Sound Off Louisiana

U. S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA).

 In our previous Sound Off Louisiana feature, we featured U. S. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) grilling Gov. John  Bel Edwards on recent actions of Louisiana State Contractor Board attorney (and convicted felon) Larry S. Bankston.  In our latest feature, we capture the highlights of a feisty exchange between Gov. Edwards and U. S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) and, thereafter, provide a few documents of interest in the IEM litigation entailing the flood relief contract:

Edwards / Graves Exchange (plus quick segment of Meadows grilling Edwards for those who may have missed it previously).

Meanwhile, in 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, IEM, the successful bidder for the flood relief contract (at $250 million), has filed court documents indicating that the second-place bidder, PDRM (at $315 million), falsely represented that two companies were part of the “PDRM team.”

Both companies say such assertions to the Division of Administration are “categorically false” and that the use of their names was “unauthorized:”  See letters of Core Construction and Roy Anderson Corp.  

To the contrary, within IEM’s application for a residential contractor license, which was received by the Louisiana State Board of Contractors on February 17, 2017, glowing letters of recommendation for IEM Vice President Jon Mabry are included.  Who supplied the glowing recommendations?:   Core Construction and Roy Anderson. 

The application was further buttressed by a strong  letter of recommendation from U. S. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS).  Nevertheless, on March 9, 2017, convicted felon Larry S. Bankston, acting as “advising attorney” for the Louisiana State Board of Contractors, provided his assessment of IEM’s licensure status.   In so doing, he declared both IEM and PDRM as “disqualified” due to their lack of a residential contractor license at the time proposals were solicited.  That development is what led to Meadows’ sharp attacks of Gov. Edwards in the final minute or so of the above video.  [Note:  CLICK HERE for the IEM application in its entirety.]

Should be interesting to see just how this flood relief contract quagmire is resolved.

Update:  April 13, 2017 @ 11:00 a.m.

The Edwards administration resolved the matter by announcing that IEM was, for the second time, awarded the contract.  That action was smart on Edwards’ part because to have done otherwise would have only intensified the spotlight exposing underhanded dealings and corruption in Louisiana at a time when flood victims have no tolerance whatsoever for such.  Those victims merely want to be able to make progess toward recovering from the disasters of March and August of 2016 as qickly as possible.

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Former Louisiana State Senator and Current Legal Counsel for the Louisiana State Board of Contractors (and convicted felon), Larry S. Bankston

In the latest Sound Off Louisiana feature, founder Robert Burns dispels any notion that U. S. Congressional leaders are not paying close attention to corruption and conflicts entailing Louisiana flood relief efforts by providing a very brief video clip of U. S. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) grilling Gov. John  Bel Edwards on recent actions of Louisiana State Contractor Board attorney (and convicted felon) Larry S. Bankston:

Burns provides brief introduction, then video of Meadows grilling Edwards entailing Larry Bankston’s actions.

Two Recent Sound Off Posts featuring Bankston:

Disturbing FBI wire tap contents entailing Bankston’s conviction for bribery and racketeering.

Background on how Bankston got his law license reinstated (including links for all 80+ character letters supplied to the Louisiana Supreme Court to get that license reinstated).

We look forward to delivering part four of our series on Larry S. Bankston, during which Burns will present first-hand knowledge of Bankston’s propensity to cram corruption straight down the public’s throat. It’s a feature you will NOT want to miss.

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. 

Former Louisiana State Senator and Current Attorney for Louisiana State Contractor Board, Larry S. Bankston.

In our last Sound Off Louisiana feature, founder Robert Burns covered disturbing quotes made by attorney Larry S. Bankston on FBI wire taps during its investigations of him for bribery and racketeering.

The FBI investigation culminated in Bankston being sentenced to 41 months in Federal prison (he served 33) and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.

In the latest Sound Off Louisiana feature, Burns addresses a question he gets asked more than any other entailing Bankston, and that is how Bankston managed to get his law license reinstated:

Burns highlights 18 of the “character letters” supplied to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel and Louisiana Supreme Court in order for convicted felon Larry S. Bankston to have his law license reinstated.

Supporting Documentation and Links:

STRONG dissent of Richard Gerard, Jr. entailing reinstating Bankston’s law license.

Index listing of ALL individuals supplying Bankston character letters to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel and Louisiana Supreme Court

Individual Bankston Character Letters:

Alton Ashy (prominent lobbyist and close friends with Gov. John Bel Edwards)

      —- Excerpt of previously-sealed document in CNSI civil trial wherein Alton Ashy purportedly threatens to “cut Neal Patel’s legs off.”

     
—- Excerpt from Hayride article in which it is stated that no other outside party has visited JBE in the Governor’s  Mansion more than Ashy.  

      —-  Note:  CLICK HERE for full Hayride article (see 2nd paragraph above Attorney General Jeff Landry’s letter).

      —- Note:  CLICK HERE for another Hayride article focusing on Bankston and allegations of bid rigging entailing the current flood relief contract.

Anthony Marabella (defense attorney for Carl Cleveland, Bankston co-defendant who was sentenced to over 10 years in Federal prison).

Glenn Ansardi (State Rep. from Kenner for 24 years, including Bankston’s tenure in the Louisiana Senate — now a 24th District State Judge).

Greg Barrow (Louisiana Senate colleague of Bankston during his tenure as a State Senator).

Michael Beycock (son of the legendary late Shelly Beycock, Edwin Edwards’ Executive Counsel, political consultant with Bankston and ran his Louisiana Senate campaign).

T. Dennis Bickham (legislative aide for Bankston in the Louisiana Senate and a client entailing his deceased father’s estate).

Steve Carter (current Louisiana State Representative who is term-limited after his current term) and Jim Bollinger.

Armand Brinkhaus (Louisiana Senate colleague serving with Bankston during his tenure in the Senate).

Timothy G. Burns [former Louisiana State Representative (R-Mandeville)].  No relation to Robert Burns, founder of Sound Off Louisiana!

Michael Cross (former Louisiana State Senator and colleague of Bankston during his tenure in the Louisiana Senate).

John deGravelles (appointed Federal Judge, Middle District of Louisiana, by President Obama in mid 2014 to replace Judge John Brady, who attained Senior Status).

Randy Ewing (former Louisiana State Senator and colleague of Bankston during his tenure in the Louisiana Senate).

Robert L. “Bobby” Freeman (Louisiana Lieutenant Governor during the Dave Treen administration
from 1980-1984 and EWE’s third term of ’84 – ’88).

Donald G. Kelly (former Louisiana State Senator and colleague of Bankston during his tenure in the Louisiana Senate).

Charles J. Melancon (former U. S. Representative who was  quickly ousted as Gov. Edwards’ Commissioner of Wildlife and Fisheries).

Judy Smart (friend and coworker for seven years).

Thomas Sova (financial advisor).

Mitchell Wood and Simon Pham (Architects). 

Additional Bankston Character Letters:

Set 1    Set 2   Set 3

Lawsuit filed by IEM, bidder who finished in first place on Louisiana’s flood relief contract, after Bankston issued an “advisory opinion” disqualifying the first and second place bidders while conveniently failing to disclose his son’s interest in the third-place bidder.

So, based largely on the foregoing letters, Bankston is now rewarded as legal counsel for the  Amite River Basin Commission, the Auctioneer Licensing Board, and the Louisiana State Board of Contractors.  Arguments can be made that Bankston had no business obtaining any of these contracts (a view expressed vehemently by Attorney General Jeff Landry), and perhaps the most recent flood recovery contract may well be Bankston’s waterloo, particularly with U. S. Senator John Kennedy, a  potential candidate for Governor in 2019, having referred to Edwards’ handling of the matter as “a three-stooges like performance.”   

Entailing Kennedy’s point regarding his colleagues reading newspapers and blogs, as evidenced by  this Jackson, Mississippi blog post, word gets around far more widely than was the case several decades ago.  Trying to convince other U. S.  Congressmen to go along with additional flood relief dollars is a job made tremendously more difficult when those Congressmen read about the corruption that is so rampant in Louisiana entailing FEMA-related disbursements.  Simply put:  Louisiana needs to eliminate a serious credibility problem and perception which it has justifiably earned among national lawmakers if it expects to obtain additional flood relief dollars.  It is as simple as that. 

[Note:  For viewers curious entailing the alleged threat by Alton Ashy referenced above, visit our 3rd in a series of former AG James D. “Buddy” Caldwell entailing “outrageous witness tampering.”]

We look forward to delivering part three of our series on Larry S. Bankston, during which Burns will present first-hand knowledge of Bankston’s propensity to cram corruption straight down the public’s throat.  It’s a feature you will NOT want to miss.

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.