BP

Lawsuit Claims Former BP Employee Was Fired For Refusing To Skew Clean-Up Data

Jillian Rayfield | January 25, 2012, 8:56AM

Updated January 25, 2012 at 11:29 am.

A former employee of BP America is suing the oil company for wrongful termination, alleging that he was canned for refusing to alter data about the progress of the clean-up of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

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Louisiana

Florida Family Association: 'Anonymous' Hacked Us Over Lowe's Campaign

Jillian Rayfield | December 13, 2011, 10:08AM

The Florida Family Association is blaming Anonymous for taking down its website after the social conservative group pressured Lowe's to pull its advertising from the TV show All-American Muslim.

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Louisiana

City Employee Reportedly Said Councilman Sexted, Stalked Her

Jillian Rayfield | July 11, 2011, 2:10PM

A city employee in Louisiana reportedly claimed that a lewd picture sent to her by Councilman Joe Stagni, which he has defended as part of a consensual relationship, was actually part of a larger pattern of inappropriate and unwanted behavior by the councilman.

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Louisiana

LEAKED: Secret Report On Jindal's Privatization Plan

Eric Lach | June 15, 2011, 9:50AM

Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA)

A confidential report at the center of the debate over Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's push to privatize state employees' health insurance has been leaked. The so-called "Chaffe report," published Tuesday by the Baton Rouge Advocate, seeks to "establish the fair market value of the operations" of the state's Office of Group Benefits (OGB), which provides health care insurance for around 250,000 state workers, retirees and their dependents.

The Advocate reported that the Chaffe report "concluded that premiums would increase under privatization." The paper also published the complete report online.

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Bobby Jindal

Jindal Gives Senators Confidential Copies Of Health Care Agency Report

Eric Lach | June 10, 2011, 9:29AM

Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA)

Updated at 11:57 AM ET

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration has handed over a report it commissioned on the agency that manages state employees' health insurance, after state senators on Wednesday raised the propsect of a legislative subpoena. But the report is still not being made available to the public.

Brenda Hodge, communications director for the Louisiana state Senate, told TPM that the subpoena was not issued because lawmakers were able to "reach an agreement with the [the Division of Administration] a to receive a copy of the report."

The report, prepared by New Orleans company Chaffe & Associates, was commissioned as part of the administration's plan to privatize the Office of Group Benefits (OGB), which oversees health care for around 250,000 state workers, retirees and their dependents. The report apparently analyzes OGB's financial value. At a Senate & Governmental Affairs Committee confirmation hearing last week, Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater and OGB Chief Scott Kipper were asked about the report. During the hearing, Rainwater promised to get senators a copy of the report, but this week he went back on that pledge. That prompted lawmakers to vote to issue a subpoena -- though it was never issued.

While handing over the report, Rainwater asked the senators to keep the document secret, according to The Associated Press.

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Bobby Jindal

Lawmakers Subpoena Jindal Over Health Care Agency Report

Eric Lach | June 9, 2011, 9:23AM

Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA)

Members of a Louisiana State Senate panel voted Wednesday to issue a rare legislative subpoena, and gave the Jindal administration 24 hours to turn over a report it commissioned on the agency that manages state employees health insurance.

The administration's plan to privatize the agency, the Office of Group Benefits (OGB), has been under fire from critics for months, and questions have been raised over the fate of OGB's $500 million surplus. Recently, the fight has centered on the so-called "Chaffe report," a financial analysis of OGB prepared for the state by New Orleans-based Chaffe & Associates. Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater, in charge of the agency that oversees OGB, told members of the State Senate's Senate & Governmental Affairs Committee at a hearing last week that they could have copies, but later went back on that pledge. Those same Senators have now put some force behind their request.

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Bobby Jindal

Pre-Resignation, Louisiana Official Gave Trainwreck Testimony On Health Care Privatization (VIDEO)

Eric Lach | June 9, 2011, 6:45AM

Gov. Bobby Jindal

Just a few days before his resignation was announced, Scott Kipper, the man handpicked to help the Jindal administration privatize Louisiana state employees' health insurance, was grilled by lawmakers about the plan. At a hearing on June 1, some members of the State Senate's Senate & Governmental Affairs Committee accused Kipper of being less than truthful in his testimony.

The administration has said that privatizing the Office of Group Benefits, which manages the health insurance of around 250,000 state workers, retirees and their dependents, would save taxpayers money, and get the state out of the health insurance business. But critics have countered that OGB isn't broken, and doesn't need fixing, and some have raised questions about the fate of the agency's $500 million surplus.

At the hearing last week, though, the senators were particularly focused on the so-called "Chaffe report," an evaluation of OGB recently prepared by a New Orleans company named Chaffe & Associates. Lawmakers wanted to know why the administration has kept the report private, and Kipper struggled to come up with answers they liked.

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Louisiana

Louisiana House Green-Lights Ten Commandments Monument At Capitol

David Taintor | June 8, 2011, 6:45AM

Louisiana lawmakers are doing Moses a solid.

On Monday, the Louisiana state House approved a measure to install a monument to the Ten Commandments outside the capitol, Reuters reports.

The measure -- sponsored by state Rep. Patrick Williams (D) -- passed unanimously without debate. Williams took less than 30 seconds to describe the bill, the Times-Picayune reports.

The monument, according to Williams, is intended to be historical, not religious. A secular message, "Context for acknowledging America's religious history," with be printed on a plaque on the monument.

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Mosques

Pork Left On Door Handles Of Louisiana Mosque

Jillian Rayfield | May 10, 2011, 2:12PM

A mosque in the Shreveport-Bossier community of Louisiana was vandalized this week with strips of pork, which were put on the door handles of the building to evidently force worshippers to touch pork before entering.

Many Muslims refrain from eating pork, as Islam considers pigs unclean. Something similar occurred in South Carolina in October, when strips of bacon were left outside an Islamic Center, spelling out "PIG CHOPS."

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Bobby Jindal

Ousted Administrator Has Doubts About Jindal's Privatization Plan

Eric Lach | April 26, 2011, 5:22PM

Tommy Teague

In his first extended public remarks since his ouster, the former chief executive officer of Louisiana's Office of Group Benefits (OGB) expressed doubts about the Jindal Administration's plan to privatize the agency, which manages state public employees' health insurance.

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Bobby Jindal

Louisiana Dems Oppose Jindal's Health Care Privatization Push

Eric Lach | April 25, 2011, 11:10PM

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal

Louisiana Democratic Party Chairman Claude "Buddy" Leach, Jr. has come out with a statement opposing Gov. Bobby Jindal's plan to privatize the state's Office of Group Benefits (OGB), the agency that manages state employees' health insurance.

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Bobby Jindal

Bill Could Clear Way For Jindal's Health Care Privatization Push

Eric Lach | April 25, 2011, 5:14PM

Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA)

A bill that will soon be debated in the Louisiana legislature contains language that appears to clear the way for the state to use money from the potential privatization of the Office of Group Benefits (OGB), the agency that manages state employees' health insurance, to help plug a budget hole.

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Bobby Jindal

Critics Blast Jindal's Hush-Hush Health Care Privatization Push

Eric Lach | April 21, 2011, 12:37PM

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal

With his state facing a $1.6 billion budget hole, Governor Bobby Jindal is pushing to privatize the agency that manages Louisiana state employees' health insurance, even though -- or perhaps, because -- it's managed to amass a half billion dollar surplus. The Jindal administration is keeping quiet on the move, while critics are blasting it as a shortsighted plan that will benefit private interests, at the expense of the state's.

Last week, just as questions about Jindal's push to privatize the state's Office of Group Benefits (OGB) were getting louder, the agency's chief executive officer, Tommy Teague, was dismissed. This despite the fact that the agency had racked up most of its sizeable reserves during Teague's tenure at the top.

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Michael Scanlon

Abramoff Whistleblower Wants Stiffer Sentence for Scanlon Than Feds Requested

Susan Crabtree and Ryan J. Reilly | February 9, 2011, 8:00AM

Native American lobbyist Tom Rodgers, the main whistleblower in the Jack Abramoff scandal, isn't satisfied with the government's request for two years in jail for Michael Scanlon.

Scanlon, a central figure in the Abramoff lobbying scandal, faces sentencing Friday, and Rodgers wants the judge to hand down at least the same amount of prison time Abramoff received.

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Henry Burns

'God's Army': Louisiana Locals Train To Protect Their Churches With Guns

Jillian Rayfield | January 21, 2011, 8:43AM

Rep. Henry Burns (R-LA)

Some Louisiana residents have recently been attending firearms training sessions so they can carry concealed weapons into churches, in accordance with a law passed over last summer.

Back in July, Gov. Bobby Jindal signed a law that allows churches, mosques, and synagogues in Louisiana to establish a "security plan" for their constituents, permitting members of the congregation with concealed weapons permits to carry guns during services. Part of the law requires eight hours of tactical training with local law enforcement before someone can begin carrying inside a house of worship.

And now, it seems, members of Bossier Parish churches have begun to take up the state on its offer, purportedly so they can protect their fellow churchgoers in the event of some kind of an attack.

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Gulf Coast Oil Spill

La. Officials Want To Keep Building Berms: 'Still Oil In The Gulf'

Rachel Slajda | October 6, 2010, 10:11AM

Sand berm construction on the Louisiana coast.

Louisiana officials want to keep building sand berms, man-made islands off the coast, to protect wetlands from the "million of barrels of oil [still] in the Gulf," even though BP's leaking well has been sealed.

According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Louisiana officials on Monday asked the Army Corps of Engineers for an emergency permit to construct berms along 40 miles of coastline.

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Mosques

Car Fire At La. Mosque Investigated As Potential Hate Crime

Rachel Slajda | September 22, 2010, 11:09AM

The Islamic Center of Lafayette in Louisiana

A car in the parking lot of an Islamic community center in Lafayette, La., was lit on fire Monday night in what authorities are calling an arson and potential hate crime.

"It is arson," a fire department spokesman told The Advertiser. "Someone set fire to the exterior."

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David Vitter

Vitter Cleared in FEC Probe Of Donations From Barbour PAC

Megan Carpentier | August 10, 2010, 10:50AM

Senator David Vitter (R-LA)

The Federal Elections Commission yesterday ruled that there was no reason to look further into allegations that former Rep. Chip Pickering (R-MS) used Gov. Haley Barbour's (R-MS) PAC to funnel campaign contributions to Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) in order to avoid bad publicity.

Pickering, of course, last made national news when his wife sued his long-time mistress for alienation of affection in Mississippi; Vitter's reported extramarital assignations with prostitutes are well-documented.

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Danziger Bridge

Two NOLA Cops Plead Not Guilty In Danziger Case

Rachel Slajda | July 27, 2010, 6:09PM

The Danziger Bridge in New Orleans

Two more New Orleans police officers have pleaded not guilty to charges that they conspired to cover up the alleged police shootings of unarmed civilians on the Danziger Bridge in the days after Hurricane Katrina.

Archie Kaufman and Gerard Dugue were charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice.

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Danziger Bridge

Three Cops Accused In Danziger Bridge Shootings Plead Not Guilty

Rachel Slajda | July 14, 2010, 4:11PM

The Danziger Bridge in New Orleans

Three New Orleans police officers charged this week in the post-Katrina shootings on Danziger Bridge have pleaded not guilty.

Robert Gisevius, Kenneth Bowen and Anthony Villavaso pleaded not guilty today to charges of civil rights violations and conspiracy for allegedly shooting unarmed civilians in the days after Hurricane Katrina, killing two and wounding four, and then attempting to cover it up.

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Brent Furer

Attorney: Vitter Aide Paid His Own 'Minimal' Fees In Assault Case

Justin Elliott | June 23, 2010, 12:01PM

Senator David Vitter (R-LA)

One of the curiosities of the case of the now-former aide to Sen. David Vitter who held his girlfriend hostage during an assault in 2008, is that Brent Furer, on a $47,000-per-year salary, hired one of the top lawyers at one of Washington's fanciest law firms to represent him.

The lawyer, Thomas Kelly of Venable LLP, told TPMmuckraker this morning that the fees in the case were "minimal" -- and that Furer paid.

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David Vitter

Vitter Aide Who Assaulted Girlfriend Resigns

Justin Elliott | June 23, 2010, 10:47AM

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)

Brent Furer, the aide to Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) who allegedly cut his girlfriend with a knife during a 2008 altercation and has had other run-ins with the law, has resigned after ABC reported on his criminal record, the AP is reporting.

The AP says Vitter "accepted" Furer's resignation.

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Brent Furer

Vitter Continued To Employ Aide Who Slashed Girlfriend, Drove Drunk

Justin Elliott | June 23, 2010, 9:07AM

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)

It seems that Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) doesn't have the most discriminating standards when it comes to who he employs on his staff: ABC today tells the dark story of Vitter legislative assistant Brent Furer, who was accused in a 2008 criminal case of assaulting his girlfriend with a knife but nevertheless remains on the job at the senator's office.

Furer, who has worked on Vitter's staff since 2005, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor threat and property destruction charges after the January 2008 incident involving him and his girlfriend, Nicolia Demopoulos.

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Minerals Management Service

Probe Finds MMS Inspectors Got Free Peach Bowl Tickets, Looked At Porn

Justin Elliott | May 25, 2010, 1:02PM

Miami's Kyle Wright during the 2005 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl game against LSU

An inspector general report on the Lake Charles, LA, office of the Minerals Management Service found that inspectors accepted a free trip to the 2005 Peach Bowl paid for by an oil company.

The report (.pdf), released today in response to the Gulf Coast oil spill but not directly connected to it, also found "numerous instances of pornography and other inappropriate material on the e-mail accounts of 13 employees, six of whom have resigned. We specifically discovered 314 instances where the seven remaining employees received or forwarded pornographic images and links to Internet websites containing pornographic videos to other federal employees and individuals outside of the office using their government e-mail accounts."

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New Orleans Police Department

Feds Announce Probe Of New Orleans Police Dept.

Justin Elliott | May 17, 2010, 4:40PM

Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

In a press conference in New Orleans today, Justice Department Civil Rights chief Thomas Perez announced the DOJ is launching a formal assessment of the city's troubled police department, the first step to installing federal oversight.

The Times-Picayune reports:

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Danziger Bridge

Civilian Pleads Guilty For Lying To FBI About Post-Katrina Shootings

Justin Elliott | April 28, 2010, 3:56PM

The Danziger Bridge in New Orleans

A man who was on the scene of the deadly police shootings of unarmed civilians on Danziger Bridge in the days after Hurricane Katrina pleaded guilty today to lying to an FBI agent about what happened that day, and for illegally possessing a firearm.

The guilty plea from David Ryder, 45, follows several guilty pleas from police officers who were involved in covering up the shooting, which left two unarmed civilians dead and four seriously injured. The Justice Department press release on the case describes how Ryder misled an FBI agent in the case:

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David Vitter

Report: Dry Cleaning Corp. Official Gave Illegal Donation To Vitter

Justin Elliott | April 9, 2010, 2:51PM

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)

A former official with a dry cleaning corporation seeking to curry favor with Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) says he was reimbursed for a $4,800 contribution to the senator, which if true is a violation of federal campaign finance law, the Times-Picayune reports.

Vitter's office told the paper that "he believes that if the company violated campaign finance laws they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."

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Larry Deen

Gun-Rights Extremists Praise Operation Exodus Sheriff: 'This Will Save Lives!!!'

Zachary Roth | March 5, 2010, 2:20PM

A training session for "Operation Exodus" volunteers

The Louisiana sheriff who plans to arm volunteers with a .50 caliber machine gun and other weapons, to maintain security in the event of a terrorist attack or man-made disaster, is being hailed as a hero by survivalists and other gun-rights enthusiasts.

"Awesome. Now there's a Sheriff who thinks outside the box. Good for him," writes one user at SurvivalistBoards.com (slogan: "Endure -- Adapt -- Overcome"), in reference to Bossier Parish Sheriff Larry Deen.

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Larry Deen

Sheriff's Office Cites Islamic Terror 'Cells' In Bossier Parish

Zachary Roth | March 4, 2010, 12:10PM

A training session for "Operation Exodus" volunteers

The office of the Louisiana sheriff who's forming a citizen militia to defend the parish in the event of a terrorist attack says it has information about possible Islamic terrorist activity in its midst.

"We understand, based on some intelligence that we've collected over the last year, year and a half, that there have been cells and people operating even within our parish that have been trained as terrorists or went overseas to be trained as terrorists," Ed Baswell, a spokesman for the Bossier Parrish Sheriff's Office, told TPMmuckraker this morning.

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Larry Deen

'Operation Exodus': Louisiana Sheriff Taps Locals For Emergency Security Plan

Zachary Roth | March 3, 2010, 5:55PM

A training session for "Operation Exodus" volunteers

A Louisiana sheriff plans to arm volunteers with shotguns, riot shields, batons, and a .50-caliber machine gun mounted on a "war wagon," as part of "Operation Exodus," a program to provide security in the event of a terrorist attack or civic unrest. "It's a calling," he says.

The office of Sheriff Larry Deen of Bossier Parish, near Shreveport in the northwest part of the state, last month selected for the program 200 local residents -- mostly ex-law-enforcement personnel -- and began training them in "defensive techniques in the event of a struggle," reports the Shreveport Times. The plan calls for the new recruits to be sent to protect food from grocery stores, gas from gas stations, and other crucial local resources, should the situation demand it.

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