its prudent for me to wait and see what that turns up before we continue to pick this apart. Unless, of course, that takes forever....and I will continue to conduct my own audit.

But don't worry, I'm going to provide some beef jerky to chew on until that official autopsy actually happens:

1. Kim Fury Jennings is a former Dell employee. Two companies which she is associated with were contracted by the city....CBD Technology, LLC. and Registered Technology Service Consultants, LLC.



Digression: I must interject here (on myself mind you)....wtf is Registered Technology Service Consultants? What is that like Initech? Could you possibly have picked a more ambiguous name? How about Electron Transmission Dissemination and Cerebral Interpretation; Future Adaptation; What the fuck do you do, LLC. ? That's my new company and I expect to get a fat ass contract from the city just for coming up with that name.

Jennings is of major concern. The possibility that she set up a shell company in order to run the cameras through is an issue. Dell couldn't legally sell Netmethods the cameras under their existing state contract...and mind you this may extend to other Louisiana cities beyond N.O. My concern here is that a Dell employee (Jennings) saw the opportunity (with some help of course) to wedge themselves in between the contracting process and circumvent the intent of the law by creating these subcontracted companies.

Ouch. This has major implications in the civil suit which is gonna be a fucking show, dawg.

2. There is also some concern that Meffert may have provided a payroll loan to MAS. Now I don't think that's possible for the simple reason that Meffert may not have been the sitting CTO. But....But....did Bowling Pin execute that plan? God I hope he didn't.

3. Who does actually own the hotly debated MAS CMS? Seriously....what was the original contract?

So the view from a little higher up....the whole MAS/MSF scenario is not life or death and I may have inferred that in my previous posts....I apologize. The portal could go down for months and the city is not going to stop moving. My point in bringing this issue up is to shine a spotlight on how bad contracts, nepotism, and greed are costing us money, time and energy. It's killing us. Having a little bit more perspective on the entire contract from the top down, I can tell you that we (the city government....or what we call government) are undoubtedly our own worst enemy.

It's like hyenas fighting over a dead carcass. Instead of planting for the future....we're scavenging the remains of the day.

Here are some things you, as a citizen, need to be extremely aware of in the future:

1. Sub-contractors: And subs of subs of subs. Its a goddamn Russian doll....this process they've set up. And here's a very simple solution....we require contractors to list all subs. This has already been proposed by BSJD and other bloggers and they are spot-the-fuck-on right. I understand that Arnie Fielkow has already proposed that the city charter should be changed to require this. Absolutely....good job Arnie.

2. Performance Standards: I made this statement to HumidHaney recently and it may shock you to hear me say it but I really am a reasonable man.....I would actually overlook certain levels of corruption if the party in question was actually PERFORMING under the contract specifications. I know enough now to have lowered my expectations....but what I would at least like to see happen is that the people who get the contracts and kickbacks are ACTUALLY DOING THE FUCKING JOB.

Case in point...no not actually case in point, because I am not accusing this company of any wrongdoing or shady deals...but.....SDT. I have no reason to believe Sidney Torres is involved in any shady shit, but I do know this....he cleaned up the frikkin' Quatah's. It's been a couple years and the Quarter is still as clean as its ever been. Whatever the performance standard is for that contract...I think he's meeting it just from personal observation. Now there may be dissenting voices out there and by all means, dissent. That's what we do here.

We must incoporate some level of performance standards on the contracts we let. There's another blogger and generally smart dude who has a great idea along those lines. It's actually an idea which has been field tested in other cities and has produced some good results. I hope to get to that idea in a later post but I need to vet it out with this generally smart dude and do some more research so we have a more detailed picture to provide. On this matter, I will leave you with: coming soon.

3. shit...i'm tired and i have to tuck my kids in. I'll get back to you asap.

I love him, I hate him

Michael Moore....so many emotions pop up when I hear the name. As a documentary filmmaker, I both appreciate and abhor him.

To his credit he's never actually claimed his films are "documentaries"...he's always just said they're films. Which is the equivalant of me constantly avering that I'm not a reporter...I'm a blog. The facts in his films are mostly 99% accurate, but he definitely paints those facts according to his own color pallette. It's like looking at a vista with heavily hued sunglasses...you are seeing the actual horizon but you're not seeing the full spectrum of that horizon. I actually don't have an issue with this...how could I?

What I take issue with is his methods of obtaining his story, i.e., the ambush of Charlton Heston in Bowling for Columbine and the blatantly staged scenes of him walking out of Heston's residence after he embarrased him; or rounding up two Columbine victims and marching them down to K-marts to protest the sale of ammunition. That, to me, is not documentary filmmaking, it's propaganda and staged activism. But once again, he's been careful not to call himself a documentarian...he refers to himself as a filmmaker. For that I respect him.

Having made informational and documentary films my whole life, I can tell you what my personal standard is for a true documentary film as opposed to propaganda: If you set out to make a film on a subject, already knowing what the answer or outcome will be...that's propaganda (and I'm not implying that all films of this genre are bad). If you set out to make a film on a subject, not knowing the answers or the outcome of the film....that's a documentary.

Documentaries are much harder to make and usually don't end up as commercially successful as propaganda films because they require much more work and aren't nearly as reactionary or "dramatic" as propaganda films. I think one of the best examples of quality documentary filmmaking is PBS' Frontline series. I think WGBH sets the bar for true documentary standards.

Watching this video today:

...I couldn't help but laugh at Michael Moore chastising the journalistic ethics of America's newspapers. If he's fooled himself into thinking that he's somehow above and beyond the influence of corporations....I'd love to audit his income sources. His points are absolutely valid, but I just found his indignancy on journalisic ethos a little hard to choke down.

"The Smartest Guy in the City"...

...may come save us after all:

Couhig's coming back for more? Inconceivable!

This is just too funny:

To recap: Couhig... doesn't want to... damage... the city's "psyche" by... running again and not winning? Is that the supposed conundrum he's trying to resolve before he announces? Wow. It seems inconceivable, but that's the most charitable interpretation of Couhig's bizarre statement that I can muster.

God knows the city's collective psyche couldn't handle a blow like that. The only other interpretation I can think of is that he sees an opportunity to attack or exploit the fragility of the city's psyche. But I'm still curious how he took the city's temperature in the first place...how did he get to that diagnosis?

It did make me ponder some things which would affect the city's psyche:

- Drew Brees goes down for the season
- No convictions result from the current federal probes
- A freak hurricane pops up in October and heads our way
- Kermit Ruffins decides he's moving to New York City and DJ Soul Sistah goes with him
- Chris Paul asks to be traded
- Leon Cannizzaro decided the D.A.'s office can't be salvaged and quits
- Jay Batt wins back a city council seat
- Children's Hospital says they're out of money and they have to close
- Delgado says they're out of money and they have to close
- Ms. Mae's catches on fire again and burns down for good...alcoholics everywhere are traumatized.
- Rock n' Bowl closes

All of these things, methinks, would traumatize the collective psyche of the city. Rob Couhig losing another election...not so much. As a matter of fact, I think Couhig winning the mayoral election would damage the city psyche more than him losing.

The long tale

I keep getting hit about my highly publicized issues with Mr. Ellis, so I feel the need to update the situation.

Mr. Ellis and I met face to face and I agreed to post any retractions or facts he would like to aver. He expressed his reluctance to do that previously, because he felt AZ was disreputable. I can appreciate that sentiment, but nonetheless, I strive for accuracy and I am still hoping Mr. Ellis will help us set the record straight. I have yet to receive that dispatch (nor have I received a lawsuit) but I'm still hopeful we can sort everything out through discourse.

Any information I receive from him will be immediately posted. Until then, I can't satisfy your inquiries.

Master Blaster runs Bartertown

In tribute of a great conversation I recently had about our current crop of mayoral candidates.



Nor do we need another "business man". I'm gonna write the lyrics to that one....I just have to get sauced to pull it off.

You know everyone disses this Mad Max installment, but I really loved it (then again I love ELO so go ahead and hate on me). Nothing beats the crazy, little, wolf kid with the boomerang....but Thunderdome was definitely worth the price of admission.

I don't care what the formula is...if you mix Tina Turner in it....I'm gonna love it. I wonder if Tina would run for mayor?

Oh...also...this seems like a good post to pay homage to the master of music video metahpor. For some reason I can't comment on Adrostos' blog....my interwebs compooter won't let me get past his high security commenter process. Its really quite frustrating. It's like raising your hand in a Q & A forum and never getting called on.

Sidetracked

Had a busy day and I got distracted by the Fed visit to City Hall...but I have some good perspective regarding MAS which I hope to get to tomorrow so hang tight.

In the interim...I had the great pleasure of sitting in with NolaTrey and the Commish tonight on Radio Chaos. The podcast is available here.

Yowsa!

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "More Salient Points":

Feds are all over the City Technology office today. Looks like the end is very near now. Nagin and others are the focus today.

I just confirmed this...it's true. But I don't know if its about nagin or not.

And here comes the 411:

Feds at city technology office

More Salient Points

- Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "MSF/MAS Debacle: Week 2 Salient Points":

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/09/crimecamera_kickback_scheme_su.html

Interesting that no one has mentioned that Dell had a relationship with Tropos during this entire episode and that Tropos also recieved kickbacks from the city corruption cartel. There is so much more to this vast criminal enterprise yet the vastness of scope has only yet been scratched. What would happen to this lawsuit if the plaintiffs themselves weren't so innocent?

Dell had a relationship with Tropos regarding our crime cameras? For those of you wondering what Tropos is...they provide the antenna arrays which transmit the data from the cameras.

- Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The MSF Contract":

Geospatial SOA means a geospatial service oriented architecture.

It's a concise and fancy way of saying they abstracted the geographic data system to it's own thing, and anything that needs geodata can make a call to their protocal and get it, instead of lengthy database queries.

However, ESRI is pretty much the definitive vendor for this type of tool, I hope MSF is simply managing data for a third party tool, as trying to recreate a comparable GIS tool would take a 50 man team at least a decade.

and the answer...

- Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The MSF Contract":

I just got word from a reliable source that ESRI is a partner with MSF on this contract.

There was also some speculation that some of the exact same issues we had with our 311 and tech contracts occurred in Detroit as well. Anxiously awaiting that follow up, Anon.

Saturation Point?

- ..the human being, like the immortals, natually places sexual intercourse far and away above all other joys--yet he has left it out of his heaven! The very thought of it excites him; opportunity sets him wild; in this state he will risk life, reputation, everything--even his queer heaven itself--to make good that opportunity and ride it to the overwhelming climax. From youth to middle age all men and all women prize copulation above all other pleasures combined, yet it actually as I have said: it is not in their heaven; prayer takes its place.

Mark Twain- Letters from the Earth





Just out of curiousity...is there a point where we will all realize that "family value" politicians are all sexual freaky deakies and we won't really care anymore? Or is hypocrisy and sex a timeless headline? I'm kind of over it...I get it...the prudes are usually the ones with the most to hide. I learned that lesson watching evangelical preachers in the hills of Kentucky.

Sex is natural, sex is good.....not everybody admits they do it....but everybody should (my apologies to George Michael).

Comstock is dead...let's move on.

Uh...yeah it was

Ledet said Meffert would not be dismissed from the case. Sworn testimony he gave in depositions last year and earlier this year would be admissible if he declined to answer questions on the witness stand, she said. She also said she considered some of his previous testimony to already be "incriminating."

Cause he frikkin' lied....more than once.

Crime-camera kickback scheme suggested in documents, attorneys say

A scheduled bigfoot appearance...

Get your lawsuits and video cameras ready. I'm gonna be here tomorrow night rapping about the city contract process:

Foundation for Change - Inaugural Event

Sponsored by the James Perry for Mayor Campaign

When: 7pm to 8pm - Wednesday, September 9th

Where: 5416 S. Tonti Street, New Orleans 70125

Mr. Perry has some ideas and I'm curious to hear them. Stop by if you please.

Rummaging around in the Memory Hole

It would be nice to see a follow up on this....just to find out where we are with the folks who were fighting for their leases at the French Market:

4 Investigates: French Market still not revitalized as cost balloons

MSF/MAS Debacle: Week 2 Salient Points

So I know this has been less than exciting...picking through these contracts, RFP's and contractor/subcontractor relationships. But I think we have to do this because if we don't nobody else will. So here goes:

Also, word has gotten out that they held the City hostage and turned the editor off. However, that didn't seem to stop them from doing it. If you have a 2mil plus operation then what do they care about other clients.

Here's a better question. Ultimately VisionIT is responsible for this contract. They made the decision to sub MAS. Why aren't we holding them responsible for this? They need to make this right if we are still paying them under contract as prime vendor. This whole thing works both ways. If VisionIT succumbed to pressure put on them by Meffert/Domke and sub'd MAS...and now MAS is holding the city hostage ( if they are)...maybe its time to squeeze VisionIT by the balls and hold them in breach of contract. Or would that be too much to ask of our city attorneys?

Russell A. Aredeneaux,

EM-BEE-EH!

"Russell serves as MIS enterprise director for the Office of Information Technology. In his role, he is responsible for CONTRACTOR RELATIONS and the Project Management Office, managing
projects for NOPD, GIS,EOC, and telecommunications.

Prior to his current role, he served as data analytics manager for the State of Louisiana Road Home program, where his team was responsible for data analytics, reporting and data base management.
Previously, he worked for MidSouth Utilities, NOW ENTERGY for 30 years.

I just got word that Russell Ardeneaux used to work for MAS. Are you fuckin' kidding me? MAS is every fuckin' where?

More about Aredeneaux....please share.

My understanding is that Kim (Jennings) Fury aka Miss Dell (CBD Technology) ran the Technology PMO under the contract with VisionIT until the Dell/Crime Camera lawsuit hit the fan. If that is true, then the article in the TP this morning that points out how a HANO contractor was basically monitoring his own contract and stole $900K from HANO brings up some grave concerns.

So was CBD Technology in fact a Dell Shell set up in order to sell cameras under their state contract (they weren't authorized to sell cameras under that contract)?

As for the mysteriously worded NOPD project, I've been told it is actually a real-time tracking system for squad cars which utilizes each unit's intranet. Apparently MAS actually started this project, now it will switch hands to MSF (if this goes as smoothly as the portal transition...Legba help us). This explains the "geo-spatial" semantics in the contract. I've been told this is actually a great idea because it will allow the police brass to track each vehicle and make sure they're not hanging out at the Krispy Kreme in Metairie, brah.

Also, as far as the contract being open ended, one astute reader pointed out that this type of contract is exactly how MAS was able to venture into the 311 system (the forgotten scandal...which I'm pretty sure makes the crime cameras look pale in comparison) and also get into providing Kiosk software...which brings me to...

Kiosks.

Apparently the city (possibly Meffert decsion) purchased a bunch of these things from a company called 5point. The question is how much did we pay for them. There is speculation that each kiosk cost about 5k but we ended up paying 4 to 5 times that amount per kiosk...and I have no idea how many of them we bought or if there was a possible intermediary company in between that purchase with 5point. Aside from the glaring question, "why did we need them?", it appears that Intelliport/MAS provided the software for these things and that service was added into their original contract.

Where are these kiosks? You guessed it....we apparently didn't need them and we ended up with a bunch of them sitting around collecting dust. Its kind of like the vanished 1 million dollars in antennas which were donated by Tropos.

To his credit, Harrison Boyd decided to put them to good use since we already payed for the damn things and we can't convert them into vending machines, Ms. Pac Man, Donkey Kong or something useful. So he struck a deal with Winn Dixie to put them in their stores around town...I will admit it sounds like a pregnant idea to me. At least the public could get some use out of them other than turning them into boat anchors. But then there seems to have been an issue with MAS providing the software for them and apparently the kiosks were shipped to the locations without the software installed. Doh!

As one reader put it....this appears to be a clusterfuck. Indeed sir, indeed the clustering fuckishness of this thing seems to be getting more clusterish and fuckishy by the minute.

More to come.