Yo homeys

Does anyone know anything about these guys?

Cuz.....I know some things.  If you got 411... let's share.

:)

William Loiry, aka. "Wimpy Jr.", strikes again

You know....in the course of writing this blog I have come across some snakes in the grass whose level of depravity truly amazed me.

Meffert...is at least, human.  St. Pierre....I'm not so sure.  Aaron Bennett...is a freak with even freakier friends (Dude is a Trashanova wannabe).

They're all characters fo' true.

But then along comes a guy whose proclivity for graft and bullshit leaves my head spinning like a coked-up, midget, dancer spiraling down a greased, stripper pole...upside down.

Yes I've seen that...and we're talking Whirling Dervish on acid....please feel free to query me at our next encounter.

Meanwhile...I think this cat, Bill Loiry, is the unholy child of Kirsha and Meffert.

I'm talking about traveling symposium superstar, William Loiry.

After conducting an extensive genealogy search on Ancestry.com....OK it was really a not-so-extensive search in my own subconscious....I found out who Bill actually descended from.

You remember Wimpy...from Popeye?

Turns out Bill is Wimpy's long lost son.

nice combover

Back in June,  The Lens' reporter, Ariella Cohen, broke the story of how Lorie stiffed vendors and employees he disingenuously procured for the "Gulf Coast Summit".   It was a wonderfully, pointless soiree he held at the Riverside Hilton in New Orleans on the anniversary of the BP oil spill.

Please refer to the Yes Men's spoof of the event here.

Cohen, bless her heart, uncovered a national trail of misery flowing in Wimpy Jr's' wake.   From 10's of thousands in unpaid vendor bills to angry, uncompensated employees that Bill conned into helping him with whatever traveling road show he could dream up to exploit the ever-growing "disaster capitalist" frontier.

Bill had a history.....Ariella showed us the cliff notes.

This guy, Loiry, deserves his own chapter in Naomi Klein's next book.

Now, within the same year, Wimpy Jr. has managed to muster up yet another circus sideshow, The Keystone XL Pipeline Summit being held in Washington, D.C. on October 25.  Loiry really is amazing...he slithers in to Nawlin's, puts on a dog and pony show, stiffs multiple businesses/individuals and six months later he's setting up shop again in D.C.

Oh, did I mention The Lens recently uncovered his bankruptcy filing?

He carpetbags his way through New Orleans, leaves folks high and dry....folks who desperately needed work in the wake of BP and Katrina...then files chapter 7 to avoid having to pay them.  Now, within six months, he's doing it all over again.

Where do they make these farkin' guys?

I may just be a monkey in a tree way down in the anus of the country but thanks to the intertubes I can throw virtual turds at Wimpy Jr. from afar...and turds I gleefully throw.

Help me figure out how to hose this grifter, guys.  Any ideas?

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errhhh...P.S.A. - Flood Insurance Map

I don't normally publish solicitations, especially from law firms.....but......this map/graphic these guys made is pretty damn informative.  So, this is not an endorsement of the law firm but I think the map they made is pretty cool and helpful:

Louisiana Flood Insurance Claim Statistics

And while we're on the subject of solicitations....if you send me some bullshit spam then immediately send another comment asking me why I didn't post your bullshit spam....I will not only delete your comments, I may even dis your stupid-ass, commercial venture just for shitz and gigglz.  Don't be a dick.

That wasn't directed at the law firm above, they were very polite....and more importantly...they were poignant.    

Meanwhile...please check out boating.com...because they actually paid for a sponsorship and that helps keep me going.  Thanks.

UPDATE:  This map may be bullshit.  I was sent these NFIP statistics from a reader:


http://bsa.nfipstat.com/reports/1040.htm#22


Which clearly states the losses for "The City of NO" as:


$7,180,396,137.78


That's a far cry from the "7 million + yellowed out Orleans Parish" graphic on that map.  It ain't a million with a M....it's a billion with a B.  


And now that map ain't nearly as sexy.  


I await your response map makers.

Community Forum on Prison

Some frightful stories here.  Video by NOCOG as promised:

PSA - NOCOG LIVE WEBCAST TOMORROW

Hey Peeps, the New Orleans Coalition for Open Government will be conducting a live webcast of the Community Forum on Jail Conditions being held tomorrow from 6pm - 8pm at the Mahalia Jackson Center, 2405 Jackson Avenue.

The webcast we be available on The Lens website.  I've been helping NOCOG get their video and live webcasting initiatives in place (my real world profession) and this will be the maiden voyage for their live webcasts.  Exciting stuff on a hot topic....please tune in.

Press Release:

NEWS RELEASE
For Release Monday September 19, 2011

CONTACTS:
Norris Henderson: 504-453-4819Sister Alison McCrary: 504-484-9710Dana Kaplan: 504-473-1403

Community Forum on Jail Conditionsto be broadcast live via web streamon The Lens news site.  

On Tuesday, September 20th from 6 - 8pm the Orleans Parish Prison Reform Coalition will be hosting a public forum for all community members concerned about conditions at OPP and related issues to have an opportunity to speak and offer recommendations for reform.  Representatives from the Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice will be in attendance to hear testimony. The forum, which will be held at the Mahalia Jackson Center 2405 Jackson Avenue will also be available for viewing via live webstream on The Lens News Site at www.thelensnola.org
In the wake of sweeping reform of the New Orleans Police Department and two years after their initial findings that the jail consistently violates the civil rights of people held in its care, OPPRC is also calling for the Department of Justice to take action to improve conditions at Orleans Parish Prison.  Since their report was issued in September 2009, conditions have only deteriorated and thirteen more people have died in the custody of the jail.  Stated OPPRC member Sister Alison McCrary, with the Congregation of St Joseph and Safe Streets / Strong Communities, “the Department of Justice must take immediate action through either a consent decree or a civil lawsuit to end the violation of rights of people housed in the jail.  We cannot wait for another loss of life to occur.”
Exactly two years after the Department of Justice issued it’s September 11, 2009 report that found a practice of the violation of civil rights of individuals held at Orleans Parish Prison (OPP), the Orleans Parish Prison Reform Coalition (OPPRC) launched a new phase of its public education campaign for reform of the jail, with a billboard on 1-10 and the announcement of a series of community forums.  The billboards include a set of five rotating messages, including support for a smaller jail of no more than 1438 beds, an end to the per diem system, and immediate action by the Department of Justice to improve conditions at the facility.
The recommendation for a smaller facility comes after national experts and a Criminal Justice Working Group convened by Mayor Landrieu determined that, through the implementation of reforms including pre-trial services, reducing racial disparities in lengths of detention, and increasing the use of citations in lieu of minor arrests, a jail of 1438 beds could be sufficient for the City of New Orleans.  While the City Council approved a replacement jail of this size in February 2011 following this recommendation, there is significant work that remains for the full implementation of these reforms.  According to Norris Henderson, Executive Director of VOTE, an OPPRC member organization, “The city needs to move aggressively towards implementing the types of reforms considered by the Criminal Justice Working Group, which when completed can be a beacon of pride for the city.  Similar reforms have been demonstrated in other cities to improve public safety, to reduce jail populations, and to save invaluable taxpayer dollars. New Orleans can do it as well.”
OPPRC is also calling for an end to the per diem system, or the funding of the jail through payment by the City for each individual held daily in OPP.  While the per diem is $22.39 per inmate, the actual cost is over $30 daily, including the additional costs of health care and staffing paid by the City to the Sheriff.  This will cost the city $27.5 million this year.  As stated by Mayor Landrieu at the August 9th District B Community Budget meeting, “If we pay (the Sheriff) per person, per day, the argument is he has an incentive to keep more people.  What we really need to do is ensure that he keeps only the number that we need him to keep and no more.”  New Orleans is the only major US city in the United States that finances its jail through a per diem system.  As stated by Dana Kaplan, Director of the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana (JJPL), “Given both the perverse incentive that the per diem creates to incarcerate more people and the fact that $22.39 per person is insufficient to safely operate a jail, there should be no obstacle this budget cycle to ending the outdated per diem system and transitioning to a performance based approach to funding OPP.”

In the off chance...

...that anyone has an extra 30k lying around their house and wants to get rid of it.  Buy me this lens and I'll be your best bud for life:

Something I've been pondering

How is that Cedric Richmond can make his bar fight incident in Baton Rouge simply disappear in the court system but Jordan Jefferson is being crucified?

Comment Bump - Eric Asher

well Asher just responded to your "suggestion" or question of conflict as to the Canal Street property on his show. he did not mention you or you blog by name, but finished by a resounbding "690 is not for sale!" or something similar.
THEN he had Sheriff Noodles normand on and proceeded to give what was a softball, snowball, kittens in mittens interview that might as well have been a pr promo piece.
In fact every time someone from JP government (Young for instance) comes on they get a super-easy walk in the park interview that very much sounds like a free promo or commercial even rather than ask about any of the tough corruption or conflict of interest issues that arise in JP.
In fact Council Chairman Chris Roberts was given 3 HOURS AS HOST and featured as one of his guests (and this is fact as previously reported in the TP) a convicted drug runner. This was when Roberts was running or getting ready to run as Council Chairman (At Large election).
It's almost hilarious how the irony of featuring his diatribe about your daring to question his integrity juxtaposed with the Robinette situation (WHICH ORIGINATED IN JP) followed by his cake-walk interview with Noodles the chief law enforcement officer for that very parish (who has had payroll fraud and allegations of bribery sashay (sp?) by with nary a peep from his office). 

I dared to ask the question?  I "dare" (man, I'm livin' on the edge) ask the question because he stumped the 1031 Canal Street development relentlessly for two weeks straight.  

So he answered with a self-righteous "NO!"  Bully on you, Eric.  I hope he's not because I like his show the best of any talk show in NOLA.  Now that we have his word I hope he can find something else to talk about considering we have a shitload of problems in this city which make that issue pale in comparison.

Some suggestions:

DOJ Consent Decree on NOPD

NOPD in general...is Serpas even in control?

Louisiana Revised Statute 33:2740.3  ...what does this taxing district mean to the city and how is the money being spent?

The proposed "Sports District" which is now being floated by MML.  What is it?  Where is the money coming from to do it?  Who does it benefit and is it a good move for the city? 

I have 20 more I could rattle out of my head but I don't want to do Asher's programming director's job.  Maybe that's the issue....they need a new programming director.  I don't know, I just know 1031 Canal does not deserve two straight weeks of air time.    

A picture is worth no words

Could someone...anyone...out there send me the pictures of the...thing....that there are supposedly pitcures of?  I am not going to use them, I just want to lay my own eyes on it so I understand what exactly we are talking about.

Don't ask me what the thing is...if you don't know I'm not talking to you.

Thanks.

Clancy weighs in on Garlandfill

Stubborn, stubborn facts

A different perspective.  It doesn't change my opinion but I appreciate the prerogative.  

Oyster Bump

Mark weighs in on GarlandfillGate:

Robinette’s silence on River Birch must also have been golden

This ƒ¨ç˚ˆ˜© City!

We've all said it....we've all been there.  As much as we love this city there are times that truly try our souls and we ponder why the hell we subject ourselves to the dystopian nightmares lurking around every corner.

Yes you have been there...don't f'n lie.

One of our city's very talented and compassionate peeps just had the misfortune of experiencing the very nasty side of Nawlin's.  Watch this story:

Brazen Lakeview robbery puts neighbors on alarm

Well, the same thing happened to 3 peeps of AZ's.  One is a designer for Dirty Coast and his computer and equipment he needs to make a living were taken in the robbery.  I'd like to ask AZ readers to please donate to him at the following PayPal link:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=UUCC3CWUEBM7A

And if anyone else wants to embed the link in their blog, please feel free.  This is not a donation to AZ, it goes directly to the affected parties.

I'm not going to go on a crime rant here, we all know the dangers of living in Nawlins and I'm sure the experience was traumatic enough for the three folks who went through it...no need to rehash it.  Please consider helping a peep out, it would be much appreciated.

Ashe'

A Matter of Tru$t

On the eve of what I expect to be Garlandfill's in high dudgeon exculpation, I would like to propose a simple challenge to Sir Robinette to quash any misgivings about his integrity we serfs may have.

I would simply ask that Garlandfill post a ledger at the town square which tallies the sales of his works of art so that we may see who values his work and exactly what value they've placed on his passion.  WWL's website could serve as the virtual town square.

What say you, Garlandfill?  Do you have the courage of your conviction to practice the same level of transparency you've so oft requested of our fiefdom's lords? 

Comment Bump....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Carry on here....nothing to see...":

>>>"The terms of the loan mentioned in the article are contained in a signed note related to a piece of property. That loan is due and will be satisfied in October of this year.<<<

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2011/09/robinette_says_he_did_absolute.html

Er, which piece of property is that, Garl? 

And I'd follow that with the comment Styborski just left on my FB page:

Michael Styborski OK, hearing now that the loan was to help out until they sold a property in St Tammany (7 Riverdale Drive). According to the ST assessor website ( http://www.stassessor.org/ assessor.php ), the lot is assessed at $9775, so that's what… about $90k max? Wish I knew how to pay off a quarter-mil with 90K… St. Tammany Parish Assessor, Patricia Schwarz Core www.stassessor.org This explanation tomorrow should be a work of art....we're going to find out just how good of an artist Garland really is.

BTW....

...I told you guys I was going to take a blogging enema.

This week should get even better.

Carry on here....nothing to see...

Schedule a show on veterans and the war.....yeah...that's it.  Everyone will forget.

Ahhh...just saw this:

Robinette to discuss $250,000 loan from River Birch owners on his WWL radio show

Resignation ensuing...I predict.

11:11 - Talking about the decline of the US Post Office, a caller got through and said, "Hi Garland, I think what the Post Office needs is a $250,000 loan with no interest!" Garland, "Alright...he's gone."

Update:  I missed the beginning of the show:

Robinette says he did "absolutely nothing wrong" in accepting loan from River Birch landfill owner

"I can look my wife and my daughter in the eye and tell you the public I have done absolutely nothing wrong," Robinette said."

Sweet Buddha.  If you can do that, G, you're a pathological liar.  This is really unbelievable...it's amazing that WWL isn't firing him even if he refuses to leave.  What he did is the equivalent of a professional athlete or referee accepting money to throw a sporting event.  Pete Rose was banned from the Hall of Fame for placing a bet on his own team....this guy took 250k and not only stumped for the biggest criminal conspiracy in our region, he went to the TP and tried to get them to stump it.

Actually what he did is worse than an athlete throwing a game....a game is just a game.....this is our community...it actually affects our lives.  His responsibility was greater than any athlete's.

WWL is shot...it's useless.  Makes me sick.

UPDATE II:  Slabbed goes gangsta as Entercom stock is in a free-fall, swan dive off the high board.

When all else fails....piss on the messenger

Hit the story on the top right on the video menu.

I somehow missed this story on Thursday.  Zurik was trying to track Bennett down at his apartment in the CBD at the Lengsfeld Lofts.  That's where the security tape came from.  My guess is that Bennett was flexing naked in the mirror when his doorbell rang....but that's just a guess.

And while Bennett filed trespassing charges, let's just take a look at what the law states for trespassing:

F.  The following persons may enter or remain upon immovable property of another, unless specifically forbidden to do so by the owner or other person with authority, either orally or in writing: 

(1)  A professional land surveyor or his authorized personnel, engaged in the "Practice of Land Surveying", as defined in R.S. 37:682. 

(2)  A person, affiliate, employee, agent or contractor of any business which is regulated by the Louisiana Public Service Commission or by a local franchising authority or the Federal Communication Commission under the Cable Reregulation Act of 1992 or of a municipal or public utility, while acting in the course and scope of his employment or agency relating to the operation, repair, or maintenance of a facility, servitude or any property located on the immovable property which belongs to such a business. 

(3)  Any person making a delivery, soliciting, selling any product or service, conducting a survey or poll, a real estate licensee or other person who has a legitimate reason for making a delivery, conducting business or communicating with the owner, lessee, custodian or a resident of the immovable property, and who, immediately upon entry, seeks to make the delivery, to conduct business or to conduct the communication.

So Bennett get's the security tape and has a lackey make an incredibly ineffective not-so-viral video in order to discredit a journalist who's exposing the millions in dollars the guy has ripped off from FEMA and local parishes.  I hope the video lackey took notes from Bennett himself and told him it took 20 hours at $350/hr. to make that stupid-ass video.  

Watching Bennett go down is going to be 1000 times more fun than watching Meffert/St. Pierre.  As big a mouth as Meff had, he was nowhere near as brash and delusional as AB.  

Keep it comin' bro...we're all enjoying the laughs.

Rising Tide 6 - New Orleans Brass Bands

http://vimeo.com/user6987770/rt6brassbands

Zurik Rocks!

Some douchebags....I know that term is overused but in this case I swear it's warranted....some douchebags just sent me this Youtube video:



It came from this email: neworleansnews12345@gmail.com

1.  Please feel free to send anything and everything horrible you can think of to that email.  They spammed me and I would encourage you to reply to that email with "2 girls in a tub" and more....Please help me out in returning the favor in their douchebaggery attempts at propaganda.  I'm gonna wake up tomorrow and take a picture of the dump I leave in  the toilet and send it to them....I encourage you to do the same.

2.  Congratulations, Douchebags, I posted it.

3.  Lee Zurik just gained about 1000 points on my badass meter.  Fuck YES!  Break the fuck in!   The crooks he's chasing are not playing by the rules, they disregard the law at every turn.  They think they are above the law.  If this is what it takes for a true journalist to get the story....BREAK THE FUCK IN!  Congratulations Lee....you just prestiged X 40 if we were playing Black Ops.  I don't just want to buy you a drink....I want to buy you a case of Maker's Mark.

4.  Lee, the next time....take me.  I'm all in.  Me and about 40 of my friends will surround the building until we get what we need.

Congratulations Lee....you are now legend in my book.

To douchebags....you are idiots.  You just showed everyone how scared and desperate your clients are.  Let me extend more rope to you.....keep it coming.  Right now you're probably telling Jeff Hingle this is a good thing....you're trying to convince him this video was a good idea....you're telling the idiots who paid you how clever you are and how as long as the video is spread it will discredit Zurik....excellent.  I really hope they keep paying you to be this stupid, I really do.

BTW, how much did you get paid for this, you fucking morons?    

How ugly can it get?

Pretty damn ugly.....

WWL host got $250,000 from owners of River Birch

Hey...I have this great idea for a documentary.....if anyone's interested let me know.

UPDATE:  Go to the authority if you want to learn more.  Also da Yellow Blog.

BTW, while we're on this subject, has anyone else noticed Eric Asher's two week obsession with stumping for the 1031 Canal St. development?  That's been bothering me. 

Rising Tide 6 - New Orleans Food - Continuity and Change

http://vimeo.com/user6987770/risingtide6foodpanel

Something Wicked this way?

Something wickedly good, perhaps.

My spidey sense is tingling...I think we are about to catch wind of some major developments in the rattlesnake roundup we've been witnessing down on Poydras.

I may be hallucinating...that's definitely a possibility with me....but I just have a really strong hunch another shoe is about to drop.

We'll soon see if my hunch meter is working.  Give it two weeks max.  If nothing happens, I'll eat crow.

I have a black friend!

Actually, she didn't even say that....she said her father had a black friend.

Clarkson offends crowd with remarks praising ’50s as a golden age, refuses to apologize

“Excuse me, excuse me – no, I’m going to finish,” she said. “I’ve never been treated like this in my lifetime, and I won’t have it.”  

Wow.  She's not gonna have it!  That's just how it's going to be!  "You people" have no right to have an opinion.

“I have defended you,” she said, “I don’t appreciate the treatment.”

 Defended who?  Defended from what?  What does she mean by "you"?

” I’m sorry that there were a handful of people in the crowd that didn’t appreciate what I’ve done for them.” 

Could somebody suggest to her that she may just want to shut the fuck.   Every time she opens her mouth it gets worse...she should stop while she's behind.  The original statement wasn't that egregious, if she wasn't so goddamn indignant she could have just listened to people's grievances and offered an apology and explanation as to what she meant.  Instead, she lambasts "you people" for being upset with the comment.

This woman is so wound up in her own ego she can't imagine that people could be upset with her.

Earth to Planet Jackie....you are not the center of the universe.  You may be a gas giant but we don't revolve around you.    

Ma gavte la nata.  

Ha...I just saw this post from Jeffrey...

No apologies

17.5 years.  Ouch.

Mark St. Pierre is sentenced to 17 1/2 years for City Hall bribery, kickbacks

As he did throughout his trial in May, St. Pierre had a large contingent of family and friends in the courtroom to support him at Thursday's sentencing. His normally stoic wife, Stacey, sobbed quietly when St. Pierre spoke before Fallon and praised her for enduring "ridicule, gossip and innuendo" since May's highly publicized trial.

I'm sure that was, in part, directed at me.  You know, just like him....I make no apologies.

When a reporter noted that she didn't hear St. Pierre apologize for his actions, Letten said "we didn't hear it either." The U.S. Attorney said St. Pierre's lack of contrition once again demonstrates the "arrogance" he'd shown in his dealings with the city and at trial. Letten, who served as lead prosecutor in trial that sent the former governor to prison, added that St. Pierre's attitude was "reminiscent of Edwin Edwards."

Oh yeah....see the blindingly white, bald guy in this pic:

 I know that guy :).

Rising Tide 6 - Richard Campanella Keynote

http://vimeo.com/user6987770/richardcampanella

Speed the Reaper

Karma is a bitch.

Robbins Umeda LLP Announces an Investigation of CIBER, Inc.