Posted in Corruption, Ethics, State Fire Marshal on July 21, 2017| 9 Comments »
“If you find that we’re doing something wrong, I hope you’ll let us know.”
—Louisiana State Office of Fire Marshal Chief Brant Thompson, to LouisianaVoice publisher Tom Aswell several weeks ago after learning we were examining expenditures of the fire marshal’s office.
“Oh, we will, Brant. You can count on it.”
—Our response.
Posted in Corruption, Ethics, Media, Politicians, Public Records, State Fire Marshal on July 21, 2017| 5 Comments »
Bureaucrats always blame the messenger.
Rather than devote productive efforts to cleaning up their act when they are exposed, management of public agencies would always rather go on a hunt to exact reprisals on those who may have blown the whistle.
That’s what took place today as several field personnel were called in and grilled about whether they were the sources for two recent LouisianaVoice stories. You can see those stories HERE and HERE.
And as an update to those stories, WWL-TV has CONFIRMED earlier reports by LouisianaVoice that Nanette Krentel, 49, wife of St. Tammany Parish Fire District No. 12 Chief Stephen Krentel, did not die from last Friday’s fire that destroyed the family home, but instead, died of a gunshot wound.
Even when a Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal (LOSFM) inspector attempts to correct problems internally without alerting the media, those inspectors suddenly find themselves “reassigned” and forced to travel 200 miles or more to report to work in, say, Shreveport if the poor guy resides in the Baton Rouge area, or to Houma if he lives in Monroe.
And while these might not be actual cases, LouisianaVoice has learned that such reassignments do occur at LOSFM.
On Friday, field personnel were interrogated and told they would be required to submit to polygraph tests at unspecified times (“whenever we call you in to do so”) and that they would be interrogated further.
Reports out of LOSFM headquarters were that LOSFM Fire Chief Brant Thompson was “livid” over reports that staff are inadequately trained and certified before they are fully prepared to conduct arson investigations. One inspector, Henry Rayborn, highly regarded for his professionalism by nearly a dozen of his co-workers interviewed by LouisianaVoice, resigned following a confrontation with Thompson over the St. Tammany fire investigation.
That’s a strange reaction from Thompson, coming as it does only weeks after he contacted LouisianaVoice after we spent the better part of a week poring over office expenditures.
“We’re really glad you’re taking a look at our operations,” he said. “It’s always good to have someone checking us out and I want you to know I’m here to cooperate with you in every way I can. If you find that we’re doing something wrong, I hope you’ll let us know.”
Actually, Brant, we thought that was your job.
And, Brant, just so you know: When you try strong-arm tactics to keep people from talking, it almost always blows up in your face.
Posted in Corruption, Ethics, State Fire Marshal on July 21, 2017| 13 Comments »
A second individual has come forward with more information which illustrates the manner in which the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal (LOSFM) mishandled a suspected arson investigation in St. Tammany Parish late last week.
The bodies of Nanette Krentel, 49, and two of her pets were recovered from a residential FIRE last Friday. She was the wife of St. Tammany Fire District No. 12 Chief Stephen Krentel. Early but unconfirmed reports indicate she had a bullet wound to the head.
State law requires that any agency investigating a homicide assign as its lead investigator a certified arson investigator but LOSFM instead assigned an inspector, Henry B. Rayborn, to the investigation.
A former LOSFM investigator voiced his concern to LouisianaVoice over the lack of professionalism and inadequate training in that fire and a string of fires set in an Avoyelles Parish nursing home. The fire marshal’s investigation of the nursing home fires has resulted in the arrest of an apparent innocent nurse employed at the facility and the suspension of her license. Her case is scheduled to go before an Avoyelles Parish Grand Jury next Thursday.
A second former employee of LOSFM has now come forward to provide more information to LouisianaVoice. Among the blunders committed by the fire marshal’s office in that investigation:
“This investigation is very complex and believed to have foul play involved,” our latest source said. “The State Fire Marshal’s office is slacking big time. This will eventually come forward as we believe the victim’s husband, who knows State Fire Marshal Butch Browning well, is extremely disappointed with the investigation so far.”
Posted in Corruption, Ethics, Politicians, Public Records, State Fire Marshal on July 20, 2017| 27 Comments »
LouisianaVoice has been receiving reports of questionable expenditures and inadequate training of inspectors and investigators at the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal (LOSFM) for several months, the most serious, of course, being the charges of inadequate and improper training.
Rebuilding from last August’s flood has delayed the story, which understandably involves considerable time with investigations and interviews.
But now, fires in two different areas of the state—one involving a suspicious death which resulted in the angry resignation of a top LOSFM inspector, and the other which resulted in the arrest of an innocent nurse on 77 counts in five separate fires at a nursing home—have clearly illustrated not only that the claims of inadequate training or accurate but that there may be a serious argument for malfeasance in office on the part of LOSFM upper command.
That’s a strong accusation for LouisianaVoice—or anyone—to make, but let’s examine the facts.
In both cases, a residential fire in which the wife of a local fire chief was found dead in the St. Tammany Parish town of Lacombe, reportedly with a bullet wound to her head, and the multiple fires at Bayou Chateau Nursing Home in Simmesport in Avoyelles Parish, LOSFM failed to send a certified arson investigator, assigning instead fire marshal inspectors who are not certified as arson investigators or qualified to perform those duties.
In the case of any homicide investigation such as the death of NANETTE KRENTEL, 49-year-old wife of St. Tammany Fire District No. 12 Chief Stephen Krentel, the fire marshal’s office is required by law to assign as its lead investigator a certified arson investigator. Instead, Henry B. Rayborn, a 10-year veteran LOSFM inspector was given the assignment.
“He (Rayborn) is one of the very best inspectors the fire marshal’s office has,” one former co-worker told Louisiana
Voice. “Everyone considers him as top-notch, but he is an inspector, not an arson investigator. There’s a huge difference. He was in over his head and he tried to convey that to Chief Brant Thompson.”
The former co-worker said that during a conference call between Rayborn, Thompson and other unidentified participants, Thompson became abrasive and Rayborn responded by telling Thompson he could consider the conversation as his resignation.
Reports from LOSFM indicate that State Fire Marshal Butch Browning, apparently fearing Rayborn will talk to the media, is pleading with him to reconsider his resignation.
When a series of fires broke out at Bayou Chateau Nursing Home late last year and earlier this year, LOSFM Inspector Kevin Billiot was dispatched to investigate. Like Rayborn, Billiot, a part-time minister, is not qualified as an arson investigator and sources say he never removed any articles from the fires for analysis.
LPN BRITTANY DUPAR, 27, of Simmesport, was subsequently arrested on two counts of attempted first-degree murder, five counts of aggravated arson and 70 counts of cruelty to the infirm.
The first fire was on Nov. 10, 2016. Two fires were set on March 25, at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., and two more on March 26, at 10 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. Two of the fires were to bedding. Others were under a bathroom sink, to a supply closet, and in an undisclosed location in a patient’s room.
“He was also in far over his head,” a former arson investigator said of Billiot, who has been with the fire marshal’s office only a short time.
When other personnel began their own investigation, the time sheets of Dupar were pulled and it was learned that on the days of four of the fires, including the one in December, she was not even at work.
Moreover, a lighter was found in a patient’s bed.
Meanwhile, the Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners has SUSPENDED Dupar’s license pending the outcome of her criminal charges.
Evidence such as her time sheets and the lighter discovered in the possession of a patient, in legal parlance, is called exculpatory evidence, meaning it is evidence that would held an accused in proving his or her innocence and under law, those accused are entitled to all such evidence.
But with an Avoyelles Parish Grand Jury scheduled to consider the charges against Dupar next Thursday (July 27), that evidence has yet to be given the district attorney’s office.
A recent email thread between Thompson, son of State Sen. Francis Thompson, and other LOSFM personnel reveal a disturbing lack of concern for Dupar on the part of Thompson.
Asked if the DA’s office should be informed of LOSFM findings that would clear Dupar, Thompson declined, suggesting that the office should let events “play their course with the Grand Jury.”
Thompson, something of a political survivor and apparently one with all the right connections, would appear to be more concerned with protecting the image of his office than in protecting the rights and the career of a wrongly-accused woman.
Perhaps the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney would find that email thread interesting reading.
Posted in Budget, Elections, Governor's Office, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Media, Politicians, State Fire Marshal on March 11, 2017| 18 Comments »
By Steve Winham, guest columnist
I have a regular monthly breakfast with venerable politician and retired state fire marshal, V. J. Bella. As a legislator, V. J. never shied away from taking bold actions (think cabbages inside motorcycle helmets hit with baseball bats) and his background and devotion to the cause made him uniquely qualified as fire marshal. He is also a good friend.
Among other topics, we always have lengthy discussions about Gov. Edwards. At our most recent breakfast last week, V. J. said he believes Gov. Edwards is running for re-election too early. He may have a strong point and, based on recent press reports, the game is already afoot to discredit him every way possible by at least one Republican PAC (America Rising). It has already launched a website to gather negatives about Edwards. The plan, of course, is to stress his failures, including those dealing with our budget, economy, infrastructure, education, etc.
If the governor attempts to please as many people as possible over the remainder of this term in hope of being re-elected, how can he possibly recommend the very difficult and unpopular solutions necessary to begin to move us up from dead last among the states by most measures. In an ideal world, making those hard choices would endear him to the public and ensure his re-election. Unfortunately, the real world is not the political world.
If, in my dreams, I was Gov. Edwards, I would announce today that I am not running for re-election as governor, nor running for anything else. I would then make dramatic changes unilaterally and push a legislative agenda that would move our state forward without a care for my personal political future.
As a bonus, taking bold, but politically unpopular actions would allow legislators to blame everything their constituents didn’t like on me. That worked well for legislators even in the good times, so it could work even better now – “I put that rodeo arena in the capital outlay bill, but the governor vetoed it. Vote for me and I’ll get it in there when we get rid of him next election.”
There is no question our budget is seriously broken. Nor is there any question that is our major problem. Our infrastructure is crumbling. Our educational system continues to decline – Both strongly contribute to our stagnant economy and enhance a basic distrust of our government. Businesses cannot reasonably plan because they have no idea how they will be taxed over time. People dependent on state services have no assurances for the future.
All state services not completely protected continue a steady march toward total breakdown. At the same time, we see almost daily news reports of waste, fraud, and corruption within government. The public has lost faith in the ability of government to do anything right.
The first thing I would do is call my cabinet together and tell them I am tired of seeing news reports about things they should have been paying enough attention to catch and fix. It’s not that hard to get a handle on these things. It is a simple matter of working down the chain of command and holding people accountable at every level. More on this later.
I would use the excellent January 2017 report of the Task Force on Structural Changes in Budget and Tax Policy and other information to put together a firm proposal of both expenditure cuts and revenue measures to permanently fix the gap of $1.2 billion that will result from expiration of sales taxes in July 2018. Further cuts are unlikely to be popular, but they will be much more popular than additional taxes.
Since people are fed up with government, and because I believe it is needed now more than ever, I would do something I recommended in 1990. I would take existing staff from the budget and accounting sections of the Division of Administration to create a small entity called the Office of Effectiveness and Efficiency. I would send this team to every department, beginning with the most troublesome one and working down. They would take a common-sense look at how things are being done and recommend changes to make them better. I would expect full cooperation from my cabinet secretaries.
Restoring the public’s faith in government is a daunting task, but it should be of highest priority. Until people begin to have this faith, they will never believe anybody in government cares about waste or providing the best services possible and they will certainly not enthusiastically support sacrifices to support such a system. It is simply not possible to begin to restore faith in government if political commitments override all other concerns.
We desperately need stability to achieve anything in this state. Pandering to popular beliefs not supported by facts to win elections clearly does not work for the greater good. An objective look at what has happened since our most recent presidential election should tell you that.
So, I would challenge Gov. Edwards to take the bold step of not seeking re-election and to announce it immediately so he can be free to fight the battles necessary to set us straight. If he did, he might just find people begging him to change his mind and run again after all – And, if that happened, it would put a whole new, and ironic, spin on V. J.’s view.
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