Following his statement at a Friday night forum that “we still have a Republican as a U.S. Attorney. I voted for Barack Obama, so I’d have a new U.S. Attorney. It’s not a racial thing; it’s a Democrat thing,” Camp John Georges just sent out the following statement from the candidate clarifying his position:

“I believe that U.S. Attorney Jim Letten is doing an outstanding job. Friday night at the Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee, I was speaking about Democratic politics. The mayor has no control over the appointment of a U.S. Attorney. I commend Jim Letten for a job well done in his fight against corruption. As mayor I will work closely with Jim Letten and all other components of the criminal justice system to weed out corruption.”

Eli Ackerman of the blog We Could Be Famous picked up this bit of audio from last night’s meeting of the Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee, at which mayoral candidate John Georges appeared. The entire context isn’t clear from the tape, but Georges seems to be defending himself as a member of the Democratic faithful by stating his opposition to U.S. Attorney Jim Letten, a Republican.

Georges, a Republican-turned-Democrat, raised money for George W. Bush’s presidential campaign in 2000 and ran for governor in 2007 as an independent. He also financially supported Mitt Romney’s run for the White House in 2008, as well as the 2008 Congressional campaign of Republican Steve Scalise, but says he eventually voted for Barack Obama.

I’ve been supporting Democrats my entire life…. I would’ve been a Democrat, but I was asked to stay independent to help fight Bobby Jindal. I’m a team player. I’m fightin’ for New Orleans; you need to fight for me. Mitch Landrieu is a leader. But you know, I tell you, we still have a Republican as a U.S. Attorney. I voted for Barack Obama, so I’d have a new U.S. Attorney. It’s not a racial thing; it’s a Democrat thing.

Letten, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, was originally nominated to his post by President George W. Bush during his first term, and has has not been renominated by the Obama White House despite public statements of confidence from Republican Sen. David Vitter and Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu, who said last April she supported Letten continuing in the job.

By positioning himself against Letten, is Georges helping or hurting himself? Listen to the whole tape over at We Could Be Famous, and see what you think.

There never seems to be a recession in Louisiana political hijinks, as 2009 proved many times over. This was a year of tectonic shifts in the local political paradigm, and the coming year promises to bring more big changes. Herewith, our annual list of the Top 10 Political Stories:

1. Bill Jefferson’s Continued Slide — The former congressman’s misfortunes continued to pile up. He was convicted on 11 of 16 federal felony counts in August after a long-delayed trial in Virginia. Ironically, Jefferson was acquitted of the charge most closely related to the infamous $90,000 in cash that the feds retrieved from his freezer in 2005 — but jurors concluded that his congressional office was an ongoing criminal enterprise under the RICO statute. The trial judge sentenced him to 13 years but let him stay out of jail pending his appeal. In another twist, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering other cases that could overturn some of Jefferson’s convictions. Locally, Dollar Bill’s brother (and political muscle) Mose Jefferson was convicted of bribing a school board member in an unrelated case. Mose and Assessor Betty Jefferson (another Jefferson sibling) face still more federal charges with Mose’s gal pal (and Dollar Bill protégé) Renee Gill-Pratt. Politically, Jefferson’s once-dominant political machine, the Progressive Democrats, is in shambles. The Feb. 6 citywide elections will be the first in three decades in which Dollar Bill is not a factor.

2. The City Hall Scandals — There’s no telling how many separate criminal investigations are underway at City Hall. Former technology chief Greg Meffert was indicted on several dozen criminal counts, along with his wife Linda and former business partner Mark St. Pierre. St. Pierre is the city contractor who paid for the Mefferts and the Nagins to vacation in Hawaii in 2004 and for the Nagins to unwind — first class — in Jamaica shortly after Katrina (while the rest of us were still trying to get back home to New Orleans). On another front, the feds seized various City Hall computers after the mayor’s emails and 2008 calendar mysteriously disappeared (following a WWL-TV request for them under the state Public Records Act). Ironically, tons of City Council emails were produced by the Nagin Administration in response to an unrelated public records request — and some of those emails proved to be cautionary tales against writing things down. More recently, veteran Sewerage and Water Board member Ben Edwards was indicted on 33 counts of corruption, including alleged kickbacks. Edwards spent more than $250,000 “independently” helping Mayor Ray Nagin win re-election in 2006. As the clock winds down on Ray Nagin’s tenure in City Hall, the feds appear to be tightening the circle of suspicion around him.

3. The Mayor’s Race — For a while it seemed that nobody wanted Ray Nagin’s job — then everybody seemed to want it. After a yawner of a preseason, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu lit up the field with his eleventh-hour decision to run. The fallout came quickly as school reformer Leslie Jacobs dropped out a week later. Landrieu, who is making his third bid for the mayor’s office, is once again the early frontrunner. The race for the City Council’s two at-large seats promises to be filled with intrigue as well. Incumbent Arnie Fielkow waited until the last day to qualify, prompting former at-large Councilman Eddie Sapir to jump in. Assessor Darren Mire was another late entry, which seemed to guarantee a scrambled field. Then both Sapir and Mire dropped out on the same day, right before Christmas. State Rep. Austin Badon, who was the first to announce for mayor, was among the first to drop out of that contest, opting instead to run for the council from District E, where he is the early favorite.

4. Suburban Scandals — The feds have been busy all over southeast Louisiana. They indicted and convicted St. John Parish President Bill Hubbard on extortion and money laundering charges, St. Bernard Judge Wayne Cresap on bribery charges, and Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price on tax evasion and depriving citizens of honest services via mail fraud. Meanwhile, FBI agents are looking into Jefferson Parish Chief Administrative Officer Tim Whitmer’s insurance commission-splitting deals in connection with insurance business at West Jefferson General Hospital and among various parish contractors. Some big names are said to be involved, and this could be the beginning of another round of “Jefferson Scandals.” Look for some fireworks to start in the Jefferson Parish scandal before Mardi Gras, my sources say.

5. Ray Nagin’s Unraveling — Could he possibly be more obtuse, more detached, more disengaged — and less effective as a mayor? While in Cuba (on a junket), he praised Castro’s evacuation plans. That came after he failed to convince the City Council to buy the nondescript Chevron Building and make it the new City Hall. Earlier in the year, he thumbed his nose at the courts and the state Public Records Act when his calendar and emails somehow disappeared. When an outside contractor said that the emails were deleted deliberately by someone who knew what they where doing, he fired the contractor. Meanwhile, a growing list of people who once were close to him are under federal indictment. Here’s the good news: he’ll be gone in 18 weeks.

6. Bobby Jindal’s Minus Touch — The Boy Governor started 2009 as the Wunderkind of the national GOP. Then came his disastrous response to Barack Obama’s first national address and his failure to show any coattails in three separate special elections — including a bid by his former executive counsel for the state Supreme Court in northeast Louisiana (which is supposed to be a Jindal stronghold). As he continues to raise millions nationally for his campaign war chest, the state faces major budget problems.

7. State and City Budget Woes — Bobby Jindal told a state cost-cutting commission to “be bold” in their recommendations. Gee, wasn’t that what we elected him to do as governor? Lawmakers anguished over cutting about $1 billion in operating funds this year, but it only gets worse in the next two years. Locally, Mayor Ray Nagin announced a $68 million deficit, then took a taxpayer-paid trip to Mexico to sign a feel-good sister city agreement. When the City Council revised his proposed budget, Hizzoner retaliated by slashing key services — and then blamed it all on the council. Plus ça change.

8. David Vitter’s Run-up to 2010 — The Biggest Hypocrite in America remains an early favorite to win back his U.S. Senate seat, but not without a fight. He initially drew a potential rival in porn star Stormy Daniels of Baton Rouge, but now he will have a real opponent in Democratic Congressman Charlie Melancon. Vitter continues to poll below 50 percent but remains 10 points or more above his main opponents. His infamous bad temper flared up again during an incident at Reagan National Airport when he tried to board a plane late, and all the national attention he’s gets every time there’s another sex scandal anywhere sure makes Louisiana (if not Vitter himself) look bad. Not that he cares.

9. The Saints Deal — For the first time since the state started subsidizing the city’s NFL franchise in 1985, a deal to keep the beloved Saints in New Orleans did not tear the Legislature apart and cost the city valuable political capital. Maybe it’s because Gov. Bobby Jindal also wanted lawmakers to approve $50 million to bail out a north Louisiana chicken processing plant. South Louisiana leges immediately said, “Deal!” Cluck, cluck! Go Saints!

10. The City’s New Master Plan — Like everything else worthwhile that happens here, the city’s new master plan has endured a rough birthing process, but the end results will hopefully be worth it. Don’t let the fact that I’ve listed this as No. 10 fool you. This will be a very important story for decades if we get it right.

A final note: I left former Recovery Chief Ed Blakely off my list of most important political stories. That’s because, even when he was here, Blakely was largely irrelevant. His ridiculous, self-serving comments after his departure proved that.

Here’s hoping 2010 brings better news.

BY ALLEN JOHNSON JR.

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten today announced a 63-count indictment against Gregory Meffert, the city’s first chief technology officer — raising questions about how much has changed and how much has stayed the same at City Hall under outgoing Mayor Ray Nagin.

Inaugurated as a “reform” mayor in 2002, Nagin tasked Meffert with leading the modernization of the city’s antiquated information systems and finding high-tech solutions to urban problems — resulting in administration claims of millions of dollars in savings.

Meffert, 44, his wife Linda Meffert, 42, and city vendor Mark St. Pierre, 46, were accused of charges ranging from conspiracy and money laundering to bribery and filing false tax returns — in connection with an alleged scheme that unfolded around the same time Nagin appointed Meffert as the city’s tech chief and as an executive assistant to the Mayor on May 5, 2002.

Specifically, Greg Meffert is accused of using his public position to manipulate the city’s procurement process so that St. Pierre and his private companies would receive millions of dollars in city contracts — without going through traditional competitive bid processes. The indictment includes allegations Meffert improperly manipulated the city’s $4 million “crime cameras” contract process to benefit St. Pierre.

According to the indictment, St. Pierre and his companies benefited from the corruption, responding with illegal “payoffs or kickbacks” to Meffert and his wife. Between 2004 and 2007, St. Pierre paid the Mefferts more than $860,000 in funds, credit card purchases and membership dues, including a Mardi Gras parade.

The Mefferts and St. Pierre were not arrested. They are expected to formally respond to the charges in their first court appearance in the case next Thursday.

The last of Nagin’s original “All-Star Team” - the mayor’s term for the top management team he brought to City Hall –Greg Meffert left city government on July 15, 2006. Meffert is accused of corrupting city contracts even as the Mayor received widespread public praise for declaring “war” on municipal corruption in the summer of 2002. Some 80 people were arrested in a low-level city corruption probe of several agencies. The investigation turned out to be a “shoo-shoo.” However, the novelty of a New Orleans politician attacking corruption won Nagin the admiration of many locals at the time- including Letten.

In the August 2003 edition of Governing magazine, a publication of Congressional Quarterly, Letten said, “Ray (Nagin) has helped in the perception and reality of a city government as an institution that’s trying to clean itself up. He’s very popular in federal enforcement circles. He has our confidence.”

Asked Friday what has changed since that interview six years ago, Letten demurred.

“I’m not going to tell you whether circumstances have changed or not,” the federal prosecutor said, then added: “I think that statement was certainly true (then)… But I’m not going to indicate whether anything is true today because the problem is that portends me commenting directly or indirectly about what we [the feds] are thinking, about where we may be going and I’m just not able to do that.”

Letten also declined to say which city agencies or officials are cooperating with the ongoing federal probe of Meffert. Nagin is on record as encouraging all city employees to cooperate with any federal investigation.

In an e-mail response to news of Meffert’s indictment, city communications director Ceeon D. Quiett wrote: “Considering Mr. Meffert is a former employee, the administration, as a whole, has made tremendous strides in opening up local government to make as much information available as possible online in a transparent manner, such as property tax assessments, professional services contracts, departmental reports, recovery reports, etc…therefore, no one incident, should diminish the efforts of many.”

However, an undated web page of the city web site that Mr. Meffert helped to enhance in Nagin’s first term, cast the city’s first technology chief in a far more favorable light than did the city spokesperson.

“By bringing in the technological expertise very rarely found in a municipal environment, Mr. Meffert created what many Fortune 100 vendors have noted as a new model for taking on the challenges all city governments face,” according to the list of “e-Government Initiatives” found on the city web site late Friday, hours after Mr. Meffert’s indictment.

Things have come full circle on Ray Nagin. In 2002, he cast himself as the anti-Morial, the squeaky-clean “businessman” who was going to sweep out the corruption of the previous administration. After Friday’s 63-count corruption indictment against former city technology chief Greg Meffert — once Nagin’s top aide and close friend — it’s hard to distinguish our present mayor from his predecessor.

Actually, that may be unfair to former Mayor Marc Morial, who does not appear to be in danger of indictment — although several of his cronies went to jail. Nagin, on the other hand, could well become a target of the ongoing federal investigation into City Hall corruption. Moreover, the feds didn’t indict any of Morial’s pals until he was out of office. Meffert’s indictment came with six months left in Nagin’s term.

The charges against Meffert, his wife Linda, and former city contractor Mark St. Pierre — who previously worked for Meffert in the private sector — paint a picture of an administration run amok and of a public official drunk with power. Even casual observers of Meffert’s days in City Hall were struck by his arrogance. He referred to himself as the “deputy mayor,” even though the position didn’t (and still doesn’t) exist. He also bragged that he owned the yacht Silicon Bayou, on which he entertained friends and Nagin contributors, even though St. Pierre owned the vessel.

Then again, according to the federal indictment, the lines between St. Pierre’s private-sector dealings and Meffert’s public-sector responsibilities were often blurred, if not ignored, for their mutual benefit.

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Today’s federal indictment against Greg Meffert, Linda Meffert and Mark St. Pierre can be downloaded here.

Tomorrow morning from 10 a.m. till 1 p.m. the Orleans District Attorney’s Office is partnering with the local United States Attorney’s Office and the Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff’s Office to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA). 

     In 1984, Congress passed VOCA that created the Crime Victims Fund, which is financed through fines and fees from offenders. The fund has grown to more the $2 billion and distributed throughout the nation to assist the nearly 4 million crime victims. In Orleans Parish, the criminal sheriff’s office is in charge of the Crime Victims Assistance Program.

     The free event will be held at St. Mary’s Academy, 6905 Chef Menteur Highway, and will feature food, music and entertainment, and several community groups will be on hand displaying information and resources available for crime victims. At 11:30 a.m., U.S. Attorney Jim Letten will distribute awards, recognizing victims of violent crimes and their surviving families. Letten will be joined by DA Leon Cannizzaro and other celebrity guests. 

Sources in Baton Rouge confirm U.S. Sen Mary Landrieu will recommend U.S. Attorney Jim Letten this afternoon.

Edited to add: Landrieu will also nominate Michael Bagneris as district judge to replace Stanwood DuVal, and Lt. Col. Genny May of the Louisiana State Police as the first woman U.S. marshal from Louisiana.

The feds have arrested St. Bernard District Judge Wayne Cresap on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He was arrested late Friday and transported to the federal wing of Orleans Parish Prison, sources say (think: Jefferson Parish District Judge Ronald Bodenheimer). U.S. Attorney Jim Letten has confirmed only that the case involves attorneys, bribes and bond reductions. I have a feeling this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The case has been under investigation for a while — and remains ongoing.

Cresap is wired big-time into the prevailing St. Bernard Parish power structure. He is pals with all the entrenched political players, and if he rolls, we may see some big names come tumbling down. My sources describe Cresap as someone unlikely to withstand the kind of pressure that the feds can put on somebody they want to turn. “He’ll sing like a canary,” one source says, “if he’s not doing that already.” Suffice it to say that sphincters are raging in Da Parish this weekend.

The timing of this case is interesting. When the feds want to sweat someone, they often arrest him late on a Friday afternoon, as was done here. That way, the perp gets rolled into the federal wing of OPP after the last federal magistrate has gone home for the weekend, which means he will spend a weekend from hell as the guest of Sheriff Marlin Gusman (no reflection of the sheriff, but I can’t imagine a weekend in OPP being anything but hell). By the time he gets his constitutionally guaranteed appearance in front of a magistrate on Monday morning, he’ll be a basket case. Think the feds might ask him between now and then if he wants to talk about any of his friends in St. Bernard? Hmmm…

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It’s indicative of how closely Bob Cerasoli held his cards that one of his closest working associates, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten, had no advance knowledge of Cerasoli’s resignation.

“Holy God,” Letten said this morning. “I have to confess that when I picked up the paper this morning, it was the first I’d heard of Bob’s resigning. It came as a complete surprise, and certainly a personal disappointment. I think so well of Bob on a personal, professional level, and I think Bob probably wanted to avoid a very emotional exchange.”

Letten says that the last time he saw the inspector general was at Cerasoli’s office last week for a meeting. It was Inauguration Day, and the two men and their staffs took a break to watch the swearing-in of President Barack Obama.

“Even at that time, Bob was sharing with us his concerns about his health, and clearly we could see he his fatigue,” says Letten. “But I didn’t see that he’d reached critical mass at all.”

Letten spoke this morning to Leonard Odom, who was named by the city’s Ethics Review Board as Cerasoli’s interim replacement. “Ss soon as he gets resettled in his new role, we’re probably going to be meeting next week,” he said. “Thanks to his expertise and commitment, I’m looking foward to a seamless transition. Len has Bob’s full faith and trust, and if Bob Cerasoli says to me that this person, in his estimation, is a good person — that’s a virtual background investigation to me.”

In his 17-month tenure, Cerasoli was only able to issue a single interim report, but Letten says there is more to come, and soon: “In a short time, he has done more than you can see on the surface. He has a lot in the pipeline.”