APRIL2006
Red
Cross, Humane Society focus of Katrina probe
Louisiana checks reports of misuse
of relief donations
Washington Post
WASHINGTON - The Louisiana attorney general has launched inquiries into two of the country's best-known charities — the American Red Cross and the Humane Society of the United States — after receiving complaints that they misused some of the millions of dollars they raised in the fall to help the human and non-human victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Attorney General Charles C. Foti Jr. plans to announce Monday that he is looking into allegations that Red Cross volunteers diverted money and supplies meant for hurricane victims in New Orleans, spokeswoman Kris Wartelle said. And the attorney general's office has begun an inquiry into whether the Humane Society spent the money it raised after Hurricane Katrina appropriately.
The Red Cross said Saturday that it has dismissed three of its volunteers who had been involved in food and shelter operations in the stricken city after the storm. The volunteers "have been relieved of their duties" after it was determined that "allegations involving waste and abuse were substantial enough to warrant their immediate removal," said a senior Red Cross official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
He said the organization expects to refer its findings — including possible criminal activity — to law enforcement agencies.
On Saturday, Red Cross volunteer Jerome Nickerson Jr., a Baltimore lawyer who was asked by the Red Cross in the fall to team with another volunteer to investigate complaints of misuse of supplies and cash, said he found numerous problems in the disaster-relief operation.
He said they found "rogue warehouses" filled with Red Cross supplies that they thought were being sold. Also, some disaster staffers were ordering suspiciously large volumes of such supplies as cooking oil, coffee and canned food. Red Cross volunteers were also using multiple debit cards loaded with thousands of dollars in Red Cross funds. "It was completely out of control," he said.
In the case of the Humane Society, Wartelle said her office is in the initial phase of fact-finding regarding for what purpose the money was raised and whether it was used for the intended purpose. She declined to identify the charity, but Humane Society officials confirmed it was their organization.
Humane Society officials said they are cooperating with Foti's inquiry, but they maintain they have done nothing wrong.
"I can't for
the life of me see any issue here," said Wayne
Pacelle, chief executive of the Washington-based group,
which raised $30 million from the public. Pacelle said
that so far, the organization has spent or committed $25
million of that to rescue animals and rebuild destroyed
shelters... (WHAT IS HE TALKING ABOUT???jb,EDITOR)
Red Cross fires 2 in Katrina probe
By Stephanie Strom
New York Times News Service
Published March 25, 2006
In a major shake-up of its relief operations in New
Orleans, the American Red Cross on Friday dismissed two
key supervisors as part of a wide-ranging inquiry into
the improper diversion of relief supplies after Hurricane
Katrina, a Red Cross official said.
The supervisors--volunteers, as are 95 percent of Red
Cross personnel--were in charge of the organization's
kitchens and shelters, which have assisted thousands of
Katrina victims.
The move came a day after the interim president of the
Red Cross said the organization was investigating
accusations of impropriety, including possible criminal
activity.
"We have relieved certain volunteers of their duties
in connection with our investigation," said a senior
Red Cross official, who spoke on condition of anonymity
because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the
actions.
Three volunteers working in the area identified one of
the officials who was dismissed as Patrick Keena, the
senior official responsible for the organization's food
and shelter operations in the disaster area. They said he
was fired early Friday.
The identity of the other dismissed worker could not be
determined.
Keena, who has been affiliated with the Red Cross for 25
years, told volunteers in the disaster area that he was
leaving because of a medical emergency. He could not be
reached for comment Friday.
Two volunteers assigned by Red Cross national
headquarters last fall to look into accusations of
wrongdoing urged the removal of Keena and other senior
managers in a report they filed with senior Red Cross
officials Dec. 5.
The interim president of the Red Cross, John McGuire,
acknowledged this week that the organization was
investigating accusations that relief supplies had been
improperly diverted and that procedures for tracking
inventory had been ignored.
Initially, according to those raising such concerns,
their warnings were ignored.
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Evacuees want to be told whether to rebuild
Area's viability is up to city,
group says
Sunday, March 26, 2006 By Michelle Krupa
Staff writer
mkrupa@timespicayune.com
New Orleans' elected leaders need to make tough decisions now about what areas of the flood-ravaged city can be rebuilt, about 150 Hurricane Katrina evacuees from across the city and some of their religious leaders agreed Saturday.
Making a statement that directly counters the insistence by residents of many devastated neighborhoods that they should be able to control their own recovery, members of the Jeremiah Group and the Industrial Areas Foundation Katrina Survivors Network said they want the mayor and City Council to "tell the truth" about which neighborhoods may perish because public services, such as trash pickup and basic utilities, probably won't be available there.
Neighborhoods should not have to make that call, the residents said, adding that they were fueled by feelings of disconnection from the city after living hundreds of miles away since the Aug. 29 storm.
"The burden of proof should not be on our neighborhoods," said Perry Perkins, an organizer with the Industrial Areas Foundation of Baton Rouge. "It should be up to the city. If services cannot be restored in some areas, the city has to start being straight about that, and they have not been straight about that."
"The responsibility is first on the city not to put the onus totally on the neighborhoods," he said.
The message, refined during a two-day meeting at the Radisson Hotel in Kenner, contradicts the spirit of the final report of Mayor Ray Nagin's Bring New Orleans Back Commission. As revised by Nagin himself, the report stops far short of writing off any area of the city.
In unveiling the report Monday, Nagin said City Hall would continue issuing building permits for all sections of New Orleans, and neighborhoods would not have to prove they deserve city services with efforts such as showing that 50 percent of residents intend to return.
But Nagin also said last week that his administration would issue a strongly worded warning to people intending to rebuild in so-called "delayed recovery areas," including the Lower 9th Ward and two low-lying sections of eastern New Orleans. The warning would say that homeowners in those areas might not be eligible for federal and state assistance, only limited municipal services might be offered, flooding could occur and property values could plummet.
The displaced residents, some on their first trip back to New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, said Saturday they want city leaders to detail official criteria for judging each neighborhood, consider objections by local residents and pledge that any areas ultimately deemed ill-suited for rebuilding will be maintained as green space and not sold for future development.
They said it is unfair for the city to judge a neighborhood's viability based on the portion of its residents who have returned or who intend to return, a gauge suggested by Nagin's commission but dropped by the mayor.
It's unclear what rebuilding plan ultimately will be approved by the state officials who control most of the money available for the task.
The displaced New Orleanians said any standard that relies on a simple formula inevitably would leave out residents who want to return but whose neighborhoods lack basic amenities.
Monette McCollum, a Gentilly resident living in Monroe, told the crowd that if the city contacts them to ask whether their absence from the city should be interpreted as a desire not to return, "make sure you state that you have no power, no lights, no water, no trailer," she said.
"We want to make the city accountable," she said.
According to Nagin's office, electrical service has been restored for 96 percent of city customers, gas service is available to 89 percent of customers, and potable water is available in all parts of the city except ZIP code 70117, which includes the Lower 9th Ward. However, Nagin's office says, there are fewer than 1,600 occupied FEMA travel trailers in the city.
The rebuilding process was among several issues the residents said they intend to press when they meet in two weeks with the candidates for mayor in the April 22 primary.
Working through established organizations, they said they hope to create a powerful political force among residents living in Memphis, Tenn.; Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Lubbock, Texas; Jackson, Miss.; and Louisiana cities such as Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Alexandria, Bunkie, Pineville and Monroe.
The meeting with candidates is set for April 8 at 3 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church on Jackson Avenue. Displaced residents in some cities will be invited to participate through video conferences, organizers said.
Other points of concern the group settled on Saturday were the city's semi-comatose public education system, which residents said should not be replaced by a loose affiliation of charter schools; enactment of a citywide minimum wage of at least $14 an hour; and changes to the way the federal government provides aid to disaster victims.
. . . . . . .
Michelle Krupa can be reached at mkrupa@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3312.
