Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Officials Indicted

via Drudge - It appears that several high placed officials in New Orleans emergency planning agency had already been indicted and were awaiting trial prior to Hurricane Katrina devastating the state.

WASHINGTON — Senior officials in Louisiana's emergency planning agency already were awaiting trial over allegations stemming from a federal investigation into waste, mismanagement and missing funds when Hurricane Katrina struck.

And federal auditors are still trying to track as much as $60 million in unaccounted for funds that were funneled to the state from the Federal Emergency Management Agency dating back to 1998.In March, FEMA demanded that Louisiana repay $30.4 million to the federal government.

The problems are particularly worrisome, federal officials said, because they involve the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the agency that will administer much of the billions in federal aid anticipated for victims of Katrina.

Earlier this week, federal Homeland Security officials announced they would send 30 investigators and auditors to the Gulf Coast to ensure relief funds were properly spent.

Details of the ongoing criminal investigations come from two reports by the inspector general's office in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, as well as in state audits, and interviews this week with federal and state officials. ...

Keith Ashdown of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington watchdog group, said recent Louisiana history showed that FEMA "money earmarked for saving lives and homes'' was instead squandered in "a cesspool of wasteful spending."

Louisiana's emergency office receives money directly from FEMA. It passes on much of the funding to local governments that apply for assistance.

The audit reports said state operating procedures increased the likelihood of fraud and corruption going undetected.

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Comments

[DeeDee]

Finally, investigating the government officials in Louisiana. Let the games begin!

[tuyvnsurviror]

Ahhh, then it is not strange that, La Gov Blanco is presently being qouted as saying, 'it is time to stop pointing fingers at the tragedy past, time to stop democrating and republicating around with the recovery efforts, kisses fluff and feeeel good'. She is not quite as dumb as I thought or better advised one.

[Jane]

Oh God. That's just huge. I can't believe I haven't heard about this before now. Heads are gonna roll over this one.

[LALady]

sooooooo....what else in new in Louisiana and all the other state's politicians..been going on for years and years.