Major Surprise - U.S. Audit Reveals Waste And Abuse With Louisiana Disaster Funds

[GotZoom]

WASHINGTON -- An L.L. Bean briefcase and raincoat. Professional dues and charitable contributions. A trip to Germany. Video equipment. A 2002 Ford Crown Victoria.

According to two federal audits, those are just some of the items that Louisiana state emergency officials improperly bought with some of the $228 million in U.S. disaster funds they received in recent years.

The audits also found that the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness ignored federal rules for overseeing contractors, doling out more than $15 million in aid without keeping any records to show what 97 percent of the money was spent on, according to a report by the inspector general's office of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

"Significant internal controls weaknesses and noncompliance situations were identified during the audit," said the Nov. 4 review of Louisiana's disaster assistance spending from 1998 to 2003.

Those dry words ring loud now to watchdog groups concerned that the state's share of the billions in federal taxpayers cash funneling into Louisiana since Hurricane Katrina will similarly disappear.

Officials at the state agency could not be reached for comment. But Louisiana state treasurer John Kennedy said he wants to establish a review process to make sure the money will be used properly before it is handed out.

Wary of a boondoggle in the making, the Homeland Security inspector general's office said Tuesday it is dispatching 30 investigators and auditors to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to oversee the payments to state and local agencies, private contractors and, to a lesser extent, individuals.

From the Memphis Commercial Appeal - Subscription required.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/nation_and_world/article/0,1426,MCA_454_4078909,00.html

 

[CSM]

As this goes on, I suspect that things will come to light that all contributed to the disaster...and none of them will have ANYTHING to do with Bush, the Federal government or FEMA. LA state and local governments have been full of corruption for some time now..... we are going to get a good look at just how corrupt over the coming weeks.

 

[no1tovote4]

As this goes on, I suspect that things will come to light that all contributed to the disaster...and none of them will have ANYTHING to do with Bush, the Federal government or FEMA. LA state and local governments have been full of corruption for some time now..... we are going to get a good look at just how corrupt over the coming weeks.

I keep telling my Dem friends that heaping the blame before all the information is out will backfire on them. They, thankfully, ignore me. This will only help in 2006 Congressional and Senate elections as those who politicized without all the information find that they pointed the finger in the wrong direction.

 

[GotZoom]

As this goes on, I suspect that things will come to light that all contributed to the disaster...and none of them will have ANYTHING to do with Bush, the Federal government or FEMA. LA state and local governments have been full of corruption for some time now..... we are going to get a good look at just how corrupt over the coming weeks.

Very true. And the sad thing is, I wonder if the MSM will pick up on this story. I did a search to find the article on a non-subscription site and couldn't find it anywhere.