NEW ORLEANS -- Countless federal, state and city dollars are being pumped into recovery projects and repairs in New Orleans. But you might be surprised to find out who the city is paying and putting in charge to make those fixes.
From fixing forgotten playgrounds to tearing down shattered community centers, the city of New Orleans post-Katrina relies heavily on contractors to get the job done. The problem, said Councilwoman Stacy Head, is too many of those contractors are from out of state.
"We have missed a great opportunity in this recovery to really work on building capacity with our local contractors," said Head.
The councilwoman took her concerns to the Nagin administration, and a top official responded by saying that two contractors recently hired by the Mayor's Office to perform general repairs to city buildings are, in fact, local businesses.
"Both those contractors, who are actually the construction general contractors, are local: ETI & AME," said Cynthia Sylvain-Lear, deputy chief administrative officer.
Documents obtained by Eyewitness News show that the businesses are owned by people in the greater metro area, but it's who those people are and what they've done that may shock you. Both are recently convicted felons, caught up in public corruption.
"Actually taking money from the government and we are hiring them as the government to work for us," said Head. "That seems illogical to me."
The company A.M.E. International is registered to Burnell Moliere, who just last year pleaded guilty for his role in a scheme to funnel bribes to former Orleans Parish School Board member Ellenese Brooks Simms. Moliere helped Simms cash in on $40,000 worth of kickbacks relating to school board contracts.
The other general contractor hired by the city is Exceptional Temporaries, Inc. (ETI). State records list Randall Moore as a company officer. Back in 2005, he also pleaded guilty to taking part in a kickback scheme with a then top official in Mayor Marc Morial's administration.
"Here you have two guys who were nailed for corruption involving public contracts, now getting more public contracts," said Clancy DuBos, Eyewitness News Political Analyst. “I think it might merit a closer look at the specifics of that bid process, when were the bids led, how many bids were received how much notice was given, and was there a real attempt to get a significant number of bids from local qualified contractors ….this sounds like it’s ripe for the inspector general.
Councilwoman Head says she's constantly contacted by woman and minority businesses owners who say they can't seem to get a break when it comes to securing city contracts.
"These are people who don't have any convictions,” said Head. “Why can't they seem to ever be able to access work from city hall?”
The councilwoman now plans to write up legislation that would prevent the city from giving work to those caught up in corruption.
"Who would have thought you would need to have a law that says please don't do business with recent felons who have stolen money from the government," said Head. "But I guess that's what it's going to take, and I'll introduce it on Monday."
The two contractors, AME and ETI, were selected by a public bid process, which by law requires the city to chose the lowest "qualified" bidder. But political pundits say the city should make a case that anyone found guilty of corruption may not be so qualified.
The mayor's office did not immediately reply to request for comment on this story.
