GAO finds mismanagement of hurricane aid

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/us/hurricane_katrina
GAO finds mismanagement of hurricane aid
AP - 25 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - The government doled out as much as $1.4 billion in bogus assistance to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, getting hoodwinked to pay for season football tickets, a tropical vacation and even a divorce lawyer, congressional investigators have found.

more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060607/ap_on_re_us/katrina_fema_audit_2

An audit by the federal inspector general's office found TCB Construction billed the county for extracting stumps that homeowners had removed themselves and left at the curb for disposal. The audit concluded the company should have been paid $33.60 per stump instead of the $150 to $325 it received.

The county board of supervisors decided to hire TCB again after Katrina because it submitted the lowest bid and board members were satisfied with TCB's work after Georges, said county Supervisor Larry Benefield.

Since Katrina, Harrison County has not been reimbursed for about half of its $18 million worth of tree removal work, Benefield said.

FEMA concluded that contractors billed the county for hundreds of trees that were not eligible for federal reimbursement. Many were too small, FEMA said. Also, inspectors could not find stumps to match hundreds of trees workers said they cut.


It does make you sick doesn't it...

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13690

FEMA concluded that contractors billed the county for hundreds of trees that were not eligible for federal reimbursement. Many were too small, FEMA said. Also, inspectors could not find stumps to match hundreds of trees workers said they cut.

FEMA also said the county used a noncompetitive bid process to award the contracts. Instead of soliciting bids publicly, it said, a county employee contacted six companies by telephone and two of them submitted bids.

Jennifer Fagan, president of TCB Construction, said the company "did the work we were contracted to do" after both Georges and Katrina. She said all the company's work after Katrina was directed and checked by another firm.

Campaign finance reports show TCB Construction donated a total of $2,000 to Benefield's campaigns dating back to 1999.

He acknowledged the company's owners are friends and political supporters but said the board's unanimous vote to award them the post-Katrina contract was based on a recommendation by the county's chief engineer.

Thousands homeless and out of work, millions wasted. Thank you, George W. Bush for your leadership. :evilfrown:

:eyes:

That is the message here folks.

I heard this on CNN and they were talking about how someone was staying in a $100 a night hotel room in Hawaii OOOOOHHHH! A whole hundred dollars!!!