I guess it's no surprise that some of our new neighbors are making a grab for more than their fair share of the free money that's being handed out. Eleven were arrested yesterday for doing so. There are reports of evacuees making as many as six trips through the lines to receive financial aid. Houston police have even set up a Katrina Debit Card Fraud Task Force to combat the situation. They're not tasked, however, with monitoring the spending of the cash. "If you want to go buy a plasma TV or Nike tennis shoes, that's your business."
At least one Houstonian (last letter at the bottom) is pissed that his donations to the Red Cross are reportedly being used to purchase perfume and designer handbags, and vows he will not never donate again.
K-Lo was all over the potential for debit card fraud and abuse over a week ago, but she was looking in the wrong direction. She thought the problem would be that non-evacuees, i.e., Houstonians, would take advantage of the give-away. Nope (at least that hasn't been reported yet).
Corruption and fraud have a long and storied history in New Orleans, from the top pols on down. We're going to be hearing a lot more in the coming days, for instance, about the levee boards and their malfeasance.
Grab what you can, get away with whatever you can. It's the Big Easy way.
Update: Rich Lowry has a piece today that looks at the Orleans Levee Board and corruption.
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2 comments:
I'm assisting a client couple here in Austin with some serious housing generosity for some of the evacuees. My number one priority is screening. I will not allow their generosity to be taken advantage of. A free one year lease is not an opportunity for a party but a chance to get one's family's life back on track.
No one comes to my clients's house but through me (blasphemy!).
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