Kenner Louisiana
America's City

11/4/00 - According to a Times Picayune article a public relations firm that was used to promote the road-tax renewal a year ago was compensated TWICE for the work and was allowed to keep both sums for more than a year? Oversight? Deliberate move? Well, according to records the firm was paid $26,733 on 7/23/99 and on 9/2/99 was paid another $44,934. After the paper looked into the matter, Mayor Louis Congemi asked for the original payment back. The company? Oh, CMC Inc. Owner? Oh, Carl Mullican... The paper is reporting about several other "irregularities." CMC's fee included $1,233 for an advertisement that was never advertised, anti-civil service ads paid for by Kenner Police Chief Nick Congemi, the mayor's brother, failure to produce contracts for CMC's work in 1997 and 1998, illegal payments to CMC beyond the $2,000 limit cap, and "creative charges" amounting to $8,754. Wow!

11/5/00 - The editorial in the Times Picayune goes into detail about why Kenner officials need to explain themselves concerning this CMC escapade. Did the mayor let the company keep the initial payment - even after they got paid again? Did everybody concern start taking nerve pills and attend confession after the paper started prying? Hmmm... I say turn the matter over to the federal attorney and let him sort it out. This whole fiasco reeks of corruption and malfeasance. Hey, Mr. Jordan got any attorneys available to investigate?

11/16/00 - Kenner Councilman Terry McCarthy wants to reduce the number of congressmen representing the city from two to one so that more control can be obtained.

7/3/02 - Jefferson Parish President Tim Coulon acknowledged that he approached Judge Ronald Bodenheimer about leniency for his brother-in-law, Gary Mire, who had been convicted of fondling little girls. Coulon claims that he did nothing wrong, but since he's a public official entrusted with the people's trust, we wholeheartedly disagree. This is indeed a gross violation of the people's trust and he has to go. Anyone who does something like this, and publicly acknowledges it, does not warrant the electorate's trust any longer. How dare he seek favorable treatment for someone who had been convicted of immorality in the worst way! His brother-in-law? Coulon added that he approached Bodenheimer in a private session to ask that his perverted brother-in-law be given fair treatment since he, Coulon, supported Bodenheimer's opponent in the last election. This is unexcusable. Users of this website who appreciate public officials who are honest and trustworthy, must seek Coulon's removal. How dare him go behind closed doors believing we, the public, will never find out. The only reason he's talking now is that he's scared that Bodenheimer, embroiled with his own troubles, was wiretapped. Beating a leak, Coulon is releasing this information with his own interpretation of the truth.

Despite the fact that Bodenheimer should have shown Coulon the door, he didn't. Coulon also asked District Attorney Paul Connick, Jr. to interview a couple of witnesses who could challenge the charges against Mire. Why, didn't the police do this already? Aren't the detectives competent investigators? Now, why a Parish President would intervene in something he has no business with, is beyond us. And what did Connick reply? Hmmm. Connick claims that Coulon never asked him to do anything improper. We disagree. Anything asked with the outcome of influencing a criminal prosecution, at all, is improper.

Now what happened to Mire in the end? Well he got a three-year suspended jail term and five years probation. And, he was required to register as a sex offender. And, an evaluation to determine whether he needed counseling. He could have gotten a 10 year sentence for carnal knowledge and up to seven years for each of the indecent behavior counts.

Conclusively, Coulon remains adament that Mire did not receive special treatment. Despite the fact that many first time offenders get probation in sex cases, this case still stinks. Bodenheimer was always known as a tough judge who wasn't afraid of dealing out long prison terms. Connick, who has said that he got an okay from the victims' families about probation for Mire, has been discredited by one of the girls' mothers. One said that she, in fact, asked Bodenheimer at sentencing to give him a jail term. Coulon now says that if he had to do it again, he'd again go see the judge. Hmm. Let's throw him out. Could we as citizens get an audience before a criminal court judge to ask for help? I think not. Unforgivable. Coulon's got to go. Connick, too. He is supposed to be the head prosecuting attorney for the people, not someone seeking a favor for someone his office just got finished prosecuting.

7/16/05 - Kener Police Chief Nick Congemi and other officials seem to be receiving huge discounts when renting the Pontchartrain Center while groups such as the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Parish Home and School Association are paying more than double! Other organizations paying a lot more than Congemi and the other officials are: Archbishop Rummel and Hahnville High School.This, at a time when taxpayers are subsidizing the building to the tune of $500,000 during 2003-4. Even Susan Babcock paid more than double when she threw herself a birthday party there. And, naturally the guilty politicians are trying to justify their actions. Even some caterers who must pay a certain percentage are not paying!

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