1 + 1 = Louisiana Conservative Coalition
I think she got it.
She's analytical, but not so much with integers. We're still grokking.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
A little math problem I was working on tonight with my daughter...
1 + 1 = Louisiana Conservative Coalition
I think she got it.
She's analytical, but not so much with integers. We're still grokking.
Zombies everywhere
Benetech owner's foray into home elevation is being investigated by state
Bennett said he wanted to be involved but was not able to "because of my radioactivity in the media."
Monday, August 29, 2011
Obligatory Katrina recapitulation #6
This year I'm so lazy I'm just going to hijack Styborski's FB page....it pretty much sums it up for me.
Rising Tide 6 - Ashley Award Presentation
Congrats Dedra!
http://vimeo.com/user6987770/risingtide6asheleyaward
Rising Tide 6 - Ashley Award Presentation - Dedra Johnson, G-Bitch from Jason Berry on Vimeo.
This will be the last video uploaded until Friday. I still have Richard Campanella's Keynote, The Brass Band panel and the New Orleans Food Panel to go.
http://vimeo.com/user6987770/risingtide6asheleyaward
Rising Tide 6 - Ashley Award Presentation - Dedra Johnson, G-Bitch from Jason Berry on Vimeo.
This will be the last video uploaded until Friday. I still have Richard Campanella's Keynote, The Brass Band panel and the New Orleans Food Panel to go.
Rising Tide 6 - Re-capping the Well
You know, watching these videos, it occurred to me how valuable this stuff is from a historical perspective. Having worked in the film archives of the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History and Museum of African Art, I know how important information like this is to future generations. A hundred years from now, this panel discussion and the other content in RT will be invaluable to researchers trying to understand what was going on in this city at this point in history.
Just thought I'd share that observation. Enjoy.
Rising Tide 6 Keynote - David Simon
Happy viewing. More coming soon.
David Simon - Keynote Speaker, Rising Tide VI from Jason Berry on Vimeo.
The embed code is in the video, it is licensed to Rising Tide under a Creative Commons license, you are welcome to embed the video, email it, etc. under the condition that you cite Rising Tide as the owner of the media. It may not be used commercially without the consent of the Rising Tide organization.
David Simon - Keynote Speaker, Rising Tide VI from Jason Berry on Vimeo.
The embed code is in the video, it is licensed to Rising Tide under a Creative Commons license, you are welcome to embed the video, email it, etc. under the condition that you cite Rising Tide as the owner of the media. It may not be used commercially without the consent of the Rising Tide organization.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
The ebb and flow
Congratulations to the Rising Tide organizers on an amazing conference yesterday and big congratulations to Dedra Johnson @ G-Bitch, the winner of the 2011 Ashley Award.
Yesterday was a flow tide fo' true....this conference is only getting bigger and better by the year and yesterday's event at Xavier made that apparent. All of the panels and the speakers were interesting and entertaining right down to the kick-ass performance by the TBC brass band at the end of the day.
My personal favorite was the "Re-capping the well" panel. I was surprised at Bob Marshall and David Hammer's candor about the power of the oil industry in da' gret' stet'. My favorite line was from Marshall who said he get's aggravated when he hears people say the oil industry has raped the state of Louisiana, he said, "It's much more like consensual sex." That was a funny line. Drake Toulouse of Disenfranchised Citizen was great as well....nervous....but still did a great job.
David Simon was exactly as you would expect...raw, poignant...mostly critical. He definitely left you with an acidic taste in your mouth. He drilled into both Mayor Landrieu and "the preservationists" about the way both sides handled the whole "HBO can save these houses" skirmish. He seemed disgusted by both sides' behavior during the incident but he was particularly critical of Mayor Landrieu and spent more than a few minutes expressing his distaste for Mitch. I don't want to say he was scathing, I think Simon is a guy who could really tear someone a new asshole if he wanted but he definitely made his sentiment known. He consistently warned the audience about the dangers of the "We just need to get the right guy in office" attitude and how there are no messiahs in the political world. He even referenced President Obama as an example of that.
Bottom line...he really doesn't like Mitch. I'd be curious to hear Mitch's take on it.
He also made hay that the proponents and developers of the "biomedical corridor" planned for mid-city are conspicuously using Baltimore's Johns Hopkins as teleiotes. He pointed out that Baltimore executed a grand plan to raze blocks and blocks of houses and neighborhoods around that facility in order to create a similar vision of a massive bio-tech/medical community. A decade later the area is mostly empty lots where the houses and communities once stood.
Even though I was there and listened closely to the whole thing, I don't feel like I have "standing" on the issue so I will let you, the viewer, assess his comments for yourself by watching the archived video (should be up momentarily but I have to coordinate with RT organizers).
Katy Reckdahl penned her perspective for the TP. I got a kick out of this line:
The webcast was a glorious success by webcasting standards. I still don't have the grand, de facto total...it takes about a day after the event to get the final numbers because the report isn't totaled until each person who watched it actually closes their viewer window (so please do that if you're reading this and still have one open :) )....but at the moment the number is at 1248 viewers. That's pretty impressive.
The archived video files will be uploaded over the course of the next week and I'm sure they will be located on the RT site. I'll keep you posted.
Congratulations to everyone involved and dont' forget it's never too late or too early to donate to RT!
Yesterday was a flow tide fo' true....this conference is only getting bigger and better by the year and yesterday's event at Xavier made that apparent. All of the panels and the speakers were interesting and entertaining right down to the kick-ass performance by the TBC brass band at the end of the day.
My personal favorite was the "Re-capping the well" panel. I was surprised at Bob Marshall and David Hammer's candor about the power of the oil industry in da' gret' stet'. My favorite line was from Marshall who said he get's aggravated when he hears people say the oil industry has raped the state of Louisiana, he said, "It's much more like consensual sex." That was a funny line. Drake Toulouse of Disenfranchised Citizen was great as well....nervous....but still did a great job.
David Simon was exactly as you would expect...raw, poignant...mostly critical. He definitely left you with an acidic taste in your mouth. He drilled into both Mayor Landrieu and "the preservationists" about the way both sides handled the whole "HBO can save these houses" skirmish. He seemed disgusted by both sides' behavior during the incident but he was particularly critical of Mayor Landrieu and spent more than a few minutes expressing his distaste for Mitch. I don't want to say he was scathing, I think Simon is a guy who could really tear someone a new asshole if he wanted but he definitely made his sentiment known. He consistently warned the audience about the dangers of the "We just need to get the right guy in office" attitude and how there are no messiahs in the political world. He even referenced President Obama as an example of that.
Bottom line...he really doesn't like Mitch. I'd be curious to hear Mitch's take on it.
He also made hay that the proponents and developers of the "biomedical corridor" planned for mid-city are conspicuously using Baltimore's Johns Hopkins as teleiotes. He pointed out that Baltimore executed a grand plan to raze blocks and blocks of houses and neighborhoods around that facility in order to create a similar vision of a massive bio-tech/medical community. A decade later the area is mostly empty lots where the houses and communities once stood.
Even though I was there and listened closely to the whole thing, I don't feel like I have "standing" on the issue so I will let you, the viewer, assess his comments for yourself by watching the archived video (should be up momentarily but I have to coordinate with RT organizers).
Katy Reckdahl penned her perspective for the TP. I got a kick out of this line:
"Before discussing the hospital, Simon talked to the young journalists about how perceived outsiders often are criticized for writing about communities where they don't live."Young? I think 80% of us are over 40 but I'll take the compliment.
The webcast was a glorious success by webcasting standards. I still don't have the grand, de facto total...it takes about a day after the event to get the final numbers because the report isn't totaled until each person who watched it actually closes their viewer window (so please do that if you're reading this and still have one open :) )....but at the moment the number is at 1248 viewers. That's pretty impressive.
The archived video files will be uploaded over the course of the next week and I'm sure they will be located on the RT site. I'll keep you posted.
Congratulations to everyone involved and dont' forget it's never too late or too early to donate to RT!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Git ya' Tide on!
Saturday morn, 9 am, 1 Drexel Drive, Xavier University...Rising Tide 6 is going down.
I get asked by folks who read AZ a lot, "How can I help? What can I do?" You can start by simply participating in the conversation and the RT conference is where it begins. You want to learn how to start a blog? You want to find out dirty details that are too hot to blog? Whatever your interest is in this wonderful, amazing, fucked up city we livin in....RT is the place to be this Saturday.
If you live out of town and you can't make it...good news....it will be webcast live from the Xavier campus.
For my fellow bloggers and news outlets....you can simply drop this embed code in your blog/website and you too will be on the RT network:
Actually, click this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1B3UeMQWTou_zJhry0ok4rp11fiOEAMqONKyVmB6MerE/edit?hl=en_US
I can't figure out how to drop the embed code in the post without it loading the player so just cut and paste that code, drop it in, and you're off and running.
Also, check out the RT video page Varg set up HERE. Also please note the DONATE BUTTON on that page...if you're watching RT from home, please share some love and understand that it takes a lot of money and hard work for the RT organizers to stage this event. So hit that button and send them some love, homeys!
And just to remind you why we do this:
- We seek to protect and preserve the cultural qualities of New Orleans that make our city unique.
- We resolve to root out and expose the corruption and incompetence that harms us all.
- We work to enact a vision of a restored and resilient community that respects traditions and reaches for a sustainable future for all citizens.
I get asked by folks who read AZ a lot, "How can I help? What can I do?" You can start by simply participating in the conversation and the RT conference is where it begins. You want to learn how to start a blog? You want to find out dirty details that are too hot to blog? Whatever your interest is in this wonderful, amazing, fucked up city we livin in....RT is the place to be this Saturday.
If you live out of town and you can't make it...good news....it will be webcast live from the Xavier campus.
For my fellow bloggers and news outlets....you can simply drop this embed code in your blog/website and you too will be on the RT network:
Actually, click this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1B3UeMQWTou_zJhry0ok4rp11fiOEAMqONKyVmB6MerE/edit?hl=en_US
I can't figure out how to drop the embed code in the post without it loading the player so just cut and paste that code, drop it in, and you're off and running.
Also, check out the RT video page Varg set up HERE. Also please note the DONATE BUTTON on that page...if you're watching RT from home, please share some love and understand that it takes a lot of money and hard work for the RT organizers to stage this event. So hit that button and send them some love, homeys!
And just to remind you why we do this:
- We seek to protect and preserve the cultural qualities of New Orleans that make our city unique.
- We resolve to root out and expose the corruption and incompetence that harms us all.
- We work to enact a vision of a restored and resilient community that respects traditions and reaches for a sustainable future for all citizens.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Let the angling begin
Wakka-BAM!
City Councilmember owed thousands in sanitation fees
Perfect timing for this story. CHM seems to have her sights set on filling the vacant Council-at-Large position left by Arnie Fielkow's exit and I've heard Mayor Landrieu is in her corner.
Of all the potential candidates to fill this spot, I really hope it's not Cynthia Hedge-Morrell. This office is too important to take lightly and it is an office, not an appointed staff position. In fact, I don't like the idea of the mayor endorsing any candidate for that position. It's just not kosher. I'm not suggesting that council members should be hostile to the mayor's admin. or agenda but they definitely shouldn't be chummy either. That's just not healthy for the city....in my humble opinion.
Having said that, here are some names I would like to see thrown into the pot.
1. Norman Francis - It's time. If he won't volunteer we need to draft him...hold him hostage until he agrees to run. Xavier is the best kept secret in the city and Francis has been at the helm for 4 decades. This city needs that level of leadership. At the very least I think he should be named to the interim position....then maybe we can just ignore the city charter and tell him he has to stay. It looks like there's a move to ignore the charter anyway.
2. James Perry - James' qualities are somewhat the opposite of Francis, he's a young gun but smart as hell and I think that would be refreshing for this city. I'd love to see him get a shot.
3. Caroline Fayard - I'm mixed about this one because I'd rather see her take a state office than a city office. I think she's the best thing....maybe the last thing....the LA dems have going and taking a city office may hurt her chances of winning a larger state office. Still, I think she'd be a good candidate.
4. Shelley Midura - Yup. I'm serious. I think she served District A well but she just got burnt out. Maybe she's rested, tan and ready to go.
Not-so-serious...
5. Sandra "18 Wheeler" Hester - Oh hell yes! We could sell tickets to city council meetings....and I'm giddy just thinking about a Clarkson v. Hester smack down in council chambers.
6. DJ Soul Sistah or Kermit Ruffins - I've said it before and I'll say it again....no one brings more New Orleanians together under the same roof and makes them feel better than those two. Just think, every council meeting would start with, "All Aboard!!!"
7. Jay Batt - Ha. I wish they would publish that new sarcasm font.
8. John Georges - Ha ha ha...I wish they would publish that new apeshit, megalomaniac font.
OK....I'm all ears. Who are you guys thinking?
City Councilmember owed thousands in sanitation fees
Perfect timing for this story. CHM seems to have her sights set on filling the vacant Council-at-Large position left by Arnie Fielkow's exit and I've heard Mayor Landrieu is in her corner.
Of all the potential candidates to fill this spot, I really hope it's not Cynthia Hedge-Morrell. This office is too important to take lightly and it is an office, not an appointed staff position. In fact, I don't like the idea of the mayor endorsing any candidate for that position. It's just not kosher. I'm not suggesting that council members should be hostile to the mayor's admin. or agenda but they definitely shouldn't be chummy either. That's just not healthy for the city....in my humble opinion.
Having said that, here are some names I would like to see thrown into the pot.
1. Norman Francis - It's time. If he won't volunteer we need to draft him...hold him hostage until he agrees to run. Xavier is the best kept secret in the city and Francis has been at the helm for 4 decades. This city needs that level of leadership. At the very least I think he should be named to the interim position....then maybe we can just ignore the city charter and tell him he has to stay. It looks like there's a move to ignore the charter anyway.
2. James Perry - James' qualities are somewhat the opposite of Francis, he's a young gun but smart as hell and I think that would be refreshing for this city. I'd love to see him get a shot.
3. Caroline Fayard - I'm mixed about this one because I'd rather see her take a state office than a city office. I think she's the best thing....maybe the last thing....the LA dems have going and taking a city office may hurt her chances of winning a larger state office. Still, I think she'd be a good candidate.
4. Shelley Midura - Yup. I'm serious. I think she served District A well but she just got burnt out. Maybe she's rested, tan and ready to go.
Not-so-serious...
5. Sandra "18 Wheeler" Hester - Oh hell yes! We could sell tickets to city council meetings....and I'm giddy just thinking about a Clarkson v. Hester smack down in council chambers.
6. DJ Soul Sistah or Kermit Ruffins - I've said it before and I'll say it again....no one brings more New Orleanians together under the same roof and makes them feel better than those two. Just think, every council meeting would start with, "All Aboard!!!"
7. Jay Batt - Ha. I wish they would publish that new sarcasm font.
8. John Georges - Ha ha ha...I wish they would publish that new apeshit, megalomaniac font.
OK....I'm all ears. Who are you guys thinking?
Just so we understand what is supposed to happen right now...
From the City Charter:
"the vacancy shall be filled by special election, to be called by the Council within ten days after its occurrence. . .provided that if any special or general election is to be held in the City after sixty days and within six months after occurrence of the vacancy, then the election shall be held in conjunction with such other election."
Snapitty Snap, mothafuckaz!!!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
" It's twisted, but still good..."
That was the comment I recently heard from a doctor who was looking at a section of my heart via ultrasound while describing it to some quasi-curious interns. I busted out laughing and asked him if I could quote him on that....he didn't get the joke. That sentiment is how I'd like to title the third and final chapter in the "St. Pierre Trial: Color Commentator Series; Vol. 3".
Sorry it's taken so long but I actually lost the notebook I was taking notes with that day. After cleaning up my office the other day, I found it stashed away in a cardboard, legal-file box. I put it there so I wouldn't lose it, then I forgot I put it there and hence lost it. Welcome to my brain, don't stay too long it can be detrimental to your sanity.
Brief Moment of Reflection
In part 2, We left off with wind-blown Eddie and Sir Flannagan's closing defense statements. Over all I would give them about a 6 1/2 out of 10. Considering what they had to work with I was truly amazed at the job the defense did.
I couldn't understand why Marky Mark didn't plea in the first place and the trial only strengthened that sentiment. I guess when you have Dell footing legal bills for you, you may tend to get a little delusional and begin to think somebody is going to pull a rabbit out of a hat. That didn't happen...not even close.
However, I have uncovered some pretty interesting info. which may explain Marky's defiant attitude. I will get to that later in the post.
Start your engines
You hear that? The engine is revving....light turns green....the Bugatti is off the line....
Coman immediately jumped on the fuzzy math Castaing tried to confuse the jury with. Castaing had tried to suggest St. Pierre wasn't actually making money off his contracts with the city. I kind of suspected that is what Coman would attack and he wasted nary a second going straight for Castaing's spread sheet. He got about two minutes into dissecting the numbers before Castaing objected but the point had been made in short order...the numbers were bullshit and he got enough of the explanation out for the jury, and the peanut gallery, to understand the basics.
I'm not sure why it took so long for the defense to object. Even though he didn't explain the fuzzy math completely, the general sentiment was relayed to the jury. It was only two minutes but an effective two minutes..
Coman then started firing off bullet points in rapid succession, with sprinklings of conjecture in between. I tried to keep up with them in my note taking but I've waited so long to actually synthesize those notes, I don't quite remember exactly what some of them mean. Anyway, I'm going to try to run them down as I wrote the bullet points in my notebook...here goes...Coman's closing talking points:
- New Orleans City Hall is notorious for "Bribes and Lies". This is yet another misuse of public tax dollars, a problem which has plagued the city for years.
That was a rather pregnant thesis to lead with. At one point in the defense argument Castaing had actually tried to use the integrity of the Nagin administration and City Hall as a defense strategy....that was laughable. Now Coman came out and stated what everyone already knows and believes, "Our city government is plagued with corruption." It was kind of a breath of fresh air....it's like he just cleared up all the bullshit we had just been subjected to by the defense. The tactic worked, at least for me.
- Netmethods was incorporated in Delaware...all dubious corporate ventures are incorporated in Delaware.
True 'dat.
- Coman points out that St. Pierre continually lied to his own lawyer(s), in specific, Danny Drake.
This was a big turning point in the trial. When Danny Drake (Netmethods' lawyer and father of Chris Drake, Netmethods' partner) was on the stand Castaing asked him if Meffert had lied to him about the nature of the business. Drake fired back, "They all lied to me!" BAM! Castaing's own witness just screwed the pooch. Coman refreshed the jury's memory on that revelation which I think was probably the second nail in the coffin behind the muthafukin' boat.
- Coman describes what Count 1 is, "Partnership in Crime".
Coman kind of took on the role of the judge and explained to the jury what this charge is and why St. Pierre is guilty. This was a counter to Castaing's attempts to confuse the jury with what the charges actually are.
Coman says, "A bribe is a bribe is a bribe." Yes, yes and yes. Sometimes it's just necessary to say "1 is 1 is 1." It's easy for people to get confused and think, "1 is 1 is 1 is 3." If all else fails, just do the math.
The lead prosecutor then drew attention to the multiple LLC's these guys had created in an attempt to hide their criminal enterprise and averred, "You can't hide behind companies."
Actually you can and that happens all the time. Very rarely do we see people get busted by following the bread crumbs from LLC to LLC to Con-profit to LLC to politician to offshore LLC.....yada yada.
(Hey I think I just subconsciously drew out the diagram for Nagin's Mexican casino deal...
...but I digress.)
In fact the crime camera gig is still rolling through new LLC incarnations, i.e., MMR (which we'll get to in a minute).
- Coman points out that "going to lawyers" is not a defense for committing a crime.
This was really important because the whole defense strategy seemed predicated on confusing the jury into thinking that St. Pierre can't be guilty because he was simply following the advice of his lawyers. Of course, even that defense broke down when we found out St. Pierre was lying to his own lawyer per the defense's witness.
Even if MM found lawyers that told him the kickback scheme he devised was perfectly legal (and they never told him that by the way), a crime is still a crime. It only goes to show that not only is St. Pierre a bad criminal, he must have had shitty judgement in his choice of lawyers as well. Not only is he a criminal, he's a dumb, arrogant criminal....that's what I came away with.
I really wish Coman would have stated, "Everything you heard in regards to what legal advice St. Pierre was given is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is if he committed the crime." Probably would have provoked an objection but I still would have spouted it out just to make sure the jury understood.
- Coman points out that St. Pierre couldn't produce an actual work description for the kickbacks he was paying Greg and Linda Meffert, as well as work billed to the city such as some of Jimmy Goodson's line items.
Coman points out the Mefferts got paid for nothing. How could that be anything other than a bribe? He also points out that St. Pierre had two years to make something up to describe what service he had paid the Mefferts for but he still can't explain it.
Very good point. Very...very....good point. You can't argue that it wasn't a bribe unless you at least try to come up with a fucking excuse as to why you're stroking all those checks. They could have at least made some shit up and said, "We were paying her for....consulting....on....stuff...yeah...that's it.". I mean anything would have been better than just letting the jury look at those frikkin' enormous checks and realize the cash was being sucked out of the public coffers and rolled into the Mefferts' bank account for doing....nada.
Major fuck up on the defense's part. Major. You have to make up some kind of shit to at least imply that St. Pierre thought he was paying that money for an actual service. Maybe they did that and I missed it, I wasn't there for the entire trial but I never heard a valid explanation for the check stroking to Linda. Trust me, in the end...the check stroking was much more egregious than anything getting stroked on the muthafukin' boat.
- Coman breaks down the $, with paperwork to boot.
All things said and done in this case, in the end it was the paper trail. The prosecution went all Tom Cruise on us and showed us the money. Boat, strippers, sugar addictions aside....what won this case was the paper trail that had been methodically reconstructed by the DOJ team. I don't see how you battle a paper trail like that.
Coman proceeded to brief the jury on the big payouts (bribes) and perks that came from public monies:
- Coman breaks down all the criminal charges.
Count 1 - Partnership in Crime;
Counts 3-26 - Wire Fraud;
Counts 2 & 27-42 - Bribery with Meffert;
Counts 43-52 - Bribery with Bowling Pin;
Count 53 - Money Laundering of 900k to two public officials.
Once again, he spells out what the actual charges are for the jury so they are not confused by the defense's attempts to convolute the crimes.
Finally, Coman draws to a close and goes right back to the opener about how this city is infested with corruption. He stares the jury down and states, "The corruption needs to end....here and now."
I got a boner...I don't know about anybody else but it made me randy.
Da Judge and Da Jesters
The jury recessed and then came back in order for Judge Fallon to explain all of the charges to the jury and their responsibility in deciding the verdicts.
Fallon has this buttery, Boston voice, "...if you believe aaalll....or paahhht....of the praahhh...se..cuuuhhhtion's....." He sounded a little like J.F.K. I realize buttery and Boston may be polarizing thunks in your head but I was digging it...very much. I still want to do a Judge Fallon dinner party, I like listening to that cat talk.
The St. Pierre clan sat rather somberly through this part. One of the clan got so bored she took her shoes off and was doing a little horizontal jig on the back of the church pew in front of her...I couldn't make out if it was a celtic folk dance or a cajun two-step but she had a pretty good rhythm going to the Fallon rap.
Somewhat of a surreal moment.
I imagined she was line dancing to the Doobie Bros., "What a Fool Believes":
Yeah...lyrics and all. Can ya dig it?
One other irony I noted was that every computer in the courtroom was a Dell. Maybe I'm the only one who sees the irony in that but it's something I noticed.
Meanwhile, Stacy had back-stepped over into the left-hand corner of the peanut gallery. She sat there quietly with her head down...and...wait for it....hair twirling did commence. Orchestrated or genuine, it made me worry about her state of mind and I'm sure the jury noticed as well.
Marky Mark was nervously rubbing his forehead. I think he was just pissed that he had to sit there that long. He wasn't feeling the "butteriness + Boston = something cool that I can't explain" Judge Fallon voice I described above. I honestly think he was just pissed.
Wow! Now that I think about it...he wasn't even scared....he really was just pissed. Maybe he was pissed at his defense attorney, maybe he was pissed at his bro's for ratting him out, maybe he was pissed at himself for not plea'ing....shit, I don't know but I did write all those things down in my notebook as possibilities. I do know he was pissed.
Damn, that's why it pays to take notes. I totally forgot that.
Da Verdict
The moment of truth.
As the guilty verdicts started rolling out, one by one, Marky Mark showed signs of what I interpreted as disbelief....head shakes, head rolls....I think he actually thought he was going to get out of, at least some, of the charges. The anger rapidly morphed into something else...not sure what that emotion was but it definitely wasn't anger.
I looked for the emoticon on my keyboard and I'm pretty sure no one has generically interpreted that emotion, yet. My best attempt would be :/?∞. Can I patent that? I want to patent that.
All and all, Marky Mark kept a great poker face.
The most notable reaction came from his parents. His father was sobbing uncontrollably.
Immediately following the reading of the verdict, the bailiff's ( I suppose federal) took MM into custody and escorted him out the back door. Some confusion ensued. Castaing approached the bench and Judge Fallon called for a meeting "out back".
I think the defense was caught off guard that Judge Fallon was sending MM straight to the pokey...do not pass go...do not collect $200. I guess the Judge considered MM a flight risk. Anyway, he eventually got out...St. Pierre has since been released until his sentencing the first week in September.
Of course, there could be an appeal.
The Aftermath
The press conference was quite a show. The prosecuting team looked like schoolgirls at a Bieber concert. They nailed every charge so I suppose they deserved to celebrate.
I must admit, I got a couple of hot flashes myself.
Letten praised his team and the cooperation of other federal offices. He even went local and threw "Q" and The Office of the Inspector General a bone.
I actually ran into Q a couple of days earlier at a coffee shop and took the liberty of introducing myself.
He stressed that I never refer to the office as "The Inspector General". He wanted to make sure the entity is always referred to as "The Office of the Inspector General" because it is a team effort, not an individual ego trip. OK...good enough. But I'm still going to call him Q because I don't want to have to remember how to spell Quatrevaux.
Letten suggested this case was won because of the methodic paper trail which was pieced together by the prosecution. I tend to agree....It's one thing to hear about strippers on the MF'n boat but to see the checks actually stroked to Meff by St. Pierre...that's impossible to defend.
WDSU reporter, Gina Swanson, asked Letten "What role did the press and bloggers play in this investigation?" Letten conferred with his bro's for a second then replied (parrot-phrased :) did you see True Blood last night?), "We can't comment a lot on sources as the investigation is ongoing but I can tell you that we do look closely at media resources, David Hammer, from the Times-Picayune and we have also looked at blogs. Hopefully we can shed more light on that after the investigation is complete."
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That shout out actually made me as giddy as a star-struck schoolgirl...I have to admit. Even if I am apparently, Voldemort....no one dare say my name.
....lyrics and all.
Reflection
After the press conference I sat down outside the Boggs Federal Building and stared down Poydras street, trying to take it all in.
"Damn, these guys had been brought to justice...it really happened.", methunk.
These peckerheads were ripping off our city at a moment when it was fighting for its life. This time, they didn't get away with it like so many rat-bastards have before. This time the common Joe's demanded answers and they got 'em.
I didn't feel schadenfreude towards them, I really didn't....I just felt hopeful. I felt like maybe the city has really turned a corner, since the storm, with the string of convictions we've had against corrupt, public officials. Shit, now we even got one of the sneaky, private-sector bastards who bribe the public officials. I'm not going Pollyanna but I really believe we've seen some enormous changes in the past 5...approaching 6 years.
I was awash with optimism.
Just when I thought I had exhausted my capacity for mental masturbation and should probably just go home...Lady St. Pierre, Castaing and Sir Flannagan came barreling out of the building surrounded by a torrent of reporters and cameras. In true form, Stacy bucked her way right through the press posse. She eventually broke free and galloped right on down Camp Street.
I suppose she rode off into the sunset that day in that big, black Mercedes....Marky Mark....I think he took a big, metal truck.
What now?
There have been some really interesting developments since the criminal trial...mostly coming from the ongoing "Camsoft v. All You Rotten Motherfuckers" civil case which I'll get to in a second.
I know the question on everyone's mind is "What about Nagin?" The question on my mind has been, "What about Ciber? What about Ed Burns? Do I dare say...Dell? What about Kurt? What about Drake?"
Here's what I know....nothing.
I don't know what is going to happen. I've heard rumors that the DOJ will not pursue Burns or Ciber. While that is incredibly aggravating to me, it doesn't come as a surprise. I should probably refrain from speculation on why it doesn't surprise me but suffice to say Ciber is much like BP or Goldman Sachs....they can't fail. Not necessarily because they're too "big" but because they are, quite simply, too evil. I'll leave it at that.
Kurt, Drake, Minyard...I don't understand how those guys can skate without any repercussions. With what was revealed in this trial, I just don't understand how those guys walk. I suppose that's the curse of viewing it from my panolpy...kind of like the view from the top of One Shell Square...where all those antennae arrays live.
Nagin...I don't see Nagin being charged as a result of this trial. Yes, his secretary used the Meff Card knowingly to book the Jamaica trip. Yes, he was taking illegal campaign contributions. Yes, Jimmy Goodson was working on his house. Yes, he took a trip to Hawaii, Chicago, Jamaica, Vegas on city contractors' dime.....but if none of these other guys are going to be charged I don't think Nagin is either.
However, that doesn't negate the possibility that he could be charged in his dealings with Frank Fradella and Aaron Bennett...I have always believed he committed bigger sins with those two dudes than he did with Meff/St. Pierre. And if you read the homework assignment I posted a couple of weeks ago, you'll know that the Fed just turned up the burner on Franky from simmer to boil. I heard some bone rattling that pre-St. Pierre indictment, there may have been some negotiations attempted between FF and The Man (S.E.C....and I don't mean LSU's division) but the talks fell through.
Now, in the wake of a blistering indictment of a Nagin crony, The Man introduces "60 boxes of information" and "a substantial but undetermined volume of electronic images including, but not limited to, emails" into the case. I would assume the "not limited to" part refers to .pdfs and perhaps self-produced images of aging men standing naked in a mirror....flexing.
I don't know for sure but at this point I'm willing to let my imagination try and live up to the reality. I am, obviously, a gullible lad at the ripe, old age of 42. At this point, I think anything is possible.
My take on the Fradella development is this......S.E.C. Translation: "OK...so you don't want to cooperate. Good enough. Oh, by the way, we're introducing all this extra shit we've got on you into your case. Hmmm....there may be some new charges in there....it's a lot of stuff....you need to look over it. Tell you what, you take a look at all that and get back to us. :) "
That's just my translation, of course...digest it or spit it out. It is simply conjecture.
And while we're on the subject of conjecture, I think the biggest sin committed in the history of the Nagin era is that Ciber helped him steal the 2006 mayoral election. I know...I know....call me a conspiracy theorist....tell me I'm paranoid schizo......but you will not convince me otherwise. I just want to remind you of one thing Meffert said when he was on the stand in this trial, "Both Ciber and us (Netmethods) had a very big interest in getting Nagin re-elected." I think he said that....that way....for a reason. I also think that is one reason Ciber will not be prosecuted. They've done it before and they were never prosecuted. As I said...they are too evil to fail. Just google Pennsylvania Turnpike & Ciber....same thing....same result.
Believe what you will.
Da' Geeses and Da' Ganders...what's good for one ain't good for the other
Now back to that info I was referring to about why I think Marky Mark was so defiant and pushed this trial right off the cliff.
First, let me ask you folks something. Did you ever wonder why Linda Meffert was used by Greg and Mark as a funnel and Stacy St. Pierre wasn't? I always thought that was curious....I mean if they figured they could hide money and kickbacks by sending it through Linda, why wouldn't they have done the exact same thing with Stacy? Weeellllll..........as it turns out........from an amendment recently filed in the Camsoft civil suit:
And the "LLC shuffle" beat goes on...it just keeps going on.
Keep in mind the situation with Meff was very different considering Meff was a public official and Mark wasn't. I don't think there are any laws being broken with S2, I think it's just an asset dump...or rather the fee for an asset dump. Regardless, St. Pierre clan is gettin' paid and that explains a lot about Marky Mark's motivation....at least to me.
Wrap up
All and all, I think the outcome of this trial was exactly how the cardiologist described my ticker, "Twisted, but still good." I'm past the schoolgirl crush thing but I'm still optimistic.
Next up....diggin' up some old bones. You remember e-maelstrom? You ever wondered who authorized that email deletion? I think I know. I probably can't tell you and you probably wouldn't believe me if I did tell you...but we're gonna do some diggin'.
Sorry it's taken so long but I actually lost the notebook I was taking notes with that day. After cleaning up my office the other day, I found it stashed away in a cardboard, legal-file box. I put it there so I wouldn't lose it, then I forgot I put it there and hence lost it. Welcome to my brain, don't stay too long it can be detrimental to your sanity.
Brief Moment of Reflection
In part 2, We left off with wind-blown Eddie and Sir Flannagan's closing defense statements. Over all I would give them about a 6 1/2 out of 10. Considering what they had to work with I was truly amazed at the job the defense did.
I couldn't understand why Marky Mark didn't plea in the first place and the trial only strengthened that sentiment. I guess when you have Dell footing legal bills for you, you may tend to get a little delusional and begin to think somebody is going to pull a rabbit out of a hat. That didn't happen...not even close.
However, I have uncovered some pretty interesting info. which may explain Marky's defiant attitude. I will get to that later in the post.
Start your engines
You hear that? The engine is revving....light turns green....the Bugatti is off the line....
Coman immediately jumped on the fuzzy math Castaing tried to confuse the jury with. Castaing had tried to suggest St. Pierre wasn't actually making money off his contracts with the city. I kind of suspected that is what Coman would attack and he wasted nary a second going straight for Castaing's spread sheet. He got about two minutes into dissecting the numbers before Castaing objected but the point had been made in short order...the numbers were bullshit and he got enough of the explanation out for the jury, and the peanut gallery, to understand the basics.
I'm not sure why it took so long for the defense to object. Even though he didn't explain the fuzzy math completely, the general sentiment was relayed to the jury. It was only two minutes but an effective two minutes..
Coman then started firing off bullet points in rapid succession, with sprinklings of conjecture in between. I tried to keep up with them in my note taking but I've waited so long to actually synthesize those notes, I don't quite remember exactly what some of them mean. Anyway, I'm going to try to run them down as I wrote the bullet points in my notebook...here goes...Coman's closing talking points:
- New Orleans City Hall is notorious for "Bribes and Lies". This is yet another misuse of public tax dollars, a problem which has plagued the city for years.
That was a rather pregnant thesis to lead with. At one point in the defense argument Castaing had actually tried to use the integrity of the Nagin administration and City Hall as a defense strategy....that was laughable. Now Coman came out and stated what everyone already knows and believes, "Our city government is plagued with corruption." It was kind of a breath of fresh air....it's like he just cleared up all the bullshit we had just been subjected to by the defense. The tactic worked, at least for me.
- Netmethods was incorporated in Delaware...all dubious corporate ventures are incorporated in Delaware.
True 'dat.
- Coman points out that St. Pierre continually lied to his own lawyer(s), in specific, Danny Drake.
This was a big turning point in the trial. When Danny Drake (Netmethods' lawyer and father of Chris Drake, Netmethods' partner) was on the stand Castaing asked him if Meffert had lied to him about the nature of the business. Drake fired back, "They all lied to me!" BAM! Castaing's own witness just screwed the pooch. Coman refreshed the jury's memory on that revelation which I think was probably the second nail in the coffin behind the muthafukin' boat.
- Coman describes what Count 1 is, "Partnership in Crime".
Coman kind of took on the role of the judge and explained to the jury what this charge is and why St. Pierre is guilty. This was a counter to Castaing's attempts to confuse the jury with what the charges actually are.
Coman says, "A bribe is a bribe is a bribe." Yes, yes and yes. Sometimes it's just necessary to say "1 is 1 is 1." It's easy for people to get confused and think, "1 is 1 is 1 is 3." If all else fails, just do the math.
The lead prosecutor then drew attention to the multiple LLC's these guys had created in an attempt to hide their criminal enterprise and averred, "You can't hide behind companies."
Actually you can and that happens all the time. Very rarely do we see people get busted by following the bread crumbs from LLC to LLC to Con-profit to LLC to politician to offshore LLC.....yada yada.
(Hey I think I just subconsciously drew out the diagram for Nagin's Mexican casino deal...
...but I digress.)
In fact the crime camera gig is still rolling through new LLC incarnations, i.e., MMR (which we'll get to in a minute).
- Coman points out that "going to lawyers" is not a defense for committing a crime.
This was really important because the whole defense strategy seemed predicated on confusing the jury into thinking that St. Pierre can't be guilty because he was simply following the advice of his lawyers. Of course, even that defense broke down when we found out St. Pierre was lying to his own lawyer per the defense's witness.
Even if MM found lawyers that told him the kickback scheme he devised was perfectly legal (and they never told him that by the way), a crime is still a crime. It only goes to show that not only is St. Pierre a bad criminal, he must have had shitty judgement in his choice of lawyers as well. Not only is he a criminal, he's a dumb, arrogant criminal....that's what I came away with.
I really wish Coman would have stated, "Everything you heard in regards to what legal advice St. Pierre was given is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is if he committed the crime." Probably would have provoked an objection but I still would have spouted it out just to make sure the jury understood.
- Coman points out that St. Pierre couldn't produce an actual work description for the kickbacks he was paying Greg and Linda Meffert, as well as work billed to the city such as some of Jimmy Goodson's line items.
Coman points out the Mefferts got paid for nothing. How could that be anything other than a bribe? He also points out that St. Pierre had two years to make something up to describe what service he had paid the Mefferts for but he still can't explain it.
Very good point. Very...very....good point. You can't argue that it wasn't a bribe unless you at least try to come up with a fucking excuse as to why you're stroking all those checks. They could have at least made some shit up and said, "We were paying her for....consulting....on....stuff...yeah...that's it.". I mean anything would have been better than just letting the jury look at those frikkin' enormous checks and realize the cash was being sucked out of the public coffers and rolled into the Mefferts' bank account for doing....nada.
Major fuck up on the defense's part. Major. You have to make up some kind of shit to at least imply that St. Pierre thought he was paying that money for an actual service. Maybe they did that and I missed it, I wasn't there for the entire trial but I never heard a valid explanation for the check stroking to Linda. Trust me, in the end...the check stroking was much more egregious than anything getting stroked on the muthafukin' boat.
- Coman breaks down the $, with paperwork to boot.
All things said and done in this case, in the end it was the paper trail. The prosecution went all Tom Cruise on us and showed us the money. Boat, strippers, sugar addictions aside....what won this case was the paper trail that had been methodically reconstructed by the DOJ team. I don't see how you battle a paper trail like that.
Coman proceeded to brief the jury on the big payouts (bribes) and perks that came from public monies:
- $130,954.60 on the MeffCardAll with paperwork to back it up....paperwork which was shown in detail on the projected screen right over Marky Mark's head....from a Dell computer.
- the MF'n boat
- 601 St. Joseph (corp. apartment)
- Katrina overbilling (rat bastards)
- 25k for a trip to Vegas
- $404,240.52 in kickbaks for a pile o' steaming shit crime cameras that never worked
- $647,000 paid to Meff as outright bribes
- $22,000 in Anthony "Bowling Pin" Jones bribes
- Concealed campaign contributions (to our chrome-domed former mayor)
- $236k in Lafayette bribes through their CTO.
- Coman breaks down all the criminal charges.
Count 1 - Partnership in Crime;
Counts 3-26 - Wire Fraud;
Counts 2 & 27-42 - Bribery with Meffert;
Counts 43-52 - Bribery with Bowling Pin;
Count 53 - Money Laundering of 900k to two public officials.
Once again, he spells out what the actual charges are for the jury so they are not confused by the defense's attempts to convolute the crimes.
Finally, Coman draws to a close and goes right back to the opener about how this city is infested with corruption. He stares the jury down and states, "The corruption needs to end....here and now."
I got a boner...I don't know about anybody else but it made me randy.
Da Judge and Da Jesters
The jury recessed and then came back in order for Judge Fallon to explain all of the charges to the jury and their responsibility in deciding the verdicts.
Fallon has this buttery, Boston voice, "...if you believe aaalll....or paahhht....of the praahhh...se..cuuuhhhtion's....." He sounded a little like J.F.K. I realize buttery and Boston may be polarizing thunks in your head but I was digging it...very much. I still want to do a Judge Fallon dinner party, I like listening to that cat talk.
The St. Pierre clan sat rather somberly through this part. One of the clan got so bored she took her shoes off and was doing a little horizontal jig on the back of the church pew in front of her...I couldn't make out if it was a celtic folk dance or a cajun two-step but she had a pretty good rhythm going to the Fallon rap.
Somewhat of a surreal moment.
I imagined she was line dancing to the Doobie Bros., "What a Fool Believes":
Yeah...lyrics and all. Can ya dig it?
One other irony I noted was that every computer in the courtroom was a Dell. Maybe I'm the only one who sees the irony in that but it's something I noticed.
Meanwhile, Stacy had back-stepped over into the left-hand corner of the peanut gallery. She sat there quietly with her head down...and...wait for it....hair twirling did commence. Orchestrated or genuine, it made me worry about her state of mind and I'm sure the jury noticed as well.
Marky Mark was nervously rubbing his forehead. I think he was just pissed that he had to sit there that long. He wasn't feeling the "butteriness + Boston = something cool that I can't explain" Judge Fallon voice I described above. I honestly think he was just pissed.
Wow! Now that I think about it...he wasn't even scared....he really was just pissed. Maybe he was pissed at his defense attorney, maybe he was pissed at his bro's for ratting him out, maybe he was pissed at himself for not plea'ing....shit, I don't know but I did write all those things down in my notebook as possibilities. I do know he was pissed.
Damn, that's why it pays to take notes. I totally forgot that.
Da Verdict
The moment of truth.
As the guilty verdicts started rolling out, one by one, Marky Mark showed signs of what I interpreted as disbelief....head shakes, head rolls....I think he actually thought he was going to get out of, at least some, of the charges. The anger rapidly morphed into something else...not sure what that emotion was but it definitely wasn't anger.
I looked for the emoticon on my keyboard and I'm pretty sure no one has generically interpreted that emotion, yet. My best attempt would be :/?∞. Can I patent that? I want to patent that.
All and all, Marky Mark kept a great poker face.
The most notable reaction came from his parents. His father was sobbing uncontrollably.
Immediately following the reading of the verdict, the bailiff's ( I suppose federal) took MM into custody and escorted him out the back door. Some confusion ensued. Castaing approached the bench and Judge Fallon called for a meeting "out back".
I think the defense was caught off guard that Judge Fallon was sending MM straight to the pokey...do not pass go...do not collect $200. I guess the Judge considered MM a flight risk. Anyway, he eventually got out...St. Pierre has since been released until his sentencing the first week in September.
Of course, there could be an appeal.
The Aftermath
The press conference was quite a show. The prosecuting team looked like schoolgirls at a Bieber concert. They nailed every charge so I suppose they deserved to celebrate.
I must admit, I got a couple of hot flashes myself.
Letten praised his team and the cooperation of other federal offices. He even went local and threw "Q" and The Office of the Inspector General a bone.
I actually ran into Q a couple of days earlier at a coffee shop and took the liberty of introducing myself.
He stressed that I never refer to the office as "The Inspector General". He wanted to make sure the entity is always referred to as "The Office of the Inspector General" because it is a team effort, not an individual ego trip. OK...good enough. But I'm still going to call him Q because I don't want to have to remember how to spell Quatrevaux.
Letten suggested this case was won because of the methodic paper trail which was pieced together by the prosecution. I tend to agree....It's one thing to hear about strippers on the MF'n boat but to see the checks actually stroked to Meff by St. Pierre...that's impossible to defend.
WDSU reporter, Gina Swanson, asked Letten "What role did the press and bloggers play in this investigation?" Letten conferred with his bro's for a second then replied (parrot-phrased :) did you see True Blood last night?), "We can't comment a lot on sources as the investigation is ongoing but I can tell you that we do look closely at media resources, David Hammer, from the Times-Picayune and we have also looked at blogs. Hopefully we can shed more light on that after the investigation is complete."
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That shout out actually made me as giddy as a star-struck schoolgirl...I have to admit. Even if I am apparently, Voldemort....no one dare say my name.
....lyrics and all.
Reflection
After the press conference I sat down outside the Boggs Federal Building and stared down Poydras street, trying to take it all in.
"Damn, these guys had been brought to justice...it really happened.", methunk.
These peckerheads were ripping off our city at a moment when it was fighting for its life. This time, they didn't get away with it like so many rat-bastards have before. This time the common Joe's demanded answers and they got 'em.
I didn't feel schadenfreude towards them, I really didn't....I just felt hopeful. I felt like maybe the city has really turned a corner, since the storm, with the string of convictions we've had against corrupt, public officials. Shit, now we even got one of the sneaky, private-sector bastards who bribe the public officials. I'm not going Pollyanna but I really believe we've seen some enormous changes in the past 5...approaching 6 years.
I was awash with optimism.
Just when I thought I had exhausted my capacity for mental masturbation and should probably just go home...Lady St. Pierre, Castaing and Sir Flannagan came barreling out of the building surrounded by a torrent of reporters and cameras. In true form, Stacy bucked her way right through the press posse. She eventually broke free and galloped right on down Camp Street.
I suppose she rode off into the sunset that day in that big, black Mercedes....Marky Mark....I think he took a big, metal truck.
What now?
There have been some really interesting developments since the criminal trial...mostly coming from the ongoing "Camsoft v. All You Rotten Motherfuckers" civil case which I'll get to in a second.
I know the question on everyone's mind is "What about Nagin?" The question on my mind has been, "What about Ciber? What about Ed Burns? Do I dare say...Dell? What about Kurt? What about Drake?"
Here's what I know....nothing.
I don't know what is going to happen. I've heard rumors that the DOJ will not pursue Burns or Ciber. While that is incredibly aggravating to me, it doesn't come as a surprise. I should probably refrain from speculation on why it doesn't surprise me but suffice to say Ciber is much like BP or Goldman Sachs....they can't fail. Not necessarily because they're too "big" but because they are, quite simply, too evil. I'll leave it at that.
Kurt, Drake, Minyard...I don't understand how those guys can skate without any repercussions. With what was revealed in this trial, I just don't understand how those guys walk. I suppose that's the curse of viewing it from my panolpy...kind of like the view from the top of One Shell Square...where all those antennae arrays live.
Nagin...I don't see Nagin being charged as a result of this trial. Yes, his secretary used the Meff Card knowingly to book the Jamaica trip. Yes, he was taking illegal campaign contributions. Yes, Jimmy Goodson was working on his house. Yes, he took a trip to Hawaii, Chicago, Jamaica, Vegas on city contractors' dime.....but if none of these other guys are going to be charged I don't think Nagin is either.
However, that doesn't negate the possibility that he could be charged in his dealings with Frank Fradella and Aaron Bennett...I have always believed he committed bigger sins with those two dudes than he did with Meff/St. Pierre. And if you read the homework assignment I posted a couple of weeks ago, you'll know that the Fed just turned up the burner on Franky from simmer to boil. I heard some bone rattling that pre-St. Pierre indictment, there may have been some negotiations attempted between FF and The Man (S.E.C....and I don't mean LSU's division) but the talks fell through.
Now, in the wake of a blistering indictment of a Nagin crony, The Man introduces "60 boxes of information" and "a substantial but undetermined volume of electronic images including, but not limited to, emails" into the case. I would assume the "not limited to" part refers to .pdfs and perhaps self-produced images of aging men standing naked in a mirror....flexing.
I don't know for sure but at this point I'm willing to let my imagination try and live up to the reality. I am, obviously, a gullible lad at the ripe, old age of 42. At this point, I think anything is possible.
My take on the Fradella development is this......S.E.C. Translation: "OK...so you don't want to cooperate. Good enough.
That's just my translation, of course...digest it or spit it out. It is simply conjecture.
And while we're on the subject of conjecture, I think the biggest sin committed in the history of the Nagin era is that Ciber helped him steal the 2006 mayoral election. I know...I know....call me a conspiracy theorist....tell me I'm paranoid schizo......but you will not convince me otherwise. I just want to remind you of one thing Meffert said when he was on the stand in this trial, "Both Ciber and us (Netmethods) had a very big interest in getting Nagin re-elected." I think he said that....that way....for a reason. I also think that is one reason Ciber will not be prosecuted. They've done it before and they were never prosecuted. As I said...they are too evil to fail. Just google Pennsylvania Turnpike & Ciber....same thing....same result.
Believe what you will.
Da' Geeses and Da' Ganders...what's good for one ain't good for the other
Now back to that info I was referring to about why I think Marky Mark was so defiant and pushed this trial right off the cliff.
First, let me ask you folks something. Did you ever wonder why Linda Meffert was used by Greg and Mark as a funnel and Stacy St. Pierre wasn't? I always thought that was curious....I mean if they figured they could hide money and kickbacks by sending it through Linda, why wouldn't they have done the exact same thing with Stacy? Weeellllll..........as it turns out........from an amendment recently filed in the Camsoft civil suit:
NetMethods hired MMR Construction to perform subcontract work on the Baton Rouge crime camera and Crescent City Connection camera deployment. MMR Construction was interested in learning about the wireless video surveillance technology and selling systems to its offshore oilrig customers. Aware of the NetMethod's pending New Orleans litigation, St. Pierre began negotiations with Kevin Alexander ("Alexander") of MMR Contractors. St. Pierre and Alexander agreed that MMR Constructors would open a new division, MMR Communications. MMR Constructors knew that the New Orleans litigation involved disputes over intellectual property misappropriation of the wireless video surveillance system. Pursuant to their agreement, NetMethods employees, Hodges, Ridge and Michael Merrit, transferred the technological know-how and NetMethod's future business to MMR Constructors. In January of 2010, Ridge notified personnel with Baton Rouge that NetMethods was transferred over to MMR Constructors. After Baton Rouge officials agreed to unilaterally transfer the maintenance of the Baton Rouge crime cameras to MMR Constructors under their state contract, MMR Constructors began paying approximately $10,000 per month to S2 Consulting, LLC. S2 Consulting was formed in the name of St. Pierre's wife, Stacey St. Pierre, on February 17, 2010. St. Pierre through S2 Consulting continued receiving $10,000 per month until the association between MMR Constructors and NetMethods was made public in the Baton Rouge Advocate."Ride on sweet Stacy, ride on into the sunset, girl.
And the "LLC shuffle" beat goes on...it just keeps going on.
Keep in mind the situation with Meff was very different considering Meff was a public official and Mark wasn't. I don't think there are any laws being broken with S2, I think it's just an asset dump...or rather the fee for an asset dump. Regardless, St. Pierre clan is gettin' paid and that explains a lot about Marky Mark's motivation....at least to me.
Wrap up
All and all, I think the outcome of this trial was exactly how the cardiologist described my ticker, "Twisted, but still good." I'm past the schoolgirl crush thing but I'm still optimistic.
Next up....diggin' up some old bones. You remember e-maelstrom? You ever wondered who authorized that email deletion? I think I know. I probably can't tell you and you probably wouldn't believe me if I did tell you...but we're gonna do some diggin'.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Back....
I'm gonna get back into blogging mode this week...I promise. I got backed up on posts but I am hoping to execute a blogging enema in the next few days.
School is starting, football is starting...it's time to move and shake my bones. Let's get busy.
School is starting, football is starting...it's time to move and shake my bones. Let's get busy.
Saturday, August 06, 2011
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
Pill popper? That's the best you could do?
Ya know....
Contractor Aaron Bennett's actions and his contacts in government warrant a probe: An editorial
....I really just want to sit back and watch this thing unfold like a Grisham novel. I got no skin in this. But then the petrified, little dicksmacks just can't stop lashing out on their way down.
Zombietracke? Dude signs into NOLA for the first time, nearly 2 years ago, under this story:
'American Zombie' blogger outs himself while facing libel suit from City Hall employee
Guy named himself after me? I'm flattered. I'm also flattered that he's taken the time to read my Facebook page (apparently incessantly) and discovered that I am indeed "popping pills".
I don't have a lot to hide, so I don't mind anyone knowing that I'm taking medication. I posted it on my FB page because I was amused at the side effects of the drug, Neurontin. I said it was like eating a pot brownie stuffed with Viagra....and that is a very accurate description. My doc said it is a "wonderful drug" with few side effects. She forgot to mention that the side effects are wonderful too. I would highly recommend you ask your Dr. for the prescription.
I expect to get a new sponsor in short order.
So anyway, cyber-stalking dude...I'm pretty sure you're reading this...and I'm pretty sure who you are. You gotta do better than that, man. Pill popper? I mean shit, brah....I've got a long and sordid chemical history but I've never been ashamed to throw that out there on this blog. Did you think that was going to discredit me?
Pills? Try DMT....really....I mean you should try it. I think it would help you a lot. But I'm not a doctor...a shaman, maybe....but not a doctor.
I've masturbated before. So now we got that out in the open. One night when I was drunk I ate 7 cupcakes. I know all the words to "Mr. Blue Sky" and I sing it at the top of my lungs when it comes on the radio in my truck. Sometimes I like the smell of my own farts...that's pretty fucked up but it's true.
I've even broken the law...more than once.
But I've never committed a felony. I've never betrayed the public trust by using my position for personal and financial gain at the expense of public contracts and public money. That's pretty shitty in my book, man. Especially in a city that has over a 50% high school drop out rate.
Stealing from that...fucking a city in that condition...that's lower than Jabba the Hutt's balls.
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Contractor Aaron Bennett's actions and his contacts in government warrant a probe: An editorial
....I really just want to sit back and watch this thing unfold like a Grisham novel. I got no skin in this. But then the petrified, little dicksmacks just can't stop lashing out on their way down.
Zombietracke? Dude signs into NOLA for the first time, nearly 2 years ago, under this story:
'American Zombie' blogger outs himself while facing libel suit from City Hall employee
Guy named himself after me? I'm flattered. I'm also flattered that he's taken the time to read my Facebook page (apparently incessantly) and discovered that I am indeed "popping pills".
I don't have a lot to hide, so I don't mind anyone knowing that I'm taking medication. I posted it on my FB page because I was amused at the side effects of the drug, Neurontin. I said it was like eating a pot brownie stuffed with Viagra....and that is a very accurate description. My doc said it is a "wonderful drug" with few side effects. She forgot to mention that the side effects are wonderful too. I would highly recommend you ask your Dr. for the prescription.
I expect to get a new sponsor in short order.
So anyway, cyber-stalking dude...I'm pretty sure you're reading this...and I'm pretty sure who you are. You gotta do better than that, man. Pill popper? I mean shit, brah....I've got a long and sordid chemical history but I've never been ashamed to throw that out there on this blog. Did you think that was going to discredit me?
Pills? Try DMT....really....I mean you should try it. I think it would help you a lot. But I'm not a doctor...a shaman, maybe....but not a doctor.
I've masturbated before. So now we got that out in the open. One night when I was drunk I ate 7 cupcakes. I know all the words to "Mr. Blue Sky" and I sing it at the top of my lungs when it comes on the radio in my truck. Sometimes I like the smell of my own farts...that's pretty fucked up but it's true.
I've even broken the law...more than once.
But I've never committed a felony. I've never betrayed the public trust by using my position for personal and financial gain at the expense of public contracts and public money. That's pretty shitty in my book, man. Especially in a city that has over a 50% high school drop out rate.
Stealing from that...fucking a city in that condition...that's lower than Jabba the Hutt's balls.
01000001011011100110010000100000011010000110010101110010011001010010000001101001011101000010000001100011011011110110110101100101011100110010111000101110001011100010111000100010010110010110111101110101001000000111011101101111011101010110110001100100011011100010011101110100001000000110010101110110011001010110111000100000011000010110001101100011011001010111000001110100001000000111100101101111011101010111001000100000011000010111011101100001011100100110010000100000011010010110111000100000011100000110010101110010011100110110111101101110001011100010000000100000010110010110111101110101001000000110000101110010011001010010000001110011011101010110001101101000001000000110000100100000011000110110111101110111011000010111001001100100001000000110001001101100011000010110100000101100001000000110001001101100011000010110100000101100001000000110001001101100011000010110100000101110001011100010111000101110001000100010000000100000010101110110100001100001011101000010000001100001001000000110011001110101011000110110101101101001011011100110011100100000011001000110111101110101011000110110100001100101001011100010111000101110011000010110111001100100001000000110100101110100001001110111001100100000011011100110111101110100001000000111011101101000011011110010000001111001011011110111010100100000011101000110100001101001011011100110101100100000011010010111010000100000011010010111001100101110
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