The Great "New Los Osorleans/Nash-Edwards-Karner/Montgomery, Watson, Harza/Third Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church/Save the Dream/MCCI/SWA Group" Case
TO: Jim Letten, U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Louisiana
DATE: 2/11/10
Dear Mr. Letten,
I think you are going to find this extremely interesting.
I'm a former newspaper editor, and now independent reporter, and the reason I'm writing you, is because I just finished reading (with great interest) the story titled, "Benjamin Edwards pleads guilty in Sewerage & Water Board kickback scheme," at this link:
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2010/02/former_new_orleans_sewerage_wa.html
... a case that, according to the article, you are the prosecuting attorney.
I recognize that story.
I've been reporting on a near-exact version of that story, in Los Osos, California, for the past 10 years.
In fact, I recently posted a blog entry that's almost perfectly interchangeable with the Benjamin Edwards story.
That story is at this link:
http://sewerwatch.blogspot.com/2009/07/exclusive-sewerwatch-investigation-how.html
My story involves Montgomery, Watson, Harza, and their subcontractors, and government officials using public funds to pay to MWH, which, in turn, apparently hired at least one of those officials' spouses' businesses as a sub-contractor.
The similarities between your case, and my story are too numerous to list here.
However, at the link above, I provide links to primary documents that show MWH doing some awfully fishy things, like donating $10,000 to a political committee that was formed to defeat a recall election -- a successful recall election, that terminated a sewer project that MWH was contracted to build -- and MWH's donation came in one day AFTER the recall election, and then MORE fishy things happened with that money, as you'll see if you read my piece.
The similarities between your case, and my story just go on and on. You'll recognize them, immediately, like I did. (It's basically the exact same story.)
If it's not too much trouble, I'm hoping that you could forward this e-mail to the proper authorities in California, along with, perhaps, some of the information from your case.
Like I said above, I think they (and you) will find this very, very interesting.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for your time,
Ron
P.S. BIG congrats to the Saints!
###
DATE: 2/11/10
Dear Mr. Letten,
I think you are going to find this extremely interesting.
I'm a former newspaper editor, and now independent reporter, and the reason I'm writing you, is because I just finished reading (with great interest) the story titled, "Benjamin Edwards pleads guilty in Sewerage & Water Board kickback scheme," at this link:
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2010/02/former_new_orleans_sewerage_wa.html
... a case that, according to the article, you are the prosecuting attorney.
I recognize that story.
I've been reporting on a near-exact version of that story, in Los Osos, California, for the past 10 years.
In fact, I recently posted a blog entry that's almost perfectly interchangeable with the Benjamin Edwards story.
That story is at this link:
http://sewerwatch.blogspot.com/2009/07/exclusive-sewerwatch-investigation-how.html
My story involves Montgomery, Watson, Harza, and their subcontractors, and government officials using public funds to pay to MWH, which, in turn, apparently hired at least one of those officials' spouses' businesses as a sub-contractor.
The similarities between your case, and my story are too numerous to list here.
However, at the link above, I provide links to primary documents that show MWH doing some awfully fishy things, like donating $10,000 to a political committee that was formed to defeat a recall election -- a successful recall election, that terminated a sewer project that MWH was contracted to build -- and MWH's donation came in one day AFTER the recall election, and then MORE fishy things happened with that money, as you'll see if you read my piece.
The similarities between your case, and my story just go on and on. You'll recognize them, immediately, like I did. (It's basically the exact same story.)
If it's not too much trouble, I'm hoping that you could forward this e-mail to the proper authorities in California, along with, perhaps, some of the information from your case.
Like I said above, I think they (and you) will find this very, very interesting.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for your time,
Ron
P.S. BIG congrats to the Saints!
###
posted by Ron at
1:10 PM
5 Comments:
I don't understand why you think you could get a Pulitzer in literature for just copying emails you've sent to various public officials. These emails are never answered- for good reason. They are all pretty much the same: Prove I'm wrong! I dare you! Seriously, time to put down the bottle, and TRY to remember that you once knew how to write.
By
alabamasue, at 9:30 PM, February 13, 2010
How 'bout this, Sue? I'll prove you right.
Yes, you're right. A collection of e-mails would suck as a Pulitzer entry.
If you noticed, most of those e-mails are just to make my "at least weekly" quota, in order to make my upcoming, over-the-top-excellent, ONE "at least weekly" entry eligible.
That'll happen later this year... probably in the fall... and it'll blow your hair back... the mother of all of my sewer stories.
You'll LOVE it, guaranteed.
As for no one replying. That's also right, for the most part. In Gibson's case, I already know he's not going to respond, that's WHY I publish those e-mails... so it shows (time stamped) that I asked the question (like the gigantic conflict of interest that involves his Parks Commissioner), and he never replied. So, I guess he's o.k. with this arrangement:
where Pandora Nash-Karner is his appointment to the SLO County Parks Commission, and she also sits on the Board of Directors for the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden -- a facility that leases County-owned land, is discussed at Parks Commission meetings, and is also planning a "$20 million" expansion, and, according to their executive director, the one proposal they have received to design the project was from the SWA Group, where Nash-Karner's husband, Gary Karner, is a "Managing Principal and Senior Project Manager for 27 years and is currently retained by SWA."
Did you read that New Orleans story? It's great! It's the exact same story I've been reporting for 10 years, just with different characters, except for MWH. They're the same, of course.
It's my guess that Jim Letten will find that VERY interesting.
By
Ron, at 9:43 AM, February 14, 2010
As far as a response from anyone in County government is concerned, I copied the Board of Supervisors on all my CCRWQCB email messages concerning our compliance with the looming deadlines and directives of CDO #R3-2006-1041.
Not one of the supervisors responded.
Not the new supervisors who ought to be wondering what this business with the CCRWQCB is about. Not the sitting supervisors, including our own, who supposedly know what this business with the CCRWQCB is about. Not even a form letter emessage acknowledging that I exist, that they know my husband and I have a randomly distributed enforcement order threatening to condemn our home on 1/1/2011, and that they're sorry; they tried to help and failed. Not even a simple form letter emessage thanking me, Anonymous Citizen, for contacting them.
Nothing.
By
Bev. De Witt-Moylan, at 6:12 PM, February 14, 2010
Yup, that's how you play that Abuse of Power game. Keep silent and allow things (even illegal things) to play out then when the statute of limitations is passed, and it's all moot, say, Oh, Dang, sorry, My Bad, too late, so sue me. Yup.
If the DA mentioned above is in an active case, he might find Ron's information timely, supportive, interesting, or something that may lead to other leads, & etc. As for contacing law enforcement in this county? Or at the Federal level? Naw, it's Chinatown rules here.. . as little as possible. But it will make a hell of a post-facto story wherein folks can wring their hands and say (heh-heh) Oh, Gosh, if we had known (heh-heh) .
By
Churadogs, at 6:53 AM, February 15, 2010
Churadogs wrote:
"Yup, that's how you play that Abuse of Power game. Keep silent and allow things (even illegal things) to play out..."
That's why I love my blog, so I can publish my e-mails.
That way, they can't (at least totally) play that game... where, you send them an e-mail, they ignore it, and the whole thing just goes away.
At least now I can show that I sent them the e-mail. And, WHEN they don't reply, I can also show that.
My e-mail to Gibson asking him if he's o.k. with that conflicted Nash-Karner/SLO Botanical Garden/SWA Group arrangement, is a PERFECT example of what I just said there.
[Look, Bruce, just because you don't reply to my e-mails, doesn't mean the message doesn't get out. Those days are over, Holmes.]
I mean, fer gods sake... I show him, step by crystal-friggin-clear step, how his Parks Commissioner is using her official position to cash in, and that scam is the EXACT same scam she used in 1998 when she and her husband formed the LOCSD for no other reason than to cash fat checks for a long time, and HE JUST IGNORES IT!
I'm tellin' ya, I can't wait for his reelection campaign. I'm going to have SO much fun with that.
Reminding voters, over and over again, about how his Parks Commissioner is not only running her SWA Group scam again -- and Gibson NOW knows it, and isn't doing anything about it -- but also how she developed and implemented a "strategy" (her word) to have people like Bev "fined out of existence" (her words), just so Nash-Karner and her husband could keep running their MWH/[insert whatever made-up political thingy Nash-Karner invents in order to cash more checks scam], EXACTLY like that New Orleans case.
And to shove this whole mess WAAAAAY over-the-top into Ridiculousland... I've also made ALL of the other Supervisors aware of Nash-Karner's MASSIVE conflict of interest scams, and her little "strategies," and they don't do, or say, a thing either.
Nothing.
Chinatown never felt so dirty.
Now, I need to go and take a shower.
By
Ron, at 9:57 AM, February 15, 2010
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