IDB Chairman Deborah Steinmetz
In our most recent Sound Off Louisiana feature, we outlined LPB President and CEO Beth Courtney as another example of state agency prima donna personalities who operate with reckless disregard for ethics and laws, with their ensuing irresponsibility costing Louisiana taxpayers hundreds of thousands (and in some instances, such as Murphy Painter, literally millions) of dollars in legal defense costs when justifiable lawsuits are filed by victims of these governmental “leaders” run amok.
Today we examine yet another such prima donna: Ms. Deborah Steinmetz, Chairperson of the Louisiana State Interior Design Board (IDB). In the following video, Rev. Freddie Lee Phillips, who has steadfastly hounded Steinmetz and IDB Vice Chairman T. L. Ritchie about IDB payroll fraud, expresses his frustration that an item he sought on the February 16, 2017 IDB agenda (requiring IDB Executive Assistant Sandy Edmonds to actually report to the office for some meaningful number of hours to justify her salary) was being denied. He was especially frustrated at the means the Board chose to communicate that denial to him:
Phillips sought to have his agenda request discussed by the Board, but instead he was served with this
one-page UNSIGNED certified letter immediately before the meeting indicating that his request had been denied.
As is obvious, Steinmetz has her lieutenants, Sandy Edmonds, who has been cited for engaging in rampant payroll fraud, and Anna Dow (attorney for IDB) read Phillips the “riot act” for their contention that he is not maintaining a valid mailing address on file with the Auctioneer Licensing Board (see the return certified letter link above).
Well, the very next day, Phillips sent a certified letter to Steinmetz. Guess what? The letter was returned undeliverable. This undeliverable notice transpired despite the fact that Phillips used Steinmetz’s mailing address as readily posted on her corporate website. Moreover, unlike Phillips, whose house continues to be flooded and not yet fully restored, Steinmetz’s office in New Orleans didn’t flood at all!
At next week’s IDB meeting (4/25 @ 12:30 p.m.), will Ms. Dow and Ms. Edmonds be equally vigilant in reading Steinmetz the “riot act” for failing to maintain a deliverable address the way they had no qualms in doing entailing Phillips in the video above? Alternatively, perhaps they will do as Dot Efferson was honest enough to do in the lawsuit referenced in the Courtney feature above and just admit that “Courtney Steinmetz is too powerful.”
Steinmetz continues actions like this, yet she makes no effort whatsoever to execute her fiduciary duty to the IDB licensees and the taxpayers of Louisiana to ensure their resources aren’t wasted by actions such as Edmonds relaxing on a beach in Orange Beach, Alabama, visiting Disneyworld FOR A FULL WEEK, visiting relatives in Kansas, going on excursions to New York and New Jersey, all while claiming she was “hard at work” for Louisiana taxpayers by reporting being “on the clock” during all these excursions!
On Tuesday (4/18) of this week, Rep. Rick Edmonds, Rep. Alan Seabaugh, and Rep. Blake Miguez all gave resounding addresses to a group of about 120 grassroots activists of the Louisiana Chapter of Americans for Prosperity. Each of them gave very impressive presentations; however, Rep. Miguez’s presentation really stood out.
He gave first-hand accounts entailing how, as a result of the oil industry’s downturn, many of his constituents have lost their jobs and have seen their household incomes plummet. He said it’s particularly hard for them to recognize a need for yet more tax increases given what they are going through in their lives.
Perhaps Ms. Steinmetz may be willing to make an appearance before Miguez’s constituents who have endured such hardships and explain just how she justifies permitting Ms. Edmonds, the wife of an interior designer who happens to teach at LSU and reports to IDB Vice Chairman T. L. Ritchie, to be so entitled to draw checks while sunbathing in Orange Beach, Alabama.
How about it, Ms. Steinmetz, willing to take that challenge?
If you would like to be added to our Sound Off Louisiana email list to be notified of future Sound Off posts, simply scroll to the very bottom of this page (mobile devices) or to the end of the right-hand column (desktops) and supply your email address within the subscribe box. You’ll then receive an automated email from Word Press, and all you have to do is click on the blue “confirm follow” bar contained within that email, and you’ll begin receiving great posts such as the preceding one above.
Just recenly signed up for this site! It is sorely needed to expose what all state employees get away with. So these people jump down his throat about his address not being able to recevie mail even though he flooded but the chairman of their own board can’t receive certified mail. What a perfect illustration of double standard as the headline says. Keep up the great work and thanks again for this site.
What can be described as the ultimate sin is Attorneys covering up what is the major contributor to the flooding (while being paid with taxpayers money) and blaming it on “An Act of God”.
Attached is a blog that can help describe what contributes to most of the major flooding and it’s NEGLECT on the municipalities part by not maintaining their waterways.
https://billy0548.wixsite.com/mysite
Well, Phillips CLEARLY didn’t do his research. All he had to do was go to Steinmetz’s website, http://www.steinmetznet.com/, and click on “Staff” at the bottom (the site has no ability to provide a direct link). Had he done so, he would have quickly seen that the company has NO staff, so how did he expect anyone to be able to claim the letter when nobody is there? Total negligence on Phillips’ part!! This is unreal!! Will the IDB fine Steinmetz for false advertising? Oh, I forgot, like Burns said, she is too powerful. Like Francis, I’m new too, but his website has some incredible stuff on it. Check out some of the posts on Louisiana State Police.
Welcome, Gene. You’ll find material here you’ll never dream of seeing on The Advocate!
So Steinmetz has no staff in either her New Orleans or Atlanta offices? The pictures aren’t even of real offices, and it looks like a third grader created the website. She gives a whole new meaning to fly by night operation. Maybe Edmonds must pay her a kickback out of the payroll fraud take and that’s all there is to both their operations.
I’d say this woman owes him an apology and they need to fine her for using a bogus mailing address.
I think all anyone needs to know about Steinmetz is that she declined to terminate the woman after she was caught by Inspector General investigators committing this payroll fraud. Also, since they clearly don’t even want to discuss any office hours, can anyone substantiate she’s not out shopping or doing other activities when she says she is working?
No! Rev. Phillips brought that issue up at a 1/10/11 meeting of the LALB. The Division of Administration has a policy on telecommuting, and she has never been in compliance with it. You can watch Phillips discuss that fact from the 4:00 – 6:00 mark of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44-lT-Yb28w#action=share. Edmonds’ response: “Doesn’t apply to me and not even the governor can dictate how I work.”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddxau_C4vGs#action=share.
Wow! That is an awful lot of arrogance by Edmonds in just 24 seconds. Now even the Governor doesn’t tell her how she’s going to do her job.
Dewey Cheatum,
Maybe you should take this information to the State Police.
I personally provided information to State Police in regards to GOHSEP and FEMA fraud.
And they claim they had done a thorough investigation and the DA’s office review the report and found no wrongdoing.
So I asked through a public records requests for the State Police report and I am going to attached what was in the interview.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=5EPYg2Xwf3s
So after seeing the video you tell me how you think the State Police is going to find fraud if they’re not even going to discuss it with the one they’re investigating?
🙈🙊🙉
You say once again use him as whipping boy. This happen before.
But of course: https://youtu.be/sx1aJlHrTfU
Who the hell do these people think they are? If Edwards keeps these people on this board he needs to go! I’m sending my email to the Hotmail address above. Please advise as he removes people. I just saw all I need to see on these two videos. Either they go on none of my household voting for him again. We got to pay more taxes for these people to lay around on a damn beach!! F that!!!!!
FREDDIE , FROM ONE GOD FEARING PERSON TO ANOTHER. JUST KNOW THAT GOD IS NOT PLEASED WITH THIS ISSUE. NOBODY WANTS TO BE USED AS A “WHIPPING BOY”. NOTHING CATCHES GOD BY SURPRISE. THESE ACTIONS MAY CATCH US BY SURPRISE; JUST, KNOW THAT GOD’S MIGHTY RIGHT HAND OF POWER WILL PREVAIL ON HIS CHILDREN’S BEHALF. STAND STILL AND SEE THE SALVATION OF THE LORD . HE HASN’T FORGOTTEN YOU.