METAIRIE, La. -- Federal investigators are now reviewing subpoenaed documents from the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, also known as the Superdome Commission.
They requested LSED contracts and insurance agreements from 2004 to 2008. That’s during a time when former Jefferson Parish President Tim Coulon served as chairman of the board and was on the payroll at Lagniappe Industries, owned by former parish Chief Administrative Officer Tim Whitmer.
Documents reveal that Whitmer's firm had a business relationship with more than a dozen parish vendors, including Sizeler Architecture. According to public records requested by WWLTV, Sizeler also held contracts with the LSED.
Sizeler was part of a joint venture that designed repairs to the Superdome in late 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. In April 2007 the company also did the preliminary design work on a Hornets training facility next to the New Orleans Arena. And in July 2007, Sizeler worked on projects to bring the Superdome into compliance with the Americans with Disability Act.
While documents show that either the state or Superdome's management team, SMG, recommended the company, according to state ethics laws, if Coulon had any relationship with Sizeler through the Whitmer firm, he was obligated to report it before voting to approve the Sizeler contracts.
“Any board member should recuse himself from voting and notify the appointing authority that there may be a conflict and the simple thing is not to vote in that situation,” said Tony Radosti of the Metropolitan Crime Commission.
None of the documents supplied by the LSED show Coulon ever mentioned any conflicts of interest involving Sizeler.
Attorneys for Coulon told Eyewitness News that they are currently reviewing all of the allegations that have been made against their client, and at this point are not in the position to comment.
It will now be up to a federal grand jury and the state ethics board to decide whether Coulon violated any state or federal laws.
An attorney for the LSED said the federal subpoena did not mention any person by name. Attorneys gave the requested documents to federal investigators last week.
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